At 61 years old, and as Pro Modified’s winningest driver, there is little Shannon Jenkins has to do in Pro Modified.

Jenkins, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., enjoys spending as much time behind others on the starting line as much, if not more, than performing as a driver in front of them.

At 61 years old, and as Pro Modified’s winningest driver, there is little Shannon Jenkins has to do in Pro Modified.

Jenkins, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., enjoys spending as much time behind others on the starting line as much, if not more, than performing as a driver in front of them.

And for the multi-time champion, the experience was not so much out of want as it was from need.

Jenkins began competing as a bracket racer and then moved into the world of Quick Eights and Outlaw Doorslammer racing before there was such a thing as Pro Modified. This participation led to his association with local Tuscaloosa-based businessman Norman Estes, first as a driver and then as a last-minute replacement while at an IHRA national event.

Estes suffered a serious medical episode while traveling to the national event at Epping, New Hampshire. The rig was already at the track, and Jenkins, a crewman for the nitrous racer, was the only one capable of driving the car.  

There was a serious issue with this Plan B, however. Jenkins had neither a competitors license nor a firesuit.

“Wally Kornegay was in tech at the time, and he instructed me to go get a firesuit,” Jenkins recalled. “I didn’t even have one at the time.”

Kornegay had a stern instruction for Jenkins.

“You don’t go past the eighth-mile,” he told Jenkins.

“I walked away and said, ‘whatever,'” Jenkins said with a smile.

Jenkins ran to the eighth-mile, for the most part.

“Probably a little further than he wanted me to,” admitted Jenkins.

Jenkins not only won his first round of competition but also reached the semifinals.

And before he knew it, Jenkins had become a thorn in the side of iconic Pro Modified driver Scotty Cannon.

“He didn’t see it coming … but yeah, I was the thorn in his side,” said Jenkins. “It was all good … and fun. I talked to him recently. We laughed about those good old days. It kinda got blown all out of proportion. It wasn’t as bad as people played it to be with us fighting on the side of the road. It was all a bunch of crap.”

Jenkins said he never intended to stand as Cannon’s noted adversary, the situation just appeared that way.

“He wanted to win and we did too,” Jenkins said. “We both knew if our combinations worked right, either one of us could win. It was a fierce rivalry but also a lot of fun. It was a lot more fun than it is today.”

Forget the Snake and Mongoose, Shirley versus Big or any of the other storied battles. Jenkins believes he and Cannon gave the fans who watched them do battle more of a show than they bargained for. This, in his mind, made their rivalry the strongest in drag racing.

“Without a doubt,” Jenkins said without hesitation. “There were other rivalries but if you ask most any long-time Pro Mod fan they will tell you it was me and Scotty. When it’s in your blood to win, you are going to do what it takes to win and that’s what we both did.”

Jenkins smiles, understanding which side of the fence you were on determined largely whether he stands as the greatest Pro Modified driver or second-best. He’s fine with either ranking because as he puts it, there’s no shame in either.

“Scotty had a huge fan following, and I will be the first to tell you … he deserved every accolade he got,” Jenkins said. “He worked hard for it. And, on the same token, we worked hard for ours. I miss those days, it was fun. You’d unload the cars and the rivalry would start, from the moment we rolled those cars out, it was on. There were times we’d line up in qualifying on purpose. We just couldn’t get enough racing against one another.”

Jenkins does plan to drive again, although he admits his first order of business is getting his health as straight as a pass down the strip needs to be. He has had two mild heart-attacks, the first coming nine years ago. His second was two months ago was a five on the pain scale. The first was clearly the worst as he rated the pain as a nine out of a ten.

“Most of my health issues are self-inflicted,” Jenkins said with a chuckle. “When you race all your life, you don’t really eat well and don’t take care of yourself. Smoking was a big part of it for me. Some of my heart issues were hereditary.

“All in all, I feel good. I’ve had some health setbacks and for me I was lucky enough to be at home when they both happened. I’m really trying to watch my health and do better now.”

Don’t think Jenkins plans to come back out with his racing like a retiree hitting a few golf balls. He’s planning to kick butt and take names with the same intensity which made him a Pro Modified icon.

“I’m gonna race again one of these years,” Jenkins confirmed. “If we can get some stuff worked out, I might be out here next year. I’m not even close to wanting to retire. It’s just a situation where me driving is not the best for the team right now.”

Jenkins' message is straight out a seasoned racer’s manual, suggesting that old age and treachery will whip youth and enthusiasm every time.

“Oh, I can go out here and kick all of these young boy’s asses right now,” Jenkins said without hesitation. “I’m not worried about whether I can still drive or not. I’m not really in love with driving like I used to be. I’ve been out of the seat for a couple of years now. When we are testing, I might jump in the car a time or two and run really well. When I’m not driving, I have more time to concentrate on the car. I can watch my car on the starting line and not have to race back to get my own car ready. It’s a lot easier on me now to do it this way. At the end of the day if we win, I win, whether it’s driving or tuning.”

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