When the sixth pair of cars in the first session establishes a provisional world record, then you know you’re in for a special weekend. That should be quite an accomplishment in itself – but it was a forgotten memory by the time Sunday rolled around at the IHRA Torco Race Fuels President’s Cup Nationals hosted by Maryland International Raceway at Budds Creek, Md.

In fact, this scenario would be repeated eight more times before the weekend was complete.

Nevermind the record-setting aspect of the weekend, there were legends in attendance and a ton of money [$50,000 in purse for eight cars, thanks to Torco Race Fuels] on the line during the course of the weekend. But indeed, Saturday night (and afternoon) was made for fighting.

The Torco Race Fuels President’s Cup provided the perfect culmination for a 30-year anniversary of the mountain motor Pro Stock movement.

Second-generation racer Cary Goforth fired the first shot by cranking out a 222.88 mile per hour speed but Brian Gahm soon overshadowed his mark as he recorded a 223.06 trap speed just three pairs later.

The IHRA 30-year anniversary of Mountain Motor Pro Stock racing fires a once-in-a-lifetime shot

 
When the sixth pair of cars in the first session establishes a provisional world record, then you know you’re in for a special weekend. That should be quite an accomplishment in itself – but it was a forgotten memory by the time Sunday rolled around at the IHRA Torco Race Fuels President’s Cup Nationals hosted by Maryland International Raceway at Budds Creek, Md.

In fact, this scenario would be repeated eight more times before the weekend was complete.

Nevermind the record-setting aspect of the weekend, there were legends in attendance and a ton of money [$50,000 in purse for eight cars, thanks to Torco Race Fuels] on the line during the course of the weekend. But indeed, Saturday night (and afternoon) was made for fighting.

The Torco Race Fuels President’s Cup provided the perfect culmination for a 30-year anniversary of the mountain motor Pro Stock movement.

Second-generation racer Cary Goforth fired the first shot by cranking out a 222.88 mile per hour speed but Brian Gahm soon overshadowed his mark as he recorded a 223.06 trap speed just three pairs later.

The next pair provided the ultimate exclamation point to a first session when Robert Patrick tied the quickest IHRA Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Pro Stock lap in drag racing down to the thousandth with a 6.299 elapsed time.

That was just Friday. Saturday had an agenda of its own.

As mentioned, an incredible $50,000 was on the line thanks to Evan Knoll and Torco Race Fuels during the eight-car Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Pro Stock Showdown. That special race-within-a-race was highlighted by another incredible record-setting day.

The action began even before the Showdown when Goforth successfully backed up his Friday speed record. That lasted for only two pairs, however, as Steve Spiess blasted out a 223.54 during the first round of the Showdown.

One had to know that was merely a precursor to a night that left the IHRA announcing personnel and members of the media speechless and at a lack of adjectives to describe the plethora of runs that transpired.

Even the pre-race ceremonies had a bit of pop to them.

On hand were the finalists of the very first mountain motor Pro Stock event sanctioned by the IHRA at Darlington, SC, in 1977.

Harold Denton, the winner of that event, served as the Grand Marshall.

“I can’t tell you what an honor this is,” Denton said, standing with the help of a cane. “Just seeing what these guys are doing out here is enough to make me want to get back out here and race. I can still drive. I may not be able to walk all that well – but I can still drive. If someone wants to put me in a car – I’ll show them.”

Roy Hill, the runner-up of that storied event, was the Honorary Starter.

“We just raced,” Hill said. “We loved it. It was a competitive style of racing and we had no idea what we were doing was laying the foundation for what you are seeing today. I am honored just to be here witnessing this.”

The drama had been building for this Saturday night gala of stars but following introduction of the dignitaries, one individual was recognized as the driver who best epitomized the mountain motor program – Rickie Smith.

Smith was voted by a panel of mountain motor Pro Stock racing experts as the greatest racer in the class. Earlier in the weekend, Hill was voted No. 3 in that top 20 countdown and “General” Lee Edwards was No. 2.

“I have to thank Evan Knoll for allowing me to still race out here and do what I love,” Smith said, flanked by his wife Nancy and his crew. “I don’t know how many more years I’ll still do this but I want to thank you for all the many great years of excitement you allowed me to enjoy doing what I love.”

