C harles Carpenter had no idea of the trend he was about to start, nor did he have any idea that it would travel in a different direction than he anticipated. What Carpenter did was plumb nitrous oxide into an all-steel ’55 Chevy and make a high eight-second pass. Little did this former Modified Eliminator racer know that this experimentation on his part would lead to the creation of a true professional category, the first since Pro Stock came along in 1970.

Carpenter’s vision eventually created a division that featured nitrous doorslammers intermingled with supercharged coupes. The adage was that you run whatcha brung and hope ya brung enough.

That phrase was coined by another racer who took Carpenter’s lead and advanced it one step further – Bill Kuhlmann. Kuhlmann also bolted a nitrous oxide bottle onto his racecar and made history by running 200 miles per hour.

However, history will reveal that a year after Kuhlmann’s commendable feat former “Wild Bunch” superstar Tommy Howes made the first trek into the 6-second zone with a supercharged Datsun 300ZX. Fifteen years later, Mitch Stott drove his supercharged Corvette into the five-second zone for the first time in the history of fast doorslammer competition.

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Some eighteen years after a nitrous doorslammer exceeded 200 miles per hour and fifteen years from the introduction of this wildly diverse class known as Pro Modified, a sanctioning body hosted a national event without a single nitrous-equipped doorslammer on the grounds.

Some say the NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas last April foretold of a dark future for the class. Others say it was natural progression, passing a combination by that had reached its potential a long time ago.

Many say the writing was on the wall for the nitrous combination when new rules were announced for Pro Modified under the AMS Staff Leasing presented by Tommy Lipar Racing umbrella on the NHRA side. The new regulations primarily increased supercharger overdrive to 29% while taking weight from the nostalgia bodied entries. Carte Blanche was given to the nitrous combination by permitting any team willing to compete with the option of building an engine in excess of the standard 740 cubic inches. Turbocharged entries were also invited to compete.

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Making It Marketable

According to AMS/TLR coordinator Kenny Nowling, such rules were needed in order for the division to build an identity that was marketable.

“I think it was a necessity if our class were to progress again,” Nowling said. “In the performance arena, the NHRA fans are much different than the average Pro Modified fan. By that, I mean the NHRA fans love the scoreboard. They love those numbers. I’ve often challenged many people to tell me who was in the other lane when John Force ran his 4.66 in Chicago. It was such a magical number – it made the scoreboard light up and the crowd went crazy over it.
That relates to Pro Modified. In the first two years, I saw the crowd stay longer to watch us run. But, last year, they started to stay a lot less. Because of what happened at Gainesville and afterwards with Jay Payne’s 6.10 and Mike Ashley’s 6.11s in Bristol. So yes, I do think it was necessary.

“My job is to keep fans in the stands when we run and have them glued to the television. It was time for this change.”

Dennis Radford, a nitrous racer and a former West Coast Pro Modified World Champion, doesn’t buy into that theory. Instead of committing to run his car in the NHRA AMS/TLR program, he chose to take a driving gig on the Hooters IHRA tour with car owner Ed Steffey.

“I’ve always felt that when they made those changes that it made the class less marketable,” Radford said. “Having two different combinations provides for more competition, twice as many fans and twice as many sponsors.”

The nitrous combination flourishes on the IHRA side under the Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified banner. The IHRA maintained the supercharger overdrive percentage at 20% with the weight remaining a universal 2,700 pounds for the blown cars regardless of body style. The nitrous cars are corralled at 740-inches.

Nowling contends the class is enjoying more exposure than ever before through not only the NHRA AMS/TLR Series and Hooters IHRA Drag Racing tour, but also in the fledgling American Drag Racing League, a series devoted to Pro Modified-style machinery. Nowling serves as the president of the ADRL.

The ADRL has created a publication called “Adrenalin” to focus on the class and what transpires during ADRL events. A reality television show has also been created which focuses on several Pro Modified teams. The program airs on “The Men’s Channel.” Nowling notes that this brings the total to three for networks covering the class in addition to a multitude of printed and internet venues that provide exposure.

Still there are others that feel nothing needed to change.

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Parity and the changes

The IHRA’s Scooter Peaco pointed out that parity in the pro Modified class was the best it had been in years and he saw no need to make changes in order to keep up with the program the NHRA proposed.

“In the recent years, I’d have to say that parity between the nitrous and blower cars in pro Mod was the best it had been in some years,” Peaco said. “Mike (Baker) and I have tried to de-emphasize these cars going five-seconds and re-emphasize the show. We had to listen more to what the fans were telling us in regard to what they wanted to see as opposed to what the racers were telling us what they wanted to do. Sometimes that presents a conflict.

“The IHRA’s approach has always been nitrous versus blower, above all else. The NHRA AMS/TLR series was working on selling five-second doorslammers. You can’t do that in the structure we have. We never lost sight of what Pro Modified was in the IHRA.”

