anapolis. Despite the fact the race came with the caveat that teams, as in all classes, would pay a few hundred dollars to cover insurance, no prize money would be paid. Still, DeFlorian jumped at the chance to run at drag racing’ s most prestigious event in front of the sport’ s largest audience with the chance to be seen by more potential sponsors than all the PDRA, ADRL, XDRL or IHRA races in the past twenty years. The NHRA ran the category under the simple name of“ Mountain Motor Pro Stock Eliminator”.
In a monumental moment in his life, DeFlorian was the first MMPS car down the track in the first qualifying session at Indy. On that run, he qualified number one. He ran top speed of the weekend on his first pass and then ripped through the field with Low E. T. in the final round against Aruba’ s Trevor Eman. It was easily the biggest moment of DeFlorian’ s life. Since the NHRA offered no purse and didn’ t even award a trophy, racer Elijah Morton had one specially made for the inaugural event. To John, it was everything.
The NHRA quickly realized they did not want to integrate the MMPS entries with their established Pro Sock contingent but they did realize the cars generated a crowd response. Most importantly, the MMPS machines differed greatly from the NHRA field if only because they were a quarter second quicker, thirteen mph faster and included all three major automobile manufacturers with corresponding corporate powerplants. Within second event was a sixteen car field held at zMax Dragway in Charlotte and conducted as a fourlane program. DeFlorian qualified third but lost in the second round. The third race at Bristol, DeFlorian again led the field but again fell in round two. The final race at Epping, New Hampshire, John returned to dominance, winning the race from the pole. DeFlorian would’ ve easily won an NHRA MMPS point championship if one had been offered.
Because of this magnificent season, John found his theory of gaining exposure from the NHRA series was correct. He was approached by,( and gained), several sponsors who lined up for the 2020 season. None of the companies were major but all were willing to offer some cash or product. Then came CoViD-19 and, like all other activities in the world, everything stopped. John’ s sponsorship opportunities washed away and even the racing series were curtailed. In fact, the scheduled four race season was cut down to two events and the second one, John’ s first opportunity to race at his home track before his friends and family, was rained out and not rescheduled. The only 2020 NHRA MMPS show was in early August during the third of four races to be held that season at the NHRA-owned Lucas Oil Raceway in Indy where DeFlorian qualified second and lost in the semi-finals.
Like every other business, the NHRA suffered through a disastrous economy in 2021 and
The 2023 season was one of critical parts shortages for all racers due to a loss of manufacturing time during the Pandemic. While waiting for crucial new pieces, DeFlorian’ s season started off in the worst possible way. He was unable to attend the first NHRA MMPS series event of the season at Joliet and, as the only driver to have attended every NHRA MMPS race, it hurt. He did manage to squeeze out a morale-lifting victory at the NHRA’ s fall Charlotte stop.
Everything about the NHRA series … and John DeFlorian’ s approach to it … changed in January, 2024. The NHRA made the announcement they had secured a sponsor for the MMPS program and they would be paying a purse for the first time in seven years. Moreover, there would be a point series from which a World Champion would be crowned. The NHRA saw the popularity of the MMPS category even in light of its increasingly homogeneous 500-inch Pro Stock fields. There would be, however, several conditions which most fans of the sport never realize. Since John was involved in NHRA Pro Modified racing and even constructed a huge percentage of Pro Stock Truck Eliminator machines, he knew what was coming.
In 1997, the NHRA created Pro Stock Truck Eliminator, an attempt to capture the popularity of sport truck ownership. It was the first new professional division in the past twenty seasons of NHRA racing. At the end of the 2001 season,
DEEP DOWN, HE KNEW BEALKO’ S OFFER WAS THE ONLY WAY HE COULD STAY INVOLVED IN THE SPORT AS A RACER AND, FOR THOSE WHO DREAM, REMAINING IN GRASP OF THOSE GOALS IS AN OBSESSION FROM WHICH THERE IS NO ESCAPE.
a few months, the NHRA decided to host the MMPS for four races in 2019. John was the first driver to sign up and made it known to his crew they might be racing with other groups but they would place all their efforts in the NHRA series.
John had become the overall shop foreman at JHRC several years earlier and was in charge of the construction of all customers’ vehicles. He was integral to Jerry Haas’ continued reign atop the Pro Stock Chassis kingdom. John knew every innovation in the class and, with a renewed vigor, truly intended to assault the NHRA series,( regardless of its lack of financial reward), in an effort to secure sponsorship to finally make his hobby pay … or, at least, break even. At the NHRA events, he would be racing for a“ Wally” and nothing else but the opportunity to make an impression.
The NHRA’ s first 2019 MMPS race was held at Houston and, for John DeFlorian, it was a repeat of 2018 Indy. He was the low qualifier and romped through the field to win again, becoming the NHRA’ s first two-time MMPS winner. The
January / February 2026 only scheduled two MMPS events. However, DeFlorian scored runner-up at the first race in Brainerd and then took what may have been his most satisfying win ever, a victory from the second qualifying spot at his return to his home track, now renamed World Wide Technology Raceway, in Madison, Illinois … the same location at which he made his first run in that green 383 Road Runner forty-five years earlier... in front of virtually every person he knows. John ended the season on another major accomplishment when he clocked the quickest MMPS eighth-mile pass ever,( a run which has only been exceeded one time since October 17, 2021), a jaw-dropping 4.000 World Record at the PDRA World Finals at Dinwiddie, Virginia, while winning the event.
In 2022, John continued to struggle but pulled out a victory at the PDRA World Finals. The team, which now included St. Louisan Tony Strobl, also managed two runner-up finishes in NHRA competition at Brainerd, Minnesota, and at the fall race at Charlotte’ s zMax facility. citing an unanticipated lack of participation by the American auto manufacturers, the NHRA dropped Pro Stock Truck Eliminator. The category was unceremoniously discontinued after just four short years despite having almost forty entries racing in 2001. Although the trucks were moved into Competition Eliminator classes, owners sank a surprising amount of money in the machines which retailed for almost as much money as a Pro Stocker and required an extremely expensive smallblock powerplant. When the teams realized they would be stuck with a vehicle which had an incredibly decreased resale value and an engine desired by only by teams in a few Comp classes, they rebelled and the Pro Stock Truck Racers Association took the NHRA to court seeking restitution.
The case dragged on for years but never went to trial. The NHRA finally settled out of court and paid reparation to those PSTA racers who continued the fight to the end. Like most outof-court settlements, the files were sealed and
DragIllustrated. com | Drag Illustrated | 153