Stevie "Fast" Jackson might not be the Robin Hood of NHRA Pro Modified. However, after a rule change heaved on the screw supercharger combination and the subsequent alleviation of regulations on the roots version, he’s looking like someone who might have robbed from the rich in advantage and delivered to the poor.

Jackson isn’t looking for hero status as much as he prefers to expose sandbagging the rules.

“I got tired of watching it happen,” Jackson said. “All the sand leaking out everywhere, and I wanted to show everybody what a real actual racing engine would do, with a real Supercharger, with somebody that really wanted to run and knew how to run one. I can play a screw blower like Beethoven played the piano or whatever instrument he plays. I wanted to go out there and just let everybody know that things aren’t as dire as what they initially appear.”

On June 22, 2022, Jackson provided ample warning about what he planned to do at the Summit Racing NHRA Nationals via his Steve Jackson Racing Facebook page.

“Due to the lack of parity and the refusal by the sanctioning body to foster an environment where each combination has a chance to win, I am forced to bring Charlotte out of retirement for this weekend’s NHRA Pro Mod race in Norwalk, Ohio,” Jackson wrote. “Lucille will remain on standby should the day come where the Roots Blown combo isn’t 5-7 hundredths back. Until then, Buckle up, ButterCup!”

Jackson went out in qualifying and drove his way to the top of the leader board with a 5.701 elapsed time at 257.63 miles per hour. He was almost two miles per hour faster than the second-fastest car.

The performance triggered a parity review, and five days later, the screw supercharger combination lost 10 percent of overdrive. Jackson knew his actions wouldn’t endear him to everyone.

“Let’s just say that I’m probably not going to get a lot of Christmas cards at Christmas this year and zero fruit cakes,” Jackson explained. “I did this because the Roots combination has been getting slaughtered for the past two seasons with no relief in sight. I was adamantly opposed to allowing the Screw Blower in NHRA. I was very vocal about this. I think I just showed you why.”

Why? You might ask.

“I am grateful though that a combination didn’t run away from the field by over a tenth for 18 months before it was reeled in,” Jackson said in a Facebook post afterward.

Jackson has had some nasty comments from those who disagree with his actions, while he’s had some offer overwhelming support. He steadfastly declares his actions weren’t for the racers but for the fans instead.

“We had a lot of folks that were excited about it, and we had a lot of folks that weren’t,” Jackson said. “At the end of the day, it’s fair to the fans to run these things as fast as they’ll go. When you’re sitting on a tenth or something like that, it’s just not good for the class. So from now on, I’m going to get whatever everybody else has got. Just run it hard as it’ll go, and that way, we’ll all be on the same page.”

So with the success of the centrifugal superchargers, will this be Jackson’s next parity focus?

“I had a ProCharger before a lot of these guys that were racing ProChargers started drag racing, so I got a little bit of experience with it,” Jackson revealed. “I don’t think the ProChargers are really the evil thing anymore. I think that they had a big advantage for several years. They had several tenths on the field. I think that they played their cards well, not taking anything against what they’re doing. That’s smart racing. “

I don’t know how to race like that. I’m very proud of Jamie Miller and Kris Thorne for running their car hard. That’s a group of guys that want to win, and it shows.

“I think that combination’s pretty well under control now, if not too far under control. I don’t understand the latest rule change against that combination. There are a lot of rules against them. If you go back to what I said in 2019, if they didn’t put the right size supercharger on it, they were going to end up with so many rules on them that it would be impossible to race, and that’s a quote out of my mouth, and that’s where we’re at right now.”

At this time, Jackson is uncertain whether he will race a roots or screw supercharger when the tour resumes Aug. 12-14 as part of the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kan.

In this latest round of parity adjustments, where the centrifugal superchargers had their max rpm lowered by 500 to 9,500, the roots superchargers were given a 25-pound weight break.

“They got a lot of rules on them, like a roots blower,” Jackson said. “The roots blower is the most restricted combination in drag racing because the best racers in Pro Modified have always had roots blowers. So when you got the most talented guys, when you got the Todd Tutterows of the world, and you got the Frank Manzos of the world running a combination, they’re going to be the most penalized for sure.

“So it’s good to go out there and air the old laundry out a little bit. I don’t know if you saw my Roots Lives Matter campaign that I had going on at this race. We got some Roots Lives Matter stickers on all the roots cars, and we’re trying to get that combination back where it can win again.”

Right now, Jackson believes the nitrous combination in NHRA Pro Modified is the most advantageous combination.

“It makes the most power with the lightest weight,” Jackson said. “If they keep crying about that, I’m going to bring the Barker Max back out and run that thing. I don’t know. I’m pretty versed in nearly everything, so it’s not a big stretch for me. At the end of the day, I want all the power adders running the same and the race to be won by the drivers. I think that’s when the fans get what they pay for, and I think that’s when we have the best racing for everybody.”

Besides, as Jackson said, he’s proven already that the nitrous combination is not the weak link in the class.

“Nitrous racing was dead when I took Marcus Birt’s car and J.R Gray’s car out there a few years ago,” Jackson said, “It was no longer ever going to be able to be competitive in Outlaw Racing, and then we brought those cars out there and showed everybody that 3.54 is possible. We’re still capable of running 3.54 at 208 miles an hour on street tires and stuff. So maybe that might be the next one, but we’ll see.’

If Jackson has his druthers, he’s content not providing any more object lessons.

“As long as there’s no sand leaking out anybody’s car, I’m good racing what I got,” Jackson said. “If I see what looks like somebody’s building like a bunker back there with some sand in it, I’m going to be ready to try to knock a hole in it.

“The fans are the boss. The fans deserve a good show, and the fans deserve us to run these cars as hard as they’ll go. I’m going to make sure that happens. Every time we forget that the fans are the boss, we get into some situations where some sand can leak out. I love the fans and truly believe they are the boss. I’m going to do what I can to make sure that everybody that buys a ticket to come to watch NHRA Drag Racing gets to see a fair show.”