Peaco added that averages and the balance of the field is what has been the determining factor as to when the performance adjustments are made. Taken into account are the track and weather conditions available.

That’s a comfort factor that has led most of the nitrous racers to call the Hooters IHRA Series home.

Radford admits that he feels deceived by the way things were handled in the NHRA AMS/TLR Series. “I feel completely betrayed,” he said. “For me, it was nearly 5,000 miles round trip for each event. I had to do that virtually every time, but I wanted to support the program. I was told that it was appreciated. Then when they changed the program, I didn’t see it worth my effort and time to support the program.

“I really can’t see any positives in the way this has turned out. All I see are negatives. I did try putting together a blower car with Kirk Kuhns to see if that was the way I wanted to go, but it just wasn’t the thing I wanted to do in the long run. I don’t hold any grudges against anyone; I just think we need the two combinations to maintain the appeal of the class.”

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Nowling pointed out that six nitrous cars were invited to participate in Las Vegas. None chose to show up. Several participated in an IHRA event in Rockingham the week before, but elected not to tow to Vegas. Radford, of Baker City, Oregon, was not one of the six invitees.

“At the end of last season, Kenny had asked me if I was interested in running the series and I just couldn’t make a full commitment because I had signed a deal with Ed Steffey to drive for him on the IHRA side,” Radford said. “He told me that he would do his best to get me into Las Vegas since it was close to home for me. I let him know that I was keeping my car and equipment and would be interested in running Las Vegas. He told me that a lot of cars wanted into that race and it would be tough to get in. But, if he could get me in, he would.

“I just assumed because he had so many cars wanting to get in and I never heard from him that was the case. A guy never likes to call and ask to be turned down, so I left it at that.”

Nowling answers claims of biased selections in saying the invite system will reward those who commit to running the entire series.

“We looked at the teams at the beginning of the season that had supported us as well as a few that had real marketing value,” Nowling said. “I use Cody Barklage (a first-year racer – Editor) as an example. His brother Zach Barklage was very deserving of an invite. People questioned as to why we allowed Cody in. With Cody being 17, we felt the potential was there to market him and he substantiated that with his performance in Gainesville. No one was left out that had supported the series. All were given the opportunity to run the series. There are some that are not running the series that have chosen not to.

“At the end of the day I feel that we have the best show going. As it stands now, we have come up with a points system that rewards racers for their participation and their current point total. We also figure in penalties for committing to a race and then choosing not to show up. What we have are 16 spots that are reserved for those that do all the races. In some instances we have 4 to 6 to 8 wildcards depending on how many cars the NHRA allows us to have at the races.”

During the NHRA Sportsman Nationals events, as many as 40 AMS/TLR entries are permitted to compete.

Just a few races into the season, new race teams such as those of Joey Martin and Brandon Pesz have been added to the roster replacing such names as Shannon Jenkins, Mike Castellana and Scott Cannon, Jr., who have been relegated to wildcard status.

“It’s not a knock on those guys, but when it comes to crunch time and we have to make a decision, we have to look at those who are going to support the series first,” Nowling said. “It has nothing to do with engine combinations; it merely has to do with numbers. If you decide to go to another series at a conflicting event, we’re going to open that door to someone else, that’s all.”

Nowling disagrees adamantly that the invite system is flawed as alleged on various message boards. Once a fan of the interactive forum, Nowling admits that he’s discontinued reading and has refused to post on a message board.

“My phone number, unfortunately, has not changed and I’m available to anyone who wants to participate. All they have to do is call and request an invite. These races aren’t as hard to get into as people perceive them to be. It’s sort of like the beautiful girl at the dance that everyone is afraid to approach, how do you know that she won’t dance unless you go up and ask her?”

“There’s a common misconception that a racer has to have money to get an invite. That’s not true at all. Frankie Taylor is not a heavily funded racer and he competes. He’s a good racer who has supported us.”

Nowling added the initial invite system was more flawed than it is today. He adds that’s not a knock on Graham Light or his office, but today’s system is more in tune with the class.

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Don’t Lean On The Locals

The one wildcard in the scenario is the turbocharged combination. Once touted as the inevitable replacement for the nitrous combination in the AMS/TLR, only one turbo entry has been on the invite list for the first half of the tour. Mike Moran was that driver and he has struggled to find the right set-up under restrictive rules aimed at keeping the combination in check. At sea level, Moran failed to qualify in Houston. In the high-altitude of Las Vegas, he blew his front-end to smithereens.

Other turbo runners such as Annette Summer and Todd Tutterow just want a chance to prove themselves. However, they know their participation has its limits. There are underlying tones that suggest one must never “lean too hard on the locals.” That was a term once reserved for the blown combination when it came to competing against the nitrous entries.

The constant rule changes are what led the NHRA series to go in the route they have headed for 2005, says Nowling.

