Drag Illustrated Issue 191, November / December 2024 | Page 112

Finals in just his second PDRA appearance of the season .
2023 30 Under 30 honorees Kallee Mills and Blake Denton made their Pro Street debuts this season . Mills stepped away from the No Prep Kings scene to run three races and Denton got out of his 2023 championship-winning Super Street ride to drive the nitrous-fed “ Bonnie ” ’ 69 Camaro previously driven by the late Lizzy Musi in NPK competition .
Similarly , young people can be found working in the Pro Street pits . Ty Tutterow , a member of the 2016 DI 30 Under 30 class , worked with his father , Todd “ King Tut ” Tutterow , to tune Steding ’ s championship-winning , roots-blown Pro Street Camaro . Tyler Morgano , the 28-year-old son of Outlaw 10.5 stalwart Jerry Morgano , has served as one of his father ’ s main crew members for years while also helping him run the Atomizer Outlaw 10.5 National Championship Series from 2014 through 2020 . Pro Jr . Dragster driver Brooke Riddle , 15 , works closely with her father , 2023 Pro Street world champion Bill Riddle , as one of his main crew members .
Like NHRA Pro Stock , Outlaw 10.5 was previously written off as a class on life support . Today , both classes are thriving with full fields and reenergized reputations , thanks in part to a new crop of young drivers , tuners , and crew members . DI

RONNIE

GREEN JR .

AVING GROWN UP immersed in the world of Outlaw 10.5 racing with his father , Ronnie Green Jr . learned about the mechanical ins and outs of drag racing from an early age . For the last 10 years , he ’ s been learning everything he can about how to make his father ’ s ProCharged 2000 Firebird quicker and faster to compete in various classes . Now focused on PDRA Pro Street , the father-son duo is starting to hit their stride with a number of highlights over the course of the 2024 season .
Ron Green and his brothers raced for years before Ronnie was born . The younger Green tagged along with his dad in their home race shop and on trips to the chassis shop or the racetrack . Ron progressed through various classes — always small-tire classes — running his current Firebird with a nitrous combination before switching it over to a twin-turbo setup . He ’ d get tuning help for quite some time , but he eventually decided to go out on his own when it came to tuning the car known as the “ Gamechanger .”
“ He ’ s never really been real good with computers , so that ’ s where I started ,” Ronnie says . “ I got interested in it , just helping him out . He would need help downloading data and stuff like that . I started doing that and next thing you know , I got more interested in reading the data and understanding how things worked and took off from there . It was around 2014 , when I was 17 , that I started tuning on my own . That ’ s where I started , and it ’ s definitely been a learning curve . Still learning today . Just learning as I go to the racetrack , making laps , trying different stuff . It ’ s been fun , though .”
Green Jr . proved to be a quick study . In 2016 , just a couple years into tuning for his dad , he guided the twin-turbo , big-block-powered Firebird to a pass that would be impressive even in today ’ s
competitive Pro Street environment .
“ It was still intercooled and running on gas ,” Green Jr . says . “ It was one of the older combinations because we really couldn ’ t get anything better than that . We had to work with what we had . We ended up going 3.90s on the 10.5 slicks back then . We were one of the only cars to do it , especially with a big-block , twin-turbo deal on gas with an intercooler . Everybody was moving over to methanol and the new stuff , Hemis and stuff like that . That was a pretty good accomplishment for us .”
Later , Green Jr . got to try his hand at tuning a new , trick setup when Justin Smith purchased David Reese ’ s old “ Diablo ” Pro 275 Camaro and
tapped Ron to drive it and Ronnie to tune it .
“ It was a crazy deal and I got to work with that and be able to tune that ,” Green Jr . says . “ We did pretty good . I think we set the record twice in that year [ 2020 ]. We were the first to go 3.80s with it in Pro 275 . Then I think we won Shakedown with it that year too . I ’ ll always remember that . That was a pretty good year .”
Smith later sold the Camaro and the Greens decided to get their Firebird ready for Pro Street competition , this time with a ProCharged combination . Since then , they ’ ve steadily made progress in the increasingly competitive Pro Street division .
“ The first couple of years we had it figured out , but didn ’ t really have it figured out . We were still learning it ,” Green Jr . says . “ Then this year , everything started really to come together . We were able to go 3.80s with it , which not many people have done that on the 10.5s .”
Green started the 2024 season by qualifying No . 1 at the inaugural Pro 10.5 Challenge held during the World Series of Pro Mod at Bradenton Motorsports Park . He posted a 3.944 to lead the 24-car qualifying order . A couple months later , he dropped a 3.894 to qualify No . 1 at the PDRA season-opening East Coast Nationals at GALOT Motorsports Park . Over the summer , Green won the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars all-star race during Virginia Motorsports Park ’ s PBR Night of Fire . He suffered catastrophic engine damage in the first round , but thrashed with help and parts from fellow competitor Joel Wensley Jr . to make it back for the final , where he got the win over a red-lighting Tim Essick .
His dad isn ’ t the only person Green Jr . has tuned for over the years . He ’ s worked with various drivers and their cars , creating a well-rounded skillset in the process .
“ I ’ ve learned so much from just being able to put hands on the different combinations and cars . It ’ s helped me so much and I appreciate it ,” says Green Jr ., thanking the car owners and drivers he ’ s worked with . “ There ’ s a lot of money tied up in these cars and for them to trust me to be able to mess with them and learn as I go like that , it means so much to me and I appreciate that .”
Green Jr . also appreciates the support he receives from his family , especially his dad . The two have spent lots of quality time together over their decade-plus of racing as driver and tuner . It ’ s perhaps the most rewarding aspect of Green Jr .’ s racing career .
“ It ’ s the best . I wouldn ’ t trade it for anything ,” he says . “ We work really good together . I know a lot of people butt heads with their dads . Man , we get along and we have the same mindset . He lets me do whatever I want and we make decisions together on some stuff . It ’ s awesome . I wouldn ’ t trade it for anything , just spending the time with him . We have a lot of fun and it ’ s a cool deal .” DI
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