There's not a class of drag racing Allen Johnson loves more than Pro Stock, and he's not shy about admitting it either. Neither is he shy about talking about the sweeping changes NHRA made, and how they could have made the transition better for those involved.  

A full year into the NHRA's conversion of the factory hot rods from carburetors to electronic fuel injection has the Johnson feeling mixed emotions.

"I think the move over to EFI, was interesting in one way, and probably took away some interest in another way," Johnson, who finished eighth in NHRA Pro Stock this season, said. "Overall, I think we just spent a lot of money for nothing."

In July 2015, NHRA handed down their sweeping changes to the Pro Stock division aimed at creating more fan interest and while Johnson admits he was no fan of those moves, he's jumped into the challenge feet first.

"I've actually gotten more involved in the racing now and everything that goes along with it," Johnson said. "It's been a pretty big challenge to me, and I've enjoyed that, to be honest. My billfold probably suffered about a half-million dollars, and that's the part I don't like."

The Mopar Pro Stockers suffered for the most part with the challenges and were outnumbered at some events by the Camaros as many as three to one. Johnson was the only Mopar winner in 2016; ironically, he won the Mopar-sponsored Mile High Nationals.

This season, Johnson is expected to be one of three Mopar Pro Stock drivers competing in what some have labeled as Pro Camaro Eliminator. Two of last year's Mopar drivers Erica Enders, Jeggie Coughlin and Elite Performance parted ways with Mopar, and are expected to be in Camaros for 2017.

"Well, I have always been Mopar, and the only Mopar out there at times," Johnson said. "I will continue to go down that road. Hopefully, the folks who made some decisions to be part of the Chevrolet Revolution will look back and say, dang maybe that Mopar wasn't so bad."

Mopar, in stepping away from the Elite team, announced they would continue to support their program with Don Schumacher Racing, and spread out their remaining sponsorship funds into sportsman drag racing.

The writing was on the wall, sources have told CompetitionPlus.com, when Mopar reportedly offered Johnson a contract for 2016, but the amount was less than Johnson was willing to accept.

Johnson believes the way the NHRA moved forward with their revision of Pro Stock proved to be the final straw for Mopar's participation in the class.

"I think what it all comes down to, Mopar wanted to go further [with the Pro Stock changes]," Johnson said. "They wanted a different engine configuration, one that would last longer, yet in the same horsepower range. They wanted the chassis underneath to look the same. But, the NHRA snubbed them, and you could see they started to lose interest in Pro Stock.

"Mopar has been a sponsor of mine, in one way or another for 15 years. They still are with me in engineering and parts. That part won't end."

Johnson believes Pro Stock is not headed on a path to return to its glory days when Bob Glidden, Bill Jenkins or Ronnie Sox became household names.

"The best days of this configuration are definitely behind us," Johnson said. "If [NHRA] listened to what Mopar and others wanted going forward, that would certainly have helped in popularity. Who knows?

"If we adapted the Challenger bodies to the chassis we have with a 1400 horse engine, with the Liberty five-speed, everything running like we are running, that would have been a good configuration. The popularity would have been there."

Johnson said Mopar wanted a Pro Stock division which resembled what many drag racing fans wanted, identifiable bodies and engines relative to today's street vehicles, with the performance of today's current Pro Stock chassis for performance and safety.

Johnson said he'd heard enough to know the manufacturers would have supported this idea.

"We were even going to build a test car if NHRA would have entertained it. Same chassis, same clutch, same transmission, rear end and everything. Except it would have had a Challenger body on it. It would have been the Crate Engine with a supercharger in it.

"We would have modified the engine and the supercharger to the point that it made the same power we do now. That's where Mopar wanted to go, and I know Ford was for it too. I believe GM was for it as well. NHRA went with the fuel injection instead."

"You would have seen a cross between the Pro Stock before the changes and the Factory Stock, but with an engine that would have cut costs tremendously. That engine would have lasted us half the dang year. The proposal was to limit modifications, so as to keep the costs down too."

As much as it pains Johnson to admits it, these kinds of moves appear as if NHRA is quietly trying to kill the Pro Stock division.

"With the way they are doing television, and not listening to manufacturers, you could probably make a case for that," Johnson admitted. "I'm not sure if that's the case, but I'm sure a case could be made for it."