Dirt
Second
Wind
NOS co-founder Mike Thermos
continues to innovate
with Nitrous Supply
By Nate Van Wagnen
When it comes to nitrous oxideassisted
drag racing, Mike Thermos
is considered one of the originators.
He co-founded Nitrous
Oxide Systems with partner Dale Vaznaian in
1978, and over the course of the next couple decades
helped to establish nitrous oxide as the
preferred power adder for racers ranging from
local street racers to record-setting Pro Modified
teams.
In fact, Thermos was instrumental in the
formation of Pro Modified in the early ‘90s. By
working with IHRA and various heavy-hitting
nitrous-assisted doorslammer wheelmen of the
time, Thermos grew NOS into a legendary brand
while simultaneously supporting the advent of
Pro Modified.
While Thermos sold NOS to Holley Performance
Products in 1999, he’s remained involved
in the industry by launching Nitrous Supply, a
NOS distributor and technical support hub for
NOS and custom nitrous applications.
The company has developed advanced components
for effectively distributing nitrous oxide,
like the exclusive “Fang II” nozzle and high-capacity,
lightning-fast solenoids, but also manufactures
economical kits for carbureted and EFI
applications that retail for under $400.
Drag Illustrated recently spoke to Thermos
from Nitrous Supply’s Huntington Beach, California,
location, for an interview ranging from
the 77-year-old’s favorite racing memories to his
vision for the future.
How did you get started in the performance
automotive industry?
Well, we were a bunch of gearheads. Since I
was 15 years old I’ve loved cars, and actually had
started building hot rods and just crazy stuff all
through high school. My dad used to tell me I
wouldn’t amount to anything fooling around with
these cars – “Go get a real education” and “You’ll
be a grease monkey all your life.” That kind of
thing. And I didn’t listen.
NOS was well-known for being heavily involved
in IHRA Top Sportsman in the days when it eventually
led to the creation of Pro Modified. What
do you remember of that time?
I flew down south, to Bristol I think it was, and
I started looking at some of the classes where
nitrous could be legal and really help a class out.
We stumbled on Top Sportsman. The Top Sportsman
cars were the Robby Vandergriffs, and the
Charlie Carpenters, and Bill Kuhlmann, and some
of these guys that had two-year-old Pro Stock
cars that didn’t want to spend the money like a
true Pro Stock team, but they were having fun
and they were bracket racing.
Ted Jones proposed that we sponsor a quick
four shootout for the four quickest Top Sportsman
cars. We did that for two or three races, then
they expanded it to a quick eight shootout and
John Norcia at Ram Clutches sponsored it.
And then the next year we got involved and
Bret Kepner came out – he was helping IHRA at
the time – and said, “Mike, will you guys support
a quick-eight program? We’re going to call it Pro
Modified.” I said, “Sure.” It started off, and man,
it took off. And Kuhlmann went up to Darlington
and ran 200 miles an hour with nitrous, and we
played that up in the magazines. All of a sudden,
nitrous was on the map. And we built that Pro
Mod class. And we loved it. We were having a ball.
You sold NOS to Holley in 1999, then started
Nitrous Supply several years later. What made
you want to come back?
When my five-year do-no-compete clause ran
out, I got back into it. People were asking about
stuff, and they wanted nozzles and whatnot. I
just started a little nitrous supply shop, selling
nitrous and nozzles and fittings, and plumbing
a manifold now and then.
That’s kind of where I’m at, and I’m kind of
enjoying myself. I’m 77 years old. I still dig racing.
I like going to the races, although I don’t go
like I used to.
What’s next for you and Nitrous Supply?
I hired Charles [Myers], and he’s come in and
really, really put us on the map, because we were
not NOS again. We’re not trying to be NOS, but
we’re trying to just be a supply house and do some
of the things, and offer it at a good guy price.
I don’t know how long I’m going to keep doing
this. When I wear out, I figure I’ve got a few years
left. I like building new stuff, and making a better
nozzle. I’m working on some different plate
designs that should be revolutionary.
Nitrous Supply is sponsoring a Pro Mod Reunion
celebration at the NMCA World Finals
in Indianapolis in September. What’s the story
behind that?
That’s going to be a big thing. Everybody’s kind
of invited. We’re going to try to have maybe a barbecue,
and maybe give some awards. I’m not sure
yet. We haven’t ironed everything out. We’re trying
to get together some of the legends like Scotty
Cannon, Robby Vandergriff, Charlie Carpenter,
Bill Kuhlmann – there are so many – “Animal”
Jim [Feurer]. Just some of the early guys that
were pioneers, that we were able to work with.
And they gave us so much to learn from. We had
first-class cars to work with, and we learned. DI
26 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated.com Issue 157