Mark Nielsen’s new Pro Modified may not be ready for the PMRA opener in May, but when it’s finished, the car will be a top contender.

 

“We’re getting there,” said Nielsen, who will drive the new 1968 Chevrolet Camaro-bodied car. “We should be ready for the second race at Cayuga (Toronto Motorsports Park).”

 

Nielsen said he is looking forward to the new car. G-Force Race Cars in western New York was commissioned to build the car, which is sporting a Cynergy Composites body from Pro Modified ace Murray Anderson and Scott Jahren paint.

 

The new car is based on a 1968 Camaro, but as a Yenko edition. These were semi-custom GM cars built by Don Yenko and the cars were some of the fastest and most famous muscle cars of the 1960s.

Mark Nielsen’s new Pro Modified may not be ready for the PMRA opener in May, but when it’s finished, the car will be a top contender.

 

“We’re getting there,” said Nielsen, who will drive the new 1968 Chevrolet Camaro-bodied car. “We should be ready for the second race at Cayuga (Toronto Motorsports Park).”

 

Nielsen said he is looking forward to the new car. G-Force Race Cars in western New York was commissioned to build the car, which is sporting a Cynergy Composites body from Pro Modified ace Murray Anderson and Scott Jahren paint.

 

The new car is based on a 1968 Camaro, but as a Yenko edition. These were semi-custom GM cars built by Don Yenko and the cars were some of the fastest and most famous muscle cars of the 1960s.

 

“This car will be as close to a Yenko as possible,” explained Nielsen. “It will have the original-type emblems, stripes and colors.”

 

But underneath is where the new car should be a winner, as Jim Salemi of G-Force Race Cars has a race-proven formula for building winning Pro Modifieds. The Nielsen Motorsports Camaro will be based on the same platform as several G-Force Pro Modified cars, including the cars of Carl Spiering, Mike Stawicki, and Ed Hoover.

 

Powering the new car will be a Brad Anderson Hemi from the ERD (Engine Research & Development) engine facility of Carl Spiering. Along with Stage Six heads, the engine will feature a PSI/ERD Stage One supercharger and ERD fuel system.

 

With crew chief Richard Ruysseveldt and the rest of the team, Nielsen will run several PMRA events for 2007, and plans to compete in IHRA events within a reasonable distance to his home base.

 

Nielsen said he started in the sport about 35 years ago with a 1968 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet, and started going to the races at the long-gone Golden Horseshoe Dragway (Toronto International Dragway).

 

Over the years, he has raced faster cars. “I’ve been in and out several times,” he said, referring to his racing career. “But I’ve always come back with a vengeance.”

 

His Pro Modified career goes back close to 10 years, as he started in the local Outlaw Pro Modified ranks in 1998 with the purchase of fellow PMRA competitor Bruce Boland’s Lumina.

 

Nielsen believes he will have a good 2007 season, adding he has the right equipment to get into the winners’ circle.

 

“We’ve got all the gear to run in the top half of a legal field,” he said. “As long as I drive the car right, we’ll be there.”