Pro Mods:

Do They Rule the World? Or Ruin It?

- Jason Sands

If you were a fan of door-slammer racing in the late-1980s and early 1990s, you probably remember names like Dave Riolo, Ed Hoover, Camp Stanley, and Scotty Cannon. On the West and East Coasts, Sportsman racers were going quicker and faster than ever before, thanks to a no-rules attitude that included blowers, nitrous, and short-wheelbase, lightweight cars. Running in a Top Class in the NHRA or IHRA still took some serious bucks, but what some of these racers lacked in funding, they made up in ingenuity and determination.

As time went on, the cars also became faster and faster, in some cases eclipsing some more advanced classes, seemingly on willpower alone. More rules also came, as certain devices were outlawed or saddled with heavy rule restrictions. Pro Mod was also a victim of its own success; with fierce competition came Funny Car bodies with doors—and deep pockets. It wasn’t long before this Sportsman class was now a Pro class. Even moonshots like Scotty Cannon’s 5.73 at 252 mph in 2008 were largely ignored, as many thought that Pro Mod had lost the charm of the good ol’ days.