V. Gaines will be the first to admit that as of late, he’s become proficient at shooting in the dark. That’s about the best way the veteran Pro Stock driver can describe the success he’s encountered as he debuts his new in-house engine program.

The Lakewood, Co.-based driver didn’t even have a baseline when he entered the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals two weeks ago. The challenge didn’t prevent him from making the complex sixteen-car field and most recently at the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.

V. Gaines will be the first to admit that as of late, he’s become proficient at shooting in the dark. That’s about the best way the veteran Pro Stock driver can describe the success he’s encountered as he debuts his new in-house engine program.

The Lakewood, Co.-based driver didn’t even have a baseline when he entered the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals two weeks ago. The challenge didn’t prevent him from making the complex sixteen-car field and most recently at the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.

“We've never had a Pro Stock motor on the dyno so we don’t know what it's supposed to be,” Gaines admitted. “We have nothing to relate to at this point so we're out here trying to get a baseline right now. Most of all the races we run are at sea level so it's kind of a disadvantage.”

Gaines announced after failing to qualify at the NHRA O’Reilly Springnationals in Houston, Tex., that he was breaking free of his engine lease program with Larry Morgan to embark on a new engine program based out of his Madcap Racing engine shop. Madcap specializes in fast bracket racing engines and that’s why Gaines is hoping for quick, fast and most importantly consistent engines in the years to come.

Gaines qualified 15th in Las Vegas with a 6.758 elapsed time. He’ll be the first to admit the accomplishment came as a pleasant surprise. Gaines had planned to go ahead and take his lumps.

“We had no idea where we were,” Gaines admitted. “We were shooting in the dark and had nothing to compare with. We had to play it conservative because we didn't want to break anything or burn anything but at the same time we wanted to establish a baseline there we could work off of.”

A baseline is something he hopes to have solidly implemented once the NHRA Full Throttle tour reaches the dates whether the conditions are hot and nasty, let’s say, at the NHRA Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, his home track.

“I do think once we get to Denver we will shine there,” Gaines pointed out.

Gaines admits watching the success of fellow racer and friend Mike Edwards as he converted to an in-house engine program served as an inspiration.

“That group has done very well in a very short amount of time,” Edwards said. “We've seen people out here struggle for years before receiving success like that. If we can get just a little bit of that then we'll be happy.”

He knows that success will only come with long hours and relentless dedication to improving the product. He’s not so naïve that he expects the competition to offer up tips.

“Pro Stock is a very competitive class and people aren't really willing to give up their methods so fast,” Gaines said. “We have to come out here and learn it on our own. Luckily we have been in Pro Stock for 14 years so that's taught us a few shortcuts.”

It’s taught him how to aim well in the dark as well.   

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