Drag Illustrated Issue 153, February 2020 | Page 24

Dirt
Going [Half] the Distance
Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod
Association switches to
eighth-mile format for 2020 season
By Nate Van Wagnen
visits because they’re all located in the Northeast,
where quarter-mile racing is largely the norm.
Still, he was able to convince the tracks that the
move would ultimately result in a better show
for the fans.
“It was difficult because the tracks prefer – by
far – quarter-mile racing,” Mazzorana says. “They
believe it makes for better [spectator] attendance.
But we decided to make this change and tracks
didn’t like it, but they said they’d go along with
it because we’ve always delivered.”
Four tracks make up the 2020 schedule, with
Maryland International Raceway hosting the
season-opener and season finale. Cecil County
Dragway in Maryland and Maple Grove Race-
way in eastern Pennsylvania will also hold two
NEOPMA races, while New Jersey’s Atco Drag-
way will serve as the halfway point on the tour.
There’s a degree of uncertainty that comes
with making the change to cut the racing sur-
face in half. Mazzorana says he isn’t sure about
setting any eighth-mile records this season, as
many NEOPMA members don’t yet have dedi-
cated eighth-mile tuneups. But based on the
eighth-mile numbers from racers’ quarter-mile
passes, Mazzorana expects a plethora of runs in
the mid-3.60s this season.
“I aspire to be as good as PDRA
as far as fast,” Mazzorana says.
“We’re just getting our feet wet
with eighth-mile. Our rules will
be very similar to PDRA, so I don’t
see us breaking any records or pos-
sibly coming close to breaking re-
cords. In 2021, yes, I think we’ll
break some records.”
“We have approximately 44
members,” he continues. “I prob-
ably have 16 cars capable of going
3.69 and under. I have an addi-
tional 12 cars capable of going 3.79
and under. So I have a pretty good
group of stout cars. It’s not PDRA,
but it’s definitely up there.”
The 2020 Northeast Outlaw
Pro Mod Association season will
kick off at Maryland International
Raceway’s 12th annual Door Wars,
April 17-19. For the complete
schedule, visit www.neoutlaw-
promods.com.
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Issue 153
I
n response to feedback – direct and
indirect – from Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod
Association members, club founder John
Mazzorana elected to make the switch to
eighth-mile racing for the 2020 season after 27
years as one of the premier quarter-mile Pro
Modified groups. The change was prompted by
survey responses and a decline in car count over
the last few seasons.
“About two and a half years ago, we did a survey
and we had 80% of our racers say they wanted
to go quarter-mile racing,” Mazzorana says. “Fast
forward through the next two years, the atten-
dance had fallen off and I did another survey.
The reverse happened: 80% wanted eighth-mile
[racing].”
“Because of that vote and because I saw the at-
tendance falling off,” Mazzorana adds, “I made the
management decision, along with representatives
from blowers, turbos and nitrous, to convert over
to eighth-mile, kicking and screaming because
we’d been successful for 27 years.”
Gary Courtier, the 2013 NEOPMA season
champion, is one of the racers who has responded
positively to the new format. He took a few years
off after a fire ravished his championship-winning
’68 Camaro – now campaigned by Charles Carpen-
ter – but he’s preparing a brand-new Jerry Bickel
Race Cars-built ’69 Camaro with Pat Musi Racing
Engines 959ci power for the 2020 campaign.
“I’m very excited to get back to racing with
John and the Northeast Outlaw
Pro Mods,” says Courtier. “I’ve
been doing this for 27 years, rac-
ing at this caliber. I have this new
car in the works, then I’m part-
nering up with Dean Marinis and
Harry Pappas, and we’re going to
pit side-by-side and work together.
That’s a big deal for me, especially
with how well they ran last year.”
“I think this eighth-mile rac-
ing is going to be good,” Courtier
adds. “I’ve been pushing for this
change, to kind of change with
the times. Now, you have so many
people that are interested in rac-
ing with us. And [Mazzorana]’s
mixing the whole class together,
so it’s everybody together, all the
combinations. And he keeps the
combinations pretty level, prevents
anyone from dominating. It’s a
pretty fair club.”
Mazzorana faced pushback
from some of the tracks his series