PM PIONEER ED HOOVER HOPES LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE TWICE
Fri, 2010-03-12 19:48
History is offering Ed Hoover a unique opportunity.
Back in 1990, Hoover won the inaugural sanctioned Pro Modified race at the IHRA Winternationals in Darlington, S.C., and he has been driving Pro Mods ever since.
This weekend, Hoover has the chance to write his name in the record books again in his Paul Trussell-owned 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.
The Get Screened America Drag Racing Series is making its NHRA debut at the 41st annual NHRA Gatornationals Friday through Sunday in Gainesville, Fla., and Hoover is vying for top honors.
History is offering Ed Hoover a unique opportunity.
Back in 1990, Hoover won the inaugural sanctioned Pro Modified race at the IHRA Winternationals in Darlington, S.C., and he has been driving Pro Mods ever since.
This weekend, Hoover has the chance to write his name in the record books again in his Paul Trussell-owned 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.
The Get Screened America Drag Racing Series is making its NHRA debut at the 41st annual NHRA Gatornationals Friday through Sunday in Gainesville, Fla., and Hoover is vying for top honors.
“I think this is going to take this series to the next level, being part of the NHRA,” Hoover said. “Especially with the team concept. I see all these rigs and teams with big operations to run their cars. I’m a one-man operation. I’m tuning the car myself, the engines, the clutches, and the transmissions. I’m just going to try and do my best here in Gainesville. This is going to be the near future of Pro Mod what we do here this weekend.”
Back on Nov. 1, the Pro Mod class officially joined the NHRA as part of the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. The Pro Mod Series will compete at 10 NHRA Full Throttle Series events in 2010 as part of multi-year deal between the Pro Mod Series and the NHRA.
The NHRA adding the Get Screened America Drag Racing Series was made possible by funding from Pro Care Rx and its current Get Screened America initiative.
The Pro Mod class isn’t new to the NHRA as it has been competing at NHRA events as an exhibition class since 2001.
When Hoover made his way to Gainesville, he couldn’t help reflecting on his win at Darlington 20 years ago.
“I kind of thought about what it would mean if I could win at Gainesville, like I did at Darlington,” Hoover said. “When we pulled into Darlington in 1990, you had guys like myself, Bill Kuhlmann, and Scotty Cannon and everybody there who drove the car also worked on the car. When I won in Darlington, I didn’t realize what such good accomplishment that was. Now, you pull in here (to Gainesville) and you see drivers with rigs and you have eight to 10 people working on their car and the driver doesn’t have to do anything but stand there and he has nothing to do with the car. It has really changed in terms of the history of Pro Mod. Basically, the guy who raced Pro Mod back in 1990 owned a small automotive shop and he worked on his Pro Mod car out of his automotive shop. Now, they have billionaires out here. They bring their Pro Mods here, and they have engineers on the starting line. It’s rocket science now. It’s a 180-degree change from the way it was back then. Back then, you would fix the car yourself and dr
ive it yourself.”
Hoover says the new Pro Mod landscape will make things tougher for single-car teams like himself, but benefits the sport as a whole.
“The team concept is what is going to hurt,” Hoover said. “They (the bigger teams) can go run one round of competition with their four or five cars and they will know more after one round than I will after several rounds. This is just a much bigger scale now (at Gainesville). I’m glad to see Pro Mod grow. I definitely wanted it to grow and not get stagnate or anything. But, it has grown quite a bit since 1990.”
Hoover also welcomes the challenges of competing in NHRA’s Pro Mod class.
“We’re just going to have to step up to the plate and gear up and do it,” Hoover said. “I don’t think having a teammate would help me at this point. We’re just going to have to feel this race (in Gainesville) out and size everything up. We didn’t have a lot of time to test over the winter because this was kind of last-minute deal to put this thing together. This first race definitely will let us see how good or how bad that we are. I know I’m excited to see the competition in the same environment and start racing.”
No matter what happens in Gainesville, Hoover is signed on for the remainder of NHRA’s 2010 Pro Mod slate.
“We’re going to do this (NHRA Pro Mod) as long as we can hang in there,” Hoover said. “Like I said, most people out here now (in Pro Mod) have research and development departments behind them and a couple of engineers they can use. With me, it’s me, me, and me. I do the clutch, the engines and drive the car. There’s quite a bit to it. Pro Mod has blown up and it is big deal now and I’m happy to still be a part of it.”
