LETTER from the EDITOR
In recent weeks and months , I ’ ve hardly had a drag racing-related conversation that hasn ’ t at least at some point touched on the state of NHRA Pro Stock . It ’ s a subject that , honestly , hits surprisingly close to home for me , and it ’ s not because I drive one or field a Pro Stock team like Richard Freeman , who happens to be on the cover of The Interview Issue of Drag Illustrated that you hold in your hands . It ’ s just that Pro Stock racing has represented “ the dream ” for virtually all of my family ’ s racing efforts for as long as I can remember .
A few weeks ago , I spent the evening out at my dad ’ s house . We ’ d gotten together to celebrate my daughter ’ s third birthday ( which seems almost unbelievable ), and while the focus of the gathering was most assuredly our little Sophia , I did take a few minutes to walk around the home I grew up in and reminisce . As I roamed around , looking at the photos hanging on the walls , I couldn ’ t help but laugh when I saw my 5th grade class photo alongside a picture of Warren Johnson running the valves on his white-and-blue GM Performance Parts Oldsmobile Cutlass in the pits at Indy . Then there was a photo of my kid brother , Bradley , on Christmas morning when he was just a few years old and next to it a shot of Larry Morgan pulling the 5-speed Liberty transmission out of his white Raybestos Pontiac Firebird between rounds at Heartland Park Topeka . Alongside a photo of our once-annual Buck family reunion from the late ’ 90s was a photo of me posing with Pro Stock wheelman Joe Lepone Jr . And that ’ s only a few examples .
It was hilarious . Here were all these photos of people who , while certainly famous racers , were basically all complete strangers to us , mixed in with our family photos . That ’ s how high of regard these people were held in my house growing up .
That ’ s why it ’ s been so hard for me to confront all the negativity that exists in and around Pro Stock racing right now . It ’ s always been the Holy Grail for my family and the racers we spent the most time with . It ’ s hard to even imagine someone speaking poorly of factory hot rod racing and some of the most complex , technologically advanced and most challenging to drive race cars on the planet .
Some of my earliest racing memories revolve around Pro Stock – more specifically the dream of racing Pro Stock being so big and so far away that we sought out alternatives that were as close as we could get . For instance , I remember towing up to Byron Dragway in Illinois with my dad to run with the Midwest Pro Stock Association . It was a bit of an outlaw variation of Pro Stock with mountain motored cars , but it was still naturally aspirated , manually shifted doorslammers , and it was the Mecca for guys like us . Chicago ’ s Tony Gillig was the king of this deal , massively dominant , and I remember how excited my dad , uncle and I were just to be in the staging lanes with this cat – a real-deal Pro Stock racer . I believe we managed to qualify for an event or two before we ’ d moved on .
Our next effort to “ go Pro Stock ” was with a group we created ourselves – Mid America Pro Stock . This was my first foray into race promotion , as well , as
Wesley R . Buck Editor-in-Chief
I worked with the group ’ s leadership , namely my dad and Columbia , Missouri-based diehard Pro Stock aficionado Dean Arthaud , to convince tracks to book us as a show . We put together eight-car Pro Stock match races all around the Midwest , showed up and did big burnouts , had staging duels and raced heads up . It was a magical time . I think this was some of the most fun we ever had racing , but was toward the end of our family ’ s 500-inch racing days . We made a couple final attempts at NHRA Pro Stock racing , officially , when my dad and David Janes partnered in / around 1998 and , while it wasn ’ t a massively successful endeavor , it was a great experience for all involved , especially me . I vividly remember being in the pits at the NHRA U . S . Nationals , all of us sitting on the ground , leaned up against the tires of our gooseneck trailer , just kind of coming to terms with the fact that we didn ’ t have a chance in hell of getting in the show . Interestingly enough , the guy pitted next to us , Greg Anderson , who had just ventured out on his own after serving as crew chief for Warren Johnson in years prior , was in the same boat – on the outside looking in .
In the years that followed our family ’ s racing efforts expanded … in cubic inches . After developing a relationship with IHRA Pro Stock racer Joel Bayless and ultimately buying his operation , we got a taste of mountain motor Pro Stock racing and fell in love fast . From there we ended up building a new car for IHRA Pro Stock competition – a late model Pontiac Grand Am – but my dad was diagnosed with cancer , and the whole deal lost steam . With David Janes driving the car , though , we did score a Top 10 finish in NMCA Pro Street competition running the car in IHRA Pro Stock trim .
The sweet , sweet song of a 500-inch Pro Stock engine coming out of the water box has never left my heart , though , and that ’ s why all this doom-and-gloom talk about NHRA Pro Stock these days is a little hard for me to handle . For nearly 50 years , Pro Stock has been one of the most significant eliminators in drag racing . It ’ s a class of drag racing that has birthed many of our sport ’ s biggest stars , greatest rivalries and closest competition . While there are certainly some clear struggles this group of owners and drivers are facing at the moment , I don ’ t want to see the success this category has enjoyed overlooked while it ’ s convenient and easy to pile on .
Car counts are down , the price of admission is staggering and , yes , some things do simply run their course , but I believe the fight to save Pro Stock is a fight worth having . Did electronic fuel injection , flat hoods and shorter wheelie bars save the day ? No , not even close , and it was an effort made far , far too long after a problem was identified . Less races ? Eight-car fields ? Spec parts / pieces ? Factory-based engine platforms and forced induction ? Smaller tires ? I ’ m not sure what the answer is , but , personally , I ’ d hate to see Pro Stock go the way of the Dodo . I ’ d love to see the time and energy that has been invested in identifying the problems and negative aspects of Pro Stock be applied to saving it . Let ’ s have that conversation , and let ’ s have people that genuinely care be a part of it .
I invite you to email me at wes @ dragillustrated . com and follow me at facebook . com / wbuck and wesbuckinc on Instagram .
Wesley R . Buck Editor-in-Chief wes @ dragillustrated . com
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8 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 123