Drag racing has changed immensely for former Pro Stock driver Scott Shafiroff and he’s not the least bit upset.

The driving force behind Long Island, N.Y.-based Shafiroff Racing Engines gladly handed over his driving credentials for a spot outside of the cockpit, and a couple of decades ago, in the 90’s, surrendered his spot as a car owner in the rough and tumble world of the rapidly progressing Pro Modified movement.

On a smaller scale, he’s running in the same fashion he did on the big stage – quick and fast, with a successful end result. Shafiroff and driver Vinny Budano have found their niche in the blue collar-oriented National Muscle Car Association [NMCA] and have multiple series championships to show for their efforts.

Last weekend, Shafiroff, Budano and their band of volunteer crewmen opted to swim in the big ocean of the NHRA Pro Modified tour during the Toyota SuperNationals and even though they fell short of earning a place in the final eliminations, they reached their objective. Englishtown was all about coming home. The NMCA tour does not contest an event at Englishtown, the team’s declared home track.

Super Chevy photo Drag racing has changed immensely for former Pro Stock driver Scott Shafiroff and he’s not the least bit upset.

The driving force behind Long Island, N.Y.-based Shafiroff Racing Engines gladly handed over his driving credentials for a spot outside of the cockpit, and a couple of decades ago, in the 90’s, surrendered his spot as a car owner in the rough and tumble world of the rapidly progressing Pro Modified movement.

On a smaller scale, he’s running in the same fashion he did on the big stage – quick and fast, with a successful end result. Shafiroff and driver Vinny Budano have found their niche in the blue collar-oriented National Muscle Car Association [NMCA] and have multiple series championships to show for their efforts.

Last weekend, Shafiroff, Budano and their band of volunteer crewmen opted to swim in the big ocean of the NHRA Pro Modified tour during the Toyota SuperNationals and even though they fell short of earning a place in the final eliminations, they reached their objective. Englishtown was all about coming home. The NMCA tour does not contest an event at Englishtown, the team’s declared home track.

“Racing at Englishtown is like a family experience,” said Shafiroff. “This is where I grew up, started my career. It’s one of the two races where I can bring all of my friends down. When you are on tour in this sport, you have a group of friends you see all the time and they don’t even live anywhere near you.”

Back in the day, Shafiroff was quite the up and comer as a driver and was considered by many as a favorite feature for the old Super Stock & Drag Illustrated magazine. Shafiroff found a competitive niche in the pounds-per-cubic inch arena often crossing swords and winning against the best of NHRA Division 1 competition such as the late Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins, Frank Iaconio and Pat Musi just to name a few. He also did time in sportsman racing as an NHRA Competition eliminator contestant.

Shafiroff admits he was just a kid trying to find his spot in a sport where his passion burned strong.

“It was a phenomenal experience and I was just a kid back then,” said Shafiroff. “You grew up fast back then. We only had about eight to ten races each season. To do a full tour at today’s level, it is phenomenal what it takes. The scope of it is way more than we had back then.”

Oh the memories, Shafiroff points out, with a broad smile as he describes his climb up the ladder .

“We started to play around with nitrous in the mid-1970s,” said Shafiroff, who was instrumental in pioneering the street legal drag racing movement. “That led to a successful run of street racing, terrorizing the neighborhood and we went IHRA Top Sportsman. Then we grew that into the Quick Eight and that represented, and still does, bragging rights. It’s not about Schumacher trying to make a living with it, or John Force trying to build an empire – this is about having fun. When it comes down to it, drag racers still like to say ‘my stuff is faster than your stuff.”

Shafiroff and his racing endeavors would eventually grow into a serious Top Sportsman effort with driver Gordie Hmiel and then into the Pro Modified division. This was the end result of a career which started innocently as a kid who loved to tune and drive fast cars.

“I used to have class cars, no trailers, and we would tow to the races with our hot rods,” Shafiroff recalled. “I would race all morning in my class car. You were racing for bragging rights of winning class. The track would have bracket racing and we’d end up running the tow vehicle in the brackets at night after class racing during the day. I’d have a friend make runs in the tow car during the day so we could see what it was going to run. After class racing was finished, I would park the class car and start racing the tow vehicle.

“You’d stay until you get beat and then the next night, you’d meet at the burger joint, with the shoe polish still on your car and talk about how you did. It was a different world back then. Today’s [professional] racing is not for the average person. If you try to do it really hard, I’m not going to say it will ruin your life but it takes away from a lot of things – your family, other factors such as your business. They get so wrapped up in it that they lose sight that it’s their hobby. By the time they realize it, they are in quicksand and get out of the sport with their head hanging low.”

Racing Pro Street with the NMCA reminds him of those long gone days of racing all day long and visiting the burger joint afterwards. He considers the series to be a working man’s major series. He cautions the blue collar status should never be construed as means of labeling the series competitors any less competitive on the track as those racing the big show of the NHRA.

“Pro Street is competitive,” said Shafiroff. “But it’s not like you are running in the Pro Stock division. It’s not the same thing. You can have a life, race six or seven times a year and allows you to maintain a nice balance. You can still keep your hand in it and show your stuff. With this, you don’t have to throw millions of dollars at it and still have a weekend away. You can have a life, enjoy your hobby and still run your business. You can have it all.

“That’s just my choice. It doesn’t make one better than the other. Every person makes the choice that is best for them. You have to determine what you want from drag racing and be happy with it. We are happy and we have a good time doing it.”

As good of a time as racing provides, back in the engine shop, he still has a ton of fun plotting ways to make efficient horsepower in what could be considered a complex economy. A successful dyno pull can bring as much elation as running low elapsed time.

“I still love the challenge of building engines,” Shafiroff explained. “One of the added challenges with the economy the way it is in building an engine where you deliver performance , power and reliability while being able to sell at a price where people can pay. That’s as much of a challenge as anything. You are always trying to find the right components to deliver this. It makes for a tricky challenge we are always evaluating.

“Some guys are afraid of the phone calls on Monday. I can’t wait to find out how everyone did. I get the biggest kick out of the odd combinations such as a guy who runs 8.50s in a 4100-pound pick-up. To me, that’s more impressive than a guy who runs 6.60s in a dragster. Just to listen to the guys who are excited gets me pumped. Drag racing is still a great sport.”

And Shafiroff loves drag racing today, as much as yesterday. The scenery may change but never the fun.

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