NHRA Pro Stock teams reacted to the memo distributed on Friday, as they rolled their cars out of the trailer for Saturday's final qualifying sessions.

In a letter penned by incoming NHRA VP of Operations Josh Peterson, those teams were informed their 24-race schedule would be pared to 16 in 2019. The sanctioning body is awaiting feedback from the teams before making the move official, which management says is not a done deal.

Matt Hartford is one of those part-time NHRA Pro Stock racers hoping the new normal could make him a full-time racer.

"For a guy like me who only runs sixteen races a year, I love it because now I have a chance to race for a championship," Hartford said. "If they had made it 24 races and cut the pay, I wouldn't have run at all."

Standing alongside Hartford, Vincent Nobile could only smile.

Nobile and team owner Nick Mitsos have for the last few seasons flirted with the idea of running a part-time schedule. If the reduced schedule becomes reality, there will be no more hinting of sitting out races.

"For someone like me, who doesn't only drag race, it's great," Nobile said. "I have three jobs at home. For some of the guys out here, all they do is drag race. It makes it a lot easier."

Richard Freeman has always been in favor of the smaller race schedule, and with the letter is excited about next season and what he expects to be a reinvigorated factory hot division.

"I think it is going to be great," Freeman said. "I think it needed to be done a long time ago. I'm not sure on the race count, but you've got to start somewhere. I would have preferred 18, but that's what [NHRA] wanted to do, and we will embrace it just like everything else.

"I think you will see an influx of participation. I think it has a lot of [Pro Stock teams] talking."

It's not official, but NHRA has notified Pro Stock teams of their intentions to reduce the amount of races in 2019. https://t.co/sIFgcTX2SV

— Competition Plus (@competitionplus) October 27, 2018

Freeman confirmed his Pro Stock customers who had not committed to running 24 races were now all-in for the 16-race schedule. Those customers include Alex Laughlin, Nobile, and Hartford, who has never run a full schedule before.

"This is [NHRA's] sandbox, and we all have to play in it.," Freeman said. "I'm fired up for the 16 races for me and my group."

Not all Pro Stock racers share the enthusiasm for the 16-race schedule.

"I'm not happy about it at all," Greg Anderson said, declining an interview on the subject.

Nobile believes many of Pro Stock's critics have unfairly judged the division's shortcomings. He believes the class has been held to a higher standard than the other NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing professional divisions.

"It's not just Pro Stock that has struggled, I wish [the critics] would open their eyes," Nobile said. "I understand it's not the most exciting car to go down the track; you have to appreciate Pro Stock in order to enjoy it. It takes a whole lot of time, research and development to get these cars to go as fast as they go.

"We do make it down the track 99-percent of the time, and I understand the fans like to see wild and crazy things. That's not what Pro Stock is all about. It's about making the most of the little bit we have. We don't have 10,000 horsepower, so we make the most we have out of a little bit."