Mountain View Tire & Auto Service team owner Nick Mitsos has announced that the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., based team will not field an entry in the NHRA Pro Stock class in 2019, and will instead race in the School of Automotive Machinists and Technology Factory Stock Showdown. The team recently debuted a 2018 Chevrolet COPO Camaro piloted by longtime NHRA sportsman racer and Mountain View crew member Ryan Priddy. The team will also continue their support of Paul Mitsos in the Top Sportsman division.

“We raced in the Pro Stock class for 11 years and it was challenging and often frustrating, but ultimately very rewarding,” said Mitsos. “We were able to win 13 races and earn eight-straight top ten finishes against the toughest competition drag racing has to offer. We also made friendships and memories that will last forever. I felt the time was right to try something new and the Factory Stock Showdown seems like a perfect fit.”

The SAM Tech NHRA Factory Stock Showdown is one of the fastest growing classes in drag racing with head-to-head competition between supercharged 170-mph factory-built race cars from Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford. The series will reportedly expand from seven to eight races in 2019, and the Mountain View team expects to be one of the leading contenders for the title. The team recently debuted their COPO Camaro at the NHRA Pacific Division Lucas Oil Series event in Las Vegas and recorded several competitive elapsed times.

Racing with driver Vincent Nobile since the start of the 2011 season, the Mountain View team enjoyed tremendous success in the Pro Stock class with 13 wins in 25 final rounds, and a perfect qualifying record of 185 consecutive events. Nobile also won the K&N Horsepower Challenge event in 2012.

“On behalf of my wife, Irene, and the entire Mountain View team, I’d like to thank, first and foremost, the Nobile family. It has been a pleasure to race with Vincent, and his parents, John and Sue, for the last eight seasons,” said Mitsos. “We shared many laughs, hugs, tears, celebrations and disappointments together. Our entire crew, including Kenny Sevier, Matt Sevier, Ryan Priddy, and AJ Barge. They were the real heroes of the Mountain View team and we could not have done it without them.

“Thanks also to the Freeman family and Elite Motorsports, Ken and Judy Black and the KB Racing team, and Allen and Roy Johnson for the support they have each given us over the years that helped contribute greatly to our success. We will certainly miss competing against all the great teams that have raced in Pro Stock over the years and we look forward to competing against Factory Stock and Top Sportsman teams in the years to come.”