Dancing With the Devil
Drag Racer|May 2017

Nitrous Opened the Door for the Pro Mods of Today

Rod Short
Dancing With the Devil

IT WAS A WARM SATURDAY NIGHT WHEN PRO STOCK QUALIFYING DREW TO A CLOSE AT AN IHRA NATIONAL EVENT MANY YEARS AGO. A NUMBER OF NHRA STARS HAD CROSSED OVER TO RUN WITH THE MOUNTAIN MOTOR BOYS, AND DID SO WITH SOME SUCCESS. ONE HAD JUST FINISHED THAT FINAL SESSION AT THE TOP OF THE FIELD WITH A STRONG 7.29 ELAPSED TIME. AS THE NEXT GROUP OF CARS PULLED INTO THE WATER BOX, THE FANS STILL IN THE STANDS HEARD THE ANNOUNCER EXCLAIM, “THESE ARE JUST SPORTSMAN DRIVERS. DON’T LOOK FOR THEM CARS TO RUN AS QUICK OR AS FAST!”

Those leaving the stands suddenly stopped as the speaker announced a 7.24 elapsed time from one of that first pair. Jaws dropped and heads turned—just like they do today—as those cars that became today’s Pro Mods changed drag racing forever.

This story is from the May 2017 edition of Drag Racer.

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This story is from the May 2017 edition of Drag Racer.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.