“We couldn’t keep holding the class back,” said Nowling.

“It’s been stated time and time again that the nitrous car has been holding back the class,” Radford said. “That was the reasoning for increasing the overdrive on the supercharged cars and the weight reductions. Then, in the next breath, they are saying that if the turbo cars run away with it, they will hold them back. That sounds like a big opportunity to protect blower cars and that’s how I see it.”

Nowling says that because of the performance standards of nearly 240-mph runs during the CompetitionPlus.com Spring Open in 2004 by Moran, he was inclined to keep things in check early on.

“Mike Moran became the poster boy for turbo cars after that,” Nowling said. “When we had our initial conversations about running our series it was conveyed to him that none of us knew what was going to happen. When you have one car that is so far ahead of everyone and it is a unique combination, you have to keep things in check. We knew we only had one or two turbo cars coming this year.

“We told Mike to be prepared because we didn’t know what that animal was going to do. We can hear it barking and we don’t know how hard its bite will be. If you go out and bite someone, we might have to put a muzzle on you until we can figure things out.”

Nowling pointed out that he let Moran know if he came out in Gainesville and ran 5.90s at 245, adjustments would have to be made. That would have been contingent on the performance average of the other cars.

Performance and Safety

One of the key reasons for the liberal rules has been the hopes of creating five-second doorslammers. Five races into the season, the AMS/TLR Pro Modifieds have been in close proximity with the IHRA Torco Pro Modified counterparts in terms of performance. Consistency and repeatability has been an issue although the recent Bristol victory by defending series champion Mike Ashley posed no such problem.

Ashley nailed down runs of 6.119, 6.113, 6.119 and a 6.13 to secure his third consecutive victory. As Ashley puts it, the more runs that crewchiefs such as his (Chuck Ford) and the likes of Brad Anderson and Jimmy Rector make, the quicker these cars are going to go.

“The thing is these cars are making way more horsepower than they can put to the ground,” Ashley said. “There’s a learning curve involved and the more we learn, the more we are going to apply.”

Safety also becomes a key issue in the matter. Some chassis builders suggest the cars are a lot safer at weights less than 2,700 pounds while others say five-seconds is just not a good idea in doorslammers at this time regardless of the weight.

Chassis builder Jim Geese of Vanishing Point Race Cars says the cars in their current configuration as just as safe at 29% over as the IHRA Torco Race Fuels Pro Modifieds are at 20%. In fact, Geese remains confident that a car in the current SFI configuration could be fine into the 5.80s. The key factor in the safety issue will be speed. Once the speeds begin to reach into the 250 mile per hour range, that’s when the current SFI spec may not be the best for racers to use.

“If you’re going to split hairs, of course the heavier car will send more momentum into a wall when comparing the 2700 pound car to a 2600,” Geese said. “The damage is going to be more with the heavier car but not that much. Just because they opened the performance up the way they did on the NHRA side isn’t going to make that much of a difference - safety wise.”

The current Pro Modified design falls under SFI’s 25.1e spec. Geese does see SFI requiring Pro Modified chassis builders to adopt the 25.2 spec similar to that used for Pro Street. This spec was adopted following the death of Mustang racer Steve Grebeck and one of its attributes is the requirement of stronger side bars and gusseting. However, the difference between the two is the 25.1e spec mandates 7.49 or quicker while the 25.2 draws the line at 6.00. This could lead to a new SFI spec just for these cars.

Geese pointed out the same tubing that is used to build Pro Modified entries is the same used in Top Fuel dragsters. Obviously the Pro Modified entries carry more weight and despite that, the safety issue is very much respectable.

He’s A Nitrous Fan – Get The Point?

Nowling considers himself a nitrous fan although his skeptics suggest otherwise. He’s watched as his early heroes Ashley, Kuhlmann, Al Billes and Ed Hoover all did battle in nitrous entries. Nowling admits that his favorite driver is a nitrous diehard – Rickie Smith.

Times have changed in his eyes, though.

Nowling recalled the first time he met Hoover at his hometown track in St. Louis during the first year of the NHRA Pro Modified exhibitions. Pitted next to the supercharged entry of Chip King, Hoover had to plug his ears during King’s warm-up as he spoke to Nowling.

“He looked me in the eye and said, ‘I don’t know why anyone would drive one of those noisy sons of bitches. You’ll never catch me in one. We were at Bristol this year and he told me that he’d never drive another nitrous car if his life depended on it.”

While the controversy appears to be much of the talk centered within the associated message boards and Pro Modified pits, no such lack of interest has been shown among fans at the national events. Healthy crowd response has been measured at the first few events.

That’s exactly what Nowling has been looking for, nitrous cars or no nitrous cars.

“Being a fan of the class from the early days, I feel like the worst thing that happened was letting blown cars into the class in the first place,” Nowling admitted. “I have no problem saying that publicly. But, they are here now and it is my job to market them.”   

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