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.
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.
Yoak said he and his father
were into motorcycle racing prior to breaking into drag racing. Once immersed
in the sport, there was really only one class for them.
“Ever since I could
remember dad and I always liked mountain motor Pro Stock,” said Yoak. “The cars
were stock appearing and being in the car business, it was a class that
provided cars close in likeness to what we had on the showroom.
“There were many things
that drew me to the class and I especially liked the normal aspiration part of
things. This was the class that we always wanted to participate in.”
“IHRA mountain motor racing
was plenty enough for me. Being in the Ford business, we were always in the
Ford camp. The Ford programs were non-existent in the NHRA, so this made a
great home for us. The IHRA’s demographics fit well with our schedule of
running a business.”
Yoak looks back on his
glory days and it all surprises him.
“I really didn’t have an
idea that things would turn out as great as they did for me,” Yoak said. “If I
sat back and looked at what we accomplished, it would be clear to me. I just
didn’t dwell on it a whole lot. I just went about my everyday business. We
accomplished a lot in a short period.
“We still meet a lot of
people who remind us of what we accomplished and we’ve been out of this for a
long time.”
