There is stepping outside of one's comfort zone, and then there's what John Montecalvo has been doing lately.

Montecalvo, who is largely known for his prowess behind the wheel of Mountain Motor Chevrolet Pro Stocks, announced last month he had sold his Camaro Pro Stocker and would drive a Mustang Pro Stocker.

The shock had barely worn off the Chevrolet to Ford transition when Montecalvo stepped even further out of the comfort zone earlier this week and tested a 500-inch Pro Stocker.

Montecalvo saw firsthand the differences between the two styles of Pro Stocker were like night and day.

"With the [Mountain Motor car], I can do a burnout probably to the eighth-mile at 5,500 or 6,000, but [500-inch car], you have to really rev them up," Montecalvo explained. "So that was one big change right there. You have to really let those things scream in the water. The other thing was the EFI. I'm used to getting into a car with carburetors, and the EFI was totally different, also."

Driving one like the other isn't applicable, as Montecalvo found out with his first attempt behind the wheel of a Kenny Delco Pro Stocker.

"I jumped in Kenny's car, and I didn't quite fit in it that good, so my first burnout, I stalled it," Montecalvo admitted. "We readjusted everything in the car, got me situated in the seat a little bit better; I did good. I felt pretty good in the car. It's a little bit different shifting it because I'm used to a Lenco air shifter, and that thing had a Liberty in it. 

"So, I wanted to run it down, and everything was perfect. Made a pretty decent run out there with it. I like the way the Mountain Motor car pulls in high gear, but I also like the way the 500-inch cars sound. I mean, those things really rev. They sound astronomical in the car. They really rev up quick, and it's exciting."

Montecalvo's initial plans were to race a 500-inch Pro Stocker at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, a facility where he'd raced Mountain Motor Pro Stockers many times.

"The goal was to go to Epping, New Hampshire, but I really want to get another test session in before I do that," Montecalvo said. "I'd like to maybe make another three, four runs in a car, so I don't know. Really there's nothing set. There's a wishlist on my end on races I'd like to go to. I'd like to go to Epping was number one, Norwalk was number two. I've never been to Denver. I've never been to Sonoma."

Montecalvo adamantly said he's not abandoning his Mountain Motor program, just trying something new.

"I'm not going to give up my roots of Mountain Motor Pro Stock. And quite frankly, if NHRA would come out with eight Mountain Motor races, I would do that," Montecalvo said. "I really like running with NHRA. I like running quarter-mile, but right now, it doesn't look like that's a possibility. It's certainly not a possibility this year. I don't know what next year's going to bring. There's a lot of Mountain Motor cars coming out, being built."

Montecalvo, who won the last IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock championship in 2009, admits he experienced a bit of deja vu last weekend at the NHRA Virginia Nationals.

There were three former IHRA categories in competition at Virginia Motorsports Park. Joining the Mountain Motor Pro Stock division were nitro-burning Harley-Davidsons and Pro Modified; the three were once staples in the IHRA program.

"That is absolutely incredible to me," Montecalvo said. "When NHRA contacted me about doing that race at Indy a few years back, the exhibition, I was like, "Wow. I can't believe that here we are, we're running at Indy, the biggest race of the year, with a Mountain Motor Pro Stock." "

Traditionally, IHRA, born and raised IHRA, and then when you look around, they've got every good class that IHRA ever had, including Top Sportsman, Top Dragster. Nitro Harley, Pro Mod. What was the claim to fame in IHRA? We had something different, right?"

And for Montecalvo, trying something different seems to be his thing.