Despite the travails, the AMS Pro Mod Challenge will return in 2005 with extra backing from Texas-based businessman Tommy Lipar. The class is said to be undergoing a dramatic transformation which would eliminate a large portion of cross-over participation from IHRA racers. The word is the line is now drawn in the sand.

AMS Pro Mod Challenge presented by TLR administrator Kenny Nowling has been the topic of many conversations in the Pro Mod pits. We caught up with him and asked a few questions as to the future of the class in NHRA competition.

KN – I would say so – without question the NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge has been the premier Pro Mod series in the county for the past three years. It’s going to be even more so now that we have 14 events, 16 car fields, increased payouts totaling over $660,000.00, contingency, a $25,000.00 to win Clash and a $100,000.00 Championship point fund. And remember you don’t have to pay an entry fee to run our series. Not to mention our outstanding television package with ESPN2. I’d say it’s a pretty good time to be a Pro Mod fan, racer or sponsor.

CP – In the IHRA, Pro Modified is a professional category. Will it still be tagged as an exhibition program in NHRA for 2005?

KN – People can refer to it however they want. The fact is that these guys are professionals. I’ve never been in a negotiating session with a potential sponsor and been asked, “Are you a pro class?” I think people are putting too much weight into that.

Mike Ashley is probably the best example of a Pro Mod team owner that has not used the word “exhibition” as a crutch or an excuse not to go out and market his team and acquire sponsorship. The AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge presented by TLR provides Pro Mod teams with an excellent platform to attract sponsors.

So to answer your question…will it be tagged as an exhibition category? Yes, it will. Will that stop me or others from procuring sponsorships? Not at all. The bottom line is that it is all about exposure. If you race a Pro Mod car the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge presented by TLR is the absolute best place to get exposure, period.

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KN - I think so. Without the Pro Stock Truck lawsuit I believe that the class would be progressing a little faster within the NHRA. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m very happy with where we are. I am just eternally grateful that the NHRA’s President Tom Compton has seen the value in our program. His belief in Pro Mod is the single biggest reason that Pro Mod has continued within the NHRA.

CP - Can you give us some more details regarding the size of the fields for 2005, as well as the number of events?

KN - The series will actually be comprised of 14 races, 10 of which will be run at NHRA POWERade events. We are still working on finalizing 4 more events, all of which will be for one points championship. We will absolutely have 16 car fields, and to accommodate that we’ve reduced qualifying from 4 sessions to 3. Two on Friday and one on Saturday, then we’ll have the first round on Saturday night with the remaining three rounds on Sunday.

The 10 NHRA POWERade events will still be an invited field. There’s a committee that has been formed to make the invitations and we’ll have a press release soon concerning the procedures the racers will need to follow to get their name on the list of potential invitees. I am often asked why the invited fields at the NHRA POWERade events. The answer is the NHRA simply does not have room for sixty or more Pro Mods with all of the other entries in all of the other classes. And believe me that is what they would have if they did not limit the entries to 20-24.

CP - So these four events… where are they going to be?

KN - It looks like we’re definitely going to go to No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, LA. As of now, that is all I know.

CP – Will the core ten race NHRA POWERade event schedule remain the same as it was this season?

KN- There has been one change - we won’t be returning to Memphis. Instead, we will be going to Las Vegas twice.

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CP – The million dollar question that everyone seems to have is what are the rules?

KN –I’ll start with the nitrous cars. We will use the current foundation of the IHRA rulebook with the exception of the cubic inch limit. There is no limit. When the IHRA expanded the cubic inch limit recently, most, if not all of the teams took advantage of it. We feel like that if the IHRA had gone to say 815-inches, then the racers would have built them. We want the nitrous cars to stay competitive because they are an important part of the future of our series. We want them to be involved on the AMS/TLR Pro Mod Challenge contrary to the rumors that are circulating. We just feel the class needs to move forward not backwards. The blower cars are continually getting punished every time they make increases in performance. They do their homework and change their combinations knowing that if they run quicker they are going to get penalized with a rules change. To me that’s not drag racing and certainly not what our sponsors are interested in.

Our sponsors want a five-second, 240 mph class. We believe the nitrous cars can become a part of that. We have also reduced the weight for the nitrous cars. The current minimum weight for a nitrous car is 2,375 pounds. That has been reduced to 2,300 pounds for anything 1973 or newer. Anything 1972 or older will be required to weigh 2,200 pounds with the exception of 1963 – 1967 Corvettes which will be required to weigh 2,250 pounds.

The blown combination will go back to 29% overdrive. Anything 1973 or newer will be required to weigh 2700 pounds. Anything 1972 or older will be required to weigh 2,600 pounds with the exception of 1963 – 1967 Corvettes which will be required to weigh 2,650 pounds.