Back in 1990, Hoover won the inaugural sanctioned Pro Modified race at the IHRA Winternationals in Darlington, S.C., and he has been driving Pro Mods ever since.
This weekend, Hoover has the chance to write his name in the record books again in his Paul Trussell-owned 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.
The Get Screened America Drag Racing Series is making its NHRA debut at the 41st annual NHRA Gatornationals Friday through Sunday in Gainesville, Fla., and Hoover is vying for top honors.
Ed Hoover won the very first Pro Modified event in 1990. The former nitrous front-runner turned supercharged racer has competed in Pro Modified every season since the debut.
Back in 1990, Hoover won the inaugural sanctioned Pro Modified race at the IHRA Winternationals in Darlington, S.C., and he has been driving Pro Mods ever since.
This weekend, Hoover has the chance to write his name in the record books again in his Paul Trussell-owned 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.
The Get Screened America Drag Racing Series is making its NHRA debut at the 41st annual NHRA Gatornationals Friday through Sunday in Gainesville, Fla., and Hoover is vying for top honors.
“I think this is going to take this series to the next level, being part of the NHRA,” Hoover said. “Especially with the team concept. I see all these rigs and teams with big operations to run their cars. I’m a one-man operation. I’m tuning the car myself, the engines, the clutches, and the transmissions. I’m just going to try and do my best here in Gainesville. This is going to be the near future of Pro Mod what we do here this weekend.”
Back on Nov. 1, the Pro Mod class officially joined the NHRA as part of the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. The Pro Mod Series will compete at 10 NHRA Full Throttle Series events in 2010 as part of multi-year deal between the Pro Mod Series and the NHRA.
The NHRA adding the Get Screened America Drag Racing Series was made possible by funding from Pro Care Rx and its current Get Screened America initiative.
The Pro Mod class isn’t new to the NHRA as it has been competing at NHRA events as an exhibition class since 2001.
When Hoover made his way to Gainesville, he couldn’t help reflecting on his win at Darlington 20 years ago.
“I kind of thought about what it would mean if I could win at Gainesville, like I did at Darlington,” Hoover said. “When we pulled into Darlington in 1990, you had guys like myself, Bill Kuhlmann, and Scotty Cannon and everybody there who drove the car also worked on the car. When I won in Darlington, I didn’t realize what such good accomplishment that was. Now, you pull in here (to Gainesville) and you see drivers with rigs and you have eight to 10 people working on their car and the driver doesn’t have to do anything but stand there and he has nothing to do with the car. It has really changed in terms of the history of Pro Mod. Basically, the guy who raced Pro Mod back in 1990 owned a small automotive shop and he worked on his Pro Mod car out of his automotive shop. Now, they have billionaires out here. They bring their Pro Mods here, and they have engineers on the starting line. It’s rocket science now. It’s a 180-degree change from the way it was back then. Back then, you would fix the car yourself and dr
ive it yourself.”
Hoover says the new Pro Mod landscape will make things tougher for single-car teams like himself, but benefits the sport as a whole.
“The team concept is what is going to hurt,” Hoover said. “They (the bigger teams) can go run one round of competition with their four or five cars and they will know more after one round than I will after several rounds. This is just a much bigger scale now (at Gainesville). I’m glad to see Pro Mod grow. I definitely wanted it to grow and not get stagnate or anything. But, it has grown quite a bit since 1990.”
Hoover also welcomes the challenges of competing in NHRA’s Pro Mod class.
“We’re just going to have to step up to the plate and gear up and do it,” Hoover said. “I don’t think having a teammate would help me at this point. We’re just going to have to feel this race (in Gainesville) out and size everything up. We didn’t have a lot of time to test over the winter because this was kind of last-minute deal to put this thing together. This first race definitely will let us see how good or how bad that we are. I know I’m excited to see the competition in the same environment and start racing.”
No matter what happens in Gainesville, Hoover is signed on for the remainder of NHRA’s 2010 Pro Mod slate.
“We’re going to do this (NHRA Pro Mod) as long as we can hang in there,” Hoover said. “Like I said, most people out here now (in Pro Mod) have research and development departments behind them and a couple of engineers they can use. With me, it’s me, me, and me. I do the clutch, the engines and drive the car. There’s quite a bit to it. Pro Mod has blown up and it is big deal now and I’m happy to still be a part of it.”
Categories:
