No one can say Eric Latino doesn’t like to try something new.
The accomplished Pro Mod racer changed his racing path by switching to Pro Stock last year and it was a full-fledge investment he made to become a key member of KB Titan Racing.
“Out of the Pro Mod compared to the Pro Stock, Pro Mod’s really fun to drive. The difference is these (Pro Stock cars) things are pretty cool,” Latino said. “Just the consistency, clutching this thing, shift it. You’ve got to shift this thing on the money. You hit the limiter you shave off two to three hundredths. It’s really all about precision driving. So, we’re doing good. It took me a long time, man. I did six, seven races last year and it wasn’t until (Richmond) Virginia (this season) where I got a handle on the car, and we qualified No. 2.
“Norwalk we’re I think we were No. 7, No. 2 in (Seattle) and No. 3 in Sonoma. We just ran really well. That’s because of the consistency on the shifting. My lights are terrible and it’s all to do with the bum knee. So, we softened the pedal up so I can actually hold it on the two-step without it pushing up on my knee and it’s like somebody shoving a knife in your knee. It’s pretty bad. Anyway, besides all that, not complaining about it.”
Unfortunately, Latino suffered his left knee injury – which his clutch foot – outside the track and he’s dealing with pain for now.
“It happened in March. I just came down on a rooftop taking all the ice off and when I was on a ladder, I came down, wrecked my knee, fell on my knee. I need surgery, but I don’t want to do it during the current season. They custom-made parts for me, let’s just say that. I got a different pedal in the car. So, I feel good. As far as the whole, here’s what I see too, I love Pro Mod, but if you’re not running with three or four cars, it’s hard to be competitive.
Every run they get four, five points of data. We get one. We have one car. I learned that with the Pro Stock cars. We got five cars here. We all share the information on all five cars.”
Some racers always believe they will be competing one day in a certain class like Top Fuel or Funny Car or Pro Stock. But Latino didn’t have that line of thinking.
“It was always a class I always wanted to do. I never thought I’d be doing it,” he said. I had local friends of mine; they were trying to run Pro Stock. It was almost impossible. I got lucky. I bought Gray Motorsports. It came with some great guys. It gave me the chance to learn about it and Camrie (Caruso) wanted it, because I knew Camrie’s family because I raced with her father (in Pro Mod) and they sold everything and said, ‘Hey, we want to put Camrie in a Pro Stock car. What’s it going to take?”
“Camrie’s started racing in Junior Dragster. She drove a dragster. She ran an eight-mile fuel car. So, she’s been like 3.50s at 270 (mph). Then she bought a 632 car, ran it in PDRA with a clutch and she did that for one year. She came out, she did great. So, what happened during all the transition is we’re trying to get Dave Connelly to come leave KB and join our team. We needed a really good crew team.”
However, Latino acknowledged Connolly changed his path into Pro Stock.
“I had ordered myself a new car June of ’22 from (Jerry) Haas. So, I needed another crew chief for myself in 2023,” Latino said. “I even went as far as offering Dave Connolly a free ride. Drive the car, we’ll pay the expenses, and we’ll pay you as a crew chief. And he said, “Dude, I love the offer, but I’d rather see you talk to the boys at KB. They need a new owner, Ken Black wanted to retire and now’s the time for them to move on.”
Latino jumped at the opportunity to form a star Pro Stock team.
“So, we negotiated a deal, we put both shops together. We moved everything to one location (in Mooresville, N.C.). We put a powerhouse team together. It’s good. It’s a real tough class, but we’re doing great. “
Now, Latino is ready to try his hand in the six-race Countdown to the Championship beginning with the Pep Boys Nationals Sept. 13-15 in Reading, Pa.
“We got into the Countdown, and we just want to keep getting better,” Latino said. “You know what else helps too? During the Countdown, what happens is the first pair of cars out have a green track. The track’s got no rubber, it’s straight. As the cars come out, the track gets better. So, if you’re in the top 10 at every single race you go to, the first pass, you’re going to be six, seven pair back, which is great. So that’s why it’s pretty important for me to get myself there. All I ever wanted to accomplish this year and my first-year race fulltime in Pro Stock was to be in the Top 10.”
Latino is able to race because of his success business he owns – GESi (Global Emission Systems Inc.), a leading producer of catalytic converters for OEM aftermarket, and performance applications.
“We started in Toronto back in 1999,” Latino said. “Basically, we make catalytic converters for the high-performance exhaust manufacturers. We make catalytic converters that meet the EPA requirements, and they rob no horsepower at all. They’re all metallic. They don’t melt down; they handle high temperatures. We put them on a Pro Stock engine already, ran it, lost zero horsepower.”
