Jon Yoak made his place in
history by becoming the first IHRA mountain motor Pro Stock driver to win a
championship having never won a national event.
The second-generation Yoak
said the keys to his team’s success were consistency and knowing his comfort
zone.
In just five years, the
father and son duo of Bob and Jon Yoak amassed four victories in fifteen
final-round appearances. He won two championships – in his sophomore season of
1996 and in 2000, the final full season in his career.
“Consistency was our key
and my dad always provided us with the best stuff - from the car to the parts we
put in it,” said Yoak. “We maintained it and that worked out best for us.”
If there were ever
competitors who exemplified the term baseline, it was the Yoaks.
“We didn’t know a whole lot
to do much testing,” Yoak said. “We had a lot of good help from people like Pat
Norcia at Ram Clutches, who showed me the ropes. I always did the clutch and
never really stepped outside of the bounds of what I was assigned to do. I kept
doing what worked for me and tweaking a bit here and there. We didn’t really
know a lot to step out of our comfort zone.