While many in Pro Stock debate the sea of Camaros that have defined the modern era, Warren Johnson once tried to steer the category in a different direction. Nearly two decades ago, the six-time champion approached Cadillac with a proposal to field a CTS in NHRA Pro Stock.
Johnson, inducted this past weekend into the North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Fame in Greensboro, North Carolina, said the idea surfaced around 2008 when the CTS-V debuted. At a time when manufacturer variety was narrowing, he believed the Cadillac could have reshaped the conversation.
“Yeah, we were looking at different body styles and drag racing to me, it’s got to be a variety of body styles, a variety of people, approaches, engine builders, everything,” Johnson said. “If it’s all the same as we have now, it’s boring as watching paint dry.”
Johnson viewed Pro Stock as a category that should reflect engineering creativity as much as elapsed times. He believed the CTS offered both aesthetic appeal and competitive potential within NHRA’s dimensional guidelines.
“So the Cadillac had good lines to it with a plus or minus inch that NHRA gives you,” he said. “That sounds like two inches to me.”
Johnson’s confidence stemmed from decades of shaping race cars to fit the rulebook rather than being constrained by it. For him, the “box” standard was simply a starting point.
“Well, the box standard, you make the car fit,” he said. “I mean, that’s why they got saws and grinders and whatnot.”
He emphasized that competitive advantage often comes from refinement inside those limits. “You make it fit those dimensions and you cut in the appropriate area to make it as aerodynamic as possible.”
Johnson had long embraced that philosophy, whether adapting body panels or rethinking airflow. The CTS, he believed, could have been molded into a legitimate contender.
“It could have been made into a really competitive race car,” he said.
The proposal reached Cadillac but stalled when the manufacturer’s motorsports priorities shifted. Johnson said the timing ultimately worked against the plan.
“And we made a proposal to Cadillac, but they were interested in, at that time, sporty car racing, some nature, and now they’re in Formula One, which I still can’t figure out, but it got close, but no cigar,” he said.
The effort never progressed beyond discussion. Cadillac chose a different competitive path, and Pro Stock continued without the luxury brand’s presence.
Still, the idea underscored Johnson’s broader concern about visual sameness in the class. He believed fans benefit when body styles and approaches differ across the field.
In his view, uniformity risks diminishing the technical identity that once defined Pro Stock. Variety, he argued, keeps innovation alive.
