I didn't know what to expect, last Sunday, when I reluctantly tore myself away from the East Coast Timing Association's Maxton Mile land speed race and headed about 40 miles west to Rockingham Dragway. I was on my way to shoot the inaugural race of the newly formed Mountain Motor Pro Stock Association [MMPSA] for Drag Racing Online magazine.
Pro Stocks can be a lot of fun. They resemble, in a cartoonish way, the Mustangs, Cobalts, Escorts, and GTOs that you see on the street. They're powered by the sort of monster-sized engine that you encounter only at the track. Little cars with big motors always adds up to madness and mayhem, and that's a thoroughly good thing. But could it top Maxton?
No. But it came darned close.
John Pluchino performs a burnout, while a crew member jumps out of the way. Rockingham Dragway, 11 April 2010. (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2010. Click directly on any of the photos to see larger versions.)
The MMPSA was formed after the 2010 racing season, when the International Hot Rod Association [IHRA], which had nurtured Mountain Motor Pro Stocks, decided to drop the class from its schedule. ["Mountain Motor" refers to the fact that these cars have engines that are about 50% larger than National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stocks, making them considerably faster.] The IHRA is in the midst of reinventing itself, hoping to draw bigger crowds and return to profitability. It seems to have felt that Pro Stocks can't provide the kind of spectacle that it believes fans are demanding.
I understand where the IHRA is coming from, but I don't entirely agree.
Number one qualifier and race winner Cary Goforth performs a burnout. Rockingham Dragway, 11 April, 2010.
There's no doubt that many race fans do think of Pro Stocks as the plain younger sister in a family of glamorous Top Fuel dragsters, Funny Cars, and Pro Mods. Nitro-burning dragsters and Funny Cars are enormously louder and faster than Pro Stocks, and they spit out 12 feet long flames of unburned fuel as they rocket down the track. Frankly, they're the greatest pure spectacle in motorsports. Serious fans know that louder and faster doesn't necessary mean better racing, but not everyone at the track is a connoisseur.
Semi-finalist Elijah Morton launches his car down track, during third-round competition. Rockingham Dragway, 11 April, 2010.
Pro Mods are just as much of a problem for the Pro Stock crowd. They look a lot like Pro Stock cars, but, in addition to being louder and faster, they're more appealing (Camaros and Corvettes, for instance, instead of Cobalts) and even more cartoonish.
In the company of fuel cars and Pro Mods -- that is, in the IHRA, until this season, and in the mostly Pro Mods American Drag Racing League [ADRL] -- Pro Stocks can feel like an afterthought.
Semi-finalist John Montecalvo prepares to scrub some heat into his tires, just prior to second round competition. Rockingham Dragway, 11 April, 2010.
Taken on their own terms, however, Mountain Motor Pro Stocks put on a heck of a show.
Cale Aronson, doing a burnout. Rockingham Dragway, 11 April, 2010.
The cars are damn quick. Slower than the other cars I've mentioned, but "slow," in this context, is still very fast. In fact, it's hard for anyone who hasn't seen Mountain Motor Pro Stocks race to grasp just how fast they are. In qualifying number one, for instance, Cary Goforth covered a quarter-mile in 6.258 seconds and reached a speed of 220.84 miles per hour. That's faster than a NASCAR stock car ever goes, at any race, anywhere. Goforth's Chevy Cobalt reached that speed in the time that it would take an ordinary Cobalt to reach 45 miles an hour.
Pete Berner, near lane, defeats Trevor Eman, far lane, in first round competition. Rockingham Dragway, 11 April, 2010.
Pro Stocks are also terrifically competitive. Despite the fact that Goforth won from the pole, John Montecalvo pushed him hard in the semis and Bob Bertsch gave him a real scare in the finals.
Given that Pro Stocks are tremendously entertaining, when they're on their own, it makes a certain amount of sense for MMPSA to strike out on its own. The problem will be getting the fans to buy in.
I spoke to several of the people involved with the MMPSA at the race. They know it won't be easy to build a following, but they're optimistic, as they should be.
I'll give them one piece of unsolicited advice. Dump the Cobalts and Escorts. Nobody really wants to see those awful things on the track. Run, instead, only current-body-style Camaros, Mustangs, and Challengers. It's very do-able. In the last couple of years, Chevy and Dodge have reintroduced the Camaro and Challenger; the Mustang never went away. Every Chevy, Ford, and Mopar fan now has a muscle car to root for. These are cars that many drive on the street and that lots of amateur racers take to the track.
Fiberglass current-body-style Mustang and Camaro bodies are already being raced (you can see a Mustang in one of the photos above). The Challenger will surely come next, in response to demand from Top Sportman and bracket racers. Yes, switching bodies will be a burden for some of the teams, but it would pay huge dividends in generating fan interest.
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You can see an entirely different set of my photos from the race and read a complete race report, here, at Drag Racing Online.