Smith choked up as he spoke to the MIR crowd. Make no bones about it; he had their attention as the crowd silenced considerably.

Then it started. As Denton and Hill huddled around announcer Brian Olson, they set the stage for an incredible evening as they proclaimed in unison, “Gentlemen, start your engines!”

The record-setting began three pairs later as John Montecalvo recorded the quickest and fastest run in Pro Stock history with a 6.291 elapsed time at 223.65 miles per hour.

Two pairs later, Dean Goforth recorded the second fastest speed in Pro Stock history with a 223.62.

In the next pair, Spiess wrestled back the speed record with a 223.84.

Not even four minutes later, defending class world champion Pete Berner nailed the elapsed time record with a mark of 6.294.

Nothing could prepare the capacity crowd at MIR with what happened next.

Gahm posted the ABSOLUTE quickest and fastest Pro Stock run in history with a 6.281 elapsed time at 223.95 miles per hour. Both ends were sufficiently backed up by Friday’s performances.

“I never dreamed in my lifetime that I’d see a Pro Stock car go into the 6.20s,” Gahm said. “Then you have Pro Modifieds running 5.90s and 6.0s. I just never imagined this was even possible.”

Gahm didn’t know it was a good run initially but it became apparent shortly into the pass.

“It was trying to shake the tires down low because we had it a bit soft. I thought it was going to shake and it drove out of it real quick. The car was hauling the mail once it got halfway. I didn’t know how fast it would run, but I knew it was on a good one.

“When it got out of that shake, it carried the mail. We rolled the dice on that one. We were going for it. We left no doubt about that.”

One would have to ask, “How do you follow that?”

John Nobile found a way.

Nobile, drag racing’s version of actor Joe Pesci, defeated Frank Gugliotta to pocket $20,000 of Knoll’s money by winning the Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Showdown.

Nobile wasn’t even supposed to be there based on the fate that befell him headed into the event. He severely wounded his engine twice on the dyno prior the weekend due to faulty parts. His car arrived at the track with no engine. Engine builder Jon Kaase personally delivered the powerplant Thursday evening.

Nobile ran a 6.304 elapsed time at 221.49 miles per hour to defeat Frank Gugliotta, who drove Rick Jones’ Chevrolet Cobalt to a 6.320, 222.51.

“I couldn’t be any happier than I am now,” said Nobile. “We knew we’d be a player, but things looked grim after the first session and tried to piece things together after hurting the engine. We wanted to come out here and just make things work.”

Just getting to be a part of the game was enough for Nobile.

“It was a rush deal and anytime you rush things in Pro Stock, they don’t usually work all that well. The motor responded each round and just got better and better. After the first round, it became apparent to me that we could win this thing.

“John Kaase worked all through the night and delivered the engine to me personally on Thursday night. We put the motor in on Friday morning and here we are. There’s no better than Jon Kaase. He puts his heart and soul into these engines. He works for everybody out here.”

Then Saturday ended. One had to ask – is that the end? The answer was an emphatic no.

Berner, who entered the event as the third ranked championship point earner, ran the table on the field and not only won, but also reacquired the lead with only one race left.

Berner’s victory represented his 18th career Ironman with the Pro Stock final victory over Dean Goforth. After a weekend like this, it made Berner rethink his reported plan to go 500-inch racing in 2008.

“This was an amazing weekend and I’m very proud of what IHRA was able to do out here,” Berner said. “I’ll be honest, we were thinking about possibly going over to run on the other side but when you run IHRA it’s like running with family. We hug each other when we win or lose and I just don’t want to leave that.”

And then it ended. The incredible weekend where records were at a premium, action was limitless and as unpredictable as Texas weather.

Bill Kuhlmann’s 202 mile per hour run as a Top Sportsman back in 1987 might have diminished the mountain motor Pro Stock’s place in the doorslammer pecking order, but on one weekend in September 2007 – the venerable factory hot rod division punched all others in the mouth and took their lunch money.

Pro Stock is back in the IHRA and everyone knows it now.