REASONS
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REASONS
YOUNG DRIVERS , MULTIPLE WINNERS , INTENSE COMPETITION HEADLINE NHRA PRO STOCK
BY JOSH HACHAT
Remember when we were already preparing the obituary on Pro Stock ? Sixteen races and eight-car fields , I think it was ? Yeah , no . This supposedly dying class has apparently received some shock treatment in the past 10 months or so , and we like it .
PHOTOS : NHRA / NATIONAL DRAGSTER
Ever since the possibilities of smaller fields and a reduced schedule were brought up , things have slowly but surely picked up for the sport ’ s beloved factory hot rod category . Suddenly , there appears to be signs of life thanks to a flurry of parity and a number of young guns running rampant in the class – not to mention a handful of team owners that were prepared to take matters into their own hands .
The 2018 NHRA Pro Stock season opened with eight different winners at the first nine races , a wildly impressive statistic that gets even more remarkable when longtime class standouts Greg Anderson and Jason Line weren ’ t on that list . Anderson has added to the winner ’ s list , but parity remains a strong point this season .
Previous winners and young talents like Drew Skillman and Alex Laughlin haven ’ t reach the winner ’ s circle yet , meaning the class could easily have 12 winners in 2018 . That doesn ’ t seem like a class that ’ s going away anytime soon and that ’ s a great thing for the sport .
Also great is the amount of young talent in the class . Three-time 2018 winner and reigning NHRA rookie of the year Tanner Gray just turned 19 . Vincent Nobile , who has two wins this year , hasn ’ t cracked 30 , while other young standouts include Erica Enders , Deric
Kramer , who grabbed his first career Pro Stock win this year , Skillman and Laughlin . None of that quartet has hit 35 , leaving the class with a bevy of young talent . Heck , even defending world champion Bo Butner is only in his third full season in the class , and he ’ s one of many who is passionate about the class .
“ I ’ m extremely proud of what we ’ ve been able to accomplish as a class this season ,” says Richard Freeman , owner of the Elite Motorsports operation that houses four top-flight Pro Stock teams . “ We made a commitment to NHRA that we ’ d have full fields in 2018 , and we ’ ve held up our end of the bargain . I ’ ll say that not only do I think Pro Stock has turned the corner this year , I believe this is a class that might just be on the upswing . We know we ’ ve got new cars coming next season , and the fact that there are over a dozen legitimate race-winning teams in competition right now doesn ’ t hurt .”
There are certainly issues that need to be solved - cars other than Camaros and meaningful qualifying rounds for starters - but full fields are far better than the alternative , and the racing is as good as it has ever been .
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