Jon Yoak made his place in history by becoming the first IHRA mountain motor Pro Stock driver to win a championship having never won a national event.

The second-generation Yoak said the keys to his team’s success were consistency and knowing his comfort zone.

In just five years, the father and son duo of Bob and Jon Yoak amassed four victories in fifteen final-round appearances. He won two championships – in his sophomore season of 1996 and in 2000, the final full season in his career.

“Consistency was our key and my dad always provided us with the best stuff - from the car to the parts we put in it,” said Yoak. “We maintained it and that worked out best for us.”

If there were ever competitors who exemplified the term baseline, it was the Yoaks.

“We didn’t know a whole lot to do much testing,” Yoak said. “We had a lot of good help from people like Pat Norcia at Ram Clutches, who showed me the ropes. I always did the clutch and never really stepped outside of the bounds of what I was assigned to do. I kept doing what worked for me and tweaking a bit here and there. We didn’t really know a lot to step out of our comfort zone.

Jon Yoak made his place in history by becoming the first IHRA mountain motor Pro Stock driver to win a championship having never won a national event.

The second-generation Yoak said the keys to his team’s success were consistency and knowing his comfort zone.

In just five years, the father and son duo of Bob and Jon Yoak amassed four victories in fifteen final-round appearances. He won two championships – in his sophomore season of 1996 and in 2000, the final full season in his career.

“Consistency was our key and my dad always provided us with the best stuff - from the car to the parts we put in it,” said Yoak. “We maintained it and that worked out best for us.”

If there were ever competitors who exemplified the term baseline, it was the Yoaks.

“We didn’t know a whole lot to do much testing,” Yoak said. “We had a lot of good help from people like Pat Norcia at Ram Clutches, who showed me the ropes. I always did the clutch and never really stepped outside of the bounds of what I was assigned to do. I kept doing what worked for me and tweaking a bit here and there. We didn’t really know a lot to step out of our comfort zone.

Yoak said he and his father were into motorcycle racing prior to breaking into drag racing. Once immersed in the sport, there was really only one class for them.

“Ever since I could remember dad and I always liked mountain motor Pro Stock,” said Yoak. “The cars were stock appearing and being in the car business, it was a class that provided cars close in likeness to what we had on the showroom.

“There were many things that drew me to the class and I especially liked the normal aspiration part of things. This was the class that we always wanted to participate in.”

“IHRA mountain motor racing was plenty enough for me. Being in the Ford business, we were always in the Ford camp. The Ford programs were non-existent in the NHRA, so this made a great home for us. The IHRA’s demographics fit well with our schedule of running a business.”

Yoak looks back on his glory days and it all surprises him.

“I really didn’t have an idea that things would turn out as great as they did for me,” Yoak said. “If I sat back and looked at what we accomplished, it would be clear to me. I just didn’t dwell on it a whole lot. I just went about my everyday business. We accomplished a lot in a short period.

“We still meet a lot of people who remind us of what we accomplished and we’ve been out of this for a long time.”