For the first time in Pro Modified history, regardless of the series, the volatile doorslammer will have a structured championship playoff. The FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, presented by Type A Motorsports, will kick off the new Road to the Championship for the Pro Mod category at Brainerd Motorsports Park this weekend. 

There is little room for error as only four races comprise the championship chase. Just like their Camping World NHRA Drag Racing Series counterparts, the Pro Modified division had their points reset and staggered in five-point increments. 

Justin Bond had a 28-point lead reduced to 20 following the reset. Losing eight points when compared to some of the fuel and Pro Stock racers who have lost hundreds is something he can live with. 

"It's an awesome experience to be part of this, and to have been a part of the vote to vote this format in was something I was proud of," Bond said. "I probably did all my winning too early, but I'm okay with that. It's just all part of the journey."

Bond remembers 2018 when NHRA Top Fuel racer Steve Torrence swept the entire Countdown.

"That's what I am trying for," Bond admitted. "The mathematics say I'm not likely to win, but the reality is, confidence can take you a lot of places. I'm willing to give it my best shot."

Confidence is one thing, but what Bond sees is a team must be perfect mechanically, along with a driver that is sound mentally, physically, and nutritionally. 

"You gotta be," Bond said. "You have to have the good chemistry on your team. You gotta have good planning and bring good parts and pieces to your team. You gotta have your best parts in the car and not in the trailer.

"The driver has to eat good and sleep right. You have to be hydrated. In my opinion, it's turned into a bit of an athletic sport. When you look at it, you have to go .030 or better on the tree. It's not like Pro Modified of the old days when you could go 6.06 and be .100 on the tree and win."

Iconic doorslammer racer and part-time NHRA Pro Modified competitor Lyle Barnett sees the line-up and wishes he could be invited to the party. But, this time, he says, he can watch as a fan. As he sees it, the inaugural Road to the Championship is a next-level moment for the class. His assessment is this is the perfect medicine for NHRA Pro Modified. 

"For the class itself, it gives a shakeup, if you will, to a class that there's no denying that it's struggled the past couple of years," Barnett said. "Car counts haven't been great. That's changed this year. There's a committee with Finish Line Consultants, a lot of people doing a lot of hard work and really trying to progress the class. And with those guys and the great minds that are behind all that, they were a huge part of this countdown structure."

The part Barnett says that excites him is the Road to the Championship creates an incredibly huge field of contenders.

"You've got guys that haven't even won a race this year with a legitimate chance to win a championship," Barnett said. "The guys that have competed all year long and go to every race in years past would be way out mathematically, probably out of contention to win a championship. And that's not the case anymore. And it brings excitement."

Two-time Pro Modified champion "Stevie Fast" Jackson said the format has ratcheted up the level of a division that is already at the top of the entertainment level.

" I am over the moon excited about where we are as a class versus where we were this time last year versus the year before that," Jackson said. "I think that the countdown structure has not only brought us a new level excitement to the Road to the Championship for our class, but the car participation and the increase in it shows that it's proof. When we came to Brainerd last time last year, we had 12 cars. Now we have 20 cars on the sheet, and Brainerd is thousands of miles away from Pro Mod country, which is in the southeast. 

"The competitors that are willing to come out and drive as far as Brainerd is away for a shot at the Championship is going to give us a different level of exposure than we've ever had before. And I am fired up about it."

Jackson, who at times has been critical of some of his foes, believes the Road to the Championship will no longer be a masquerade ball but the equivalent of a nudist beach party.

"What you're going to see right now is all the sand that everybody's had in their trunk all season. All the sandbagging is about to stop," Jackson said. "So you're fixing to see all the sand quit leaking out. You're fixing to see all these boys run these things as hard as they'll go. And that's what the fans deserve, and that's what I'm excited about."

The best of the best will be in Brainerd to battle it out. Reigning world champion Kris Thorne follows 20 points behind Bond after his win in Bristol. The 2021 world champion, Jose Gonzalez, trails Thorne by five points. The remaining 11 drivers are Jason Lee, Mike Castellana, J.R. Gray, Kevin Rivenbark, Sidnei Frigo, Manny Buginga, Dymtry Samorukov, Mike Thielen, Stan Shelton, Khalid AlBalooshi, and Doug Winters.