We don’t want to eliminate the new cars entirely because we are aware that fans exist for them. There was a real concern of an identity crisis with Pro Stock that we had to consider though. We also feel that there are far too many 1963 Corvettes competing. We hope the weight rules, if nothing else, will get some teams to build some nostalgia type cars. 

KN – This was the job of a rules committee that Tommy Lipar and Dave Wood consulted with. The members of the committee wanted to remain anonymous. I can tell you as a non-voting member of that committee and a consultant only to Mr. Wood and Mr. Lipar, the reason these people asked for anonymity is that they have businesses to run and cannot be on the phone 24 hours a day being lobbied by racers, sponsors and fans as I have. Part of their conditions for contributing was based on anonymity. I can tell you that one is a chassis builder, one is someone that has a lot of experience with the nitrous combination and one is someone that has a lot of experience with the blown combination.

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CP – Will turbochargers be included in the program?

KN – Absolutely, they will. But, we will keep an eye on them. There will be a minimum number of cars invited to each race. We feel there’s a future in the class for them. We will monitor them closely with the assistance of some engine builders. It’s going to be a learning curve and those drivers have been put on alert that rule changes will be made liberally to adjust to their performance.

Everyone tells me that the turbo cars have always dominated every class they’ve entered. I don’t think you can necessarily apply that same logic here. I don’t see a turbo car running 5.80s at 250 mph. However, if that did happen adjustments would be made. The IHRA has worked for years to maintain parity and we intend to do the same. It’s not that we are trying to get away from that with the 29% over for the blower cars and by adding turbo cars. We just feel that parity can be achieved with our changes. It will just be parity in the 5 second zone instead of the 6.20s.

CP – Aren’t you afraid that the new rules will prevent crossover participation on non-conflicting dates with the IHRA?

KN – That is definitely something that we were concerned about in the early going. My obligation to our sponsors though is to get them the most exposure that I can. I just feel that 5 second 240 mph Pro Mods will just be much more entertaining to our fans…it all comes down to marketability. We feel that the class has gotten stagnant and needs a shot in the arm. The class has continually been restrained and not allowed to progress.

Does it upset me that a team can’t run IHRA one week and then the NHRA the next week with the same combination? Yes it does. We are for the racer and we are doing everything we can for them. However, given the current budgets, one thing that no one is considering is that eventually the teams are going to have to choose one or the other. I hate that. In some instances, some of the lower budgeted teams are going to have to make that choice. There are a lot of racers that have really stretched their budgets. I for one am grateful for their efforts because it has helped us to build this program when there wasn’t a lot of money on the line.

I feel bad, but I always felt that a separation between the two was coming anyway. However, it all goes back to our sponsors and putting the best show we can on the track in 2005. I have no doubt in 2005 we will be putting the best Pro Mod show on the track. You can’t tell me that a 5 second, 240 mile per hour show won’t be more entertaining than a 6.2 second, 220 mile per hour show.

I wish the IHRA all the best. I’ll continue to follow their series as a fan. I will root them on and I’m excited about the programs that have been put into place for the Pro Mod teams over there for 2005. I think the two series will create a competition amongst themselves and that can only be good for three parties – the fans, the racers and the sponsors. I think it will force each one to up the ante. It will keep the product fresh and entertaining.

CP – What is the NHRA’s take on things?

KN – There’s been a lot of questions asked as to why the NHRA’s name is not going to be associated with the class logo. In my opinion, as a result of the Pro Stock Truck lawsuit, they have to be cautious in how they move forward with Pro Mod.

I have to reiterate that a lot of people use the “exhibition” status as a crutch to not go out and get sponsors. I know it’s not easy to get sponsor dollars, but it is not impossible.

Again, a racer has to look at why they are racing. Are they racing to earn a living off of the purses or do the purses just offset expenses? In the past the drivers have had to run the IHRA on a conflicting race weekend strictly for financial reasons. We’ve taken that out of the equation now. There’s no question that the IHRA is growing. With their new President Aaron Polburn, I think they are going to make great strides. Bill Bader did a great job and I think Aaron will do a great job as well. I think the IHRA’s Pro Mod class will continue to grow and be successful. That doesn’t mean ours can’t be successful too. When you look at the cold, hard factual numbers the AMS/TLR Pro Mod Challenge will be the best place for teams to get the most exposure. The money is there and the television is there too.

This is not intended to be a competition, but when it comes to conflicting events…the racers are going to have to make a choice. That’s unfortunate. We will do our best in the future to eliminate the scheduling conflicts.

I want to dispel these myths that suggest the NHRA doesn’t want Pro Mod. If they didn’t want the class, they wouldn’t have it. They would just say goodbye. Through the hard work of many individuals behind the scenes, this program is growing and in 2005 will take a huge step in the right direction.

The NHRA had every opportunity to ask us to get off the train when it was leaving the station. But, they didn’t. I just can’t thank Tom Compton, Graham Light, Gary Darcy, John Siragusa and the entire NHRA for giving us this opportunity.  

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