tender Chris Rini ’ s , believes a combined Pro Mod class would lead to parity debates and drama that exists in other organizations that run all combinations together . |
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“ The whole reason why I don ’ t run NHRA and don ’ t have much desire for it is the politics ,” says Switzer , whose Switzer Dynamics firm manufactures intake manifolds and nitrous components . “ Every conversation you walk into is somebody talking about how this is unfair or that ’ s unfair . Pro Nitrous is the perfect class for people that want to race and don ’ t want to talk . You don ’ t have to worry about all of the politics because there are none . All you have to worry about is getting your ass kicked because everybody ’ s got the same rules .” |
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As front-running competitors , it ’ s easy to understand why Franklin , Halsey and Switzer feel strongly about the class ’ future . But as the PDRA ’ s owner , Franklin values the class for more than one reason . His wants to keep the class going not only so he can continue racing in it , but also so drivers in the PDRA ’ s Pro Outlaw 632 and Elite Top Sportsman classes – and even the Jr . Dragster classes – can make the move up when they ’ re ready . |
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“ We always want to grow our racers and give them opportunities to move up ,” says Franklin , whose daughter Amber is planning a move up to Pro Outlaw 632 . “ People come in at the level that they feel comfortable with and they get to where they can really handle the class they ’ re in . Once they ’ ve won or accomplished their goals in that class , as racers , we always want to one-up ourselves . We ’ re not good with just staying in place . Whether we say that outwardly or not , your goal is always to take it one step further .”
Franklin provides the example of Johnny Pluchino , who won backto-back world championships in Pro
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Outlaw 632 , then moved up to Extreme Pro Stock and won another title there last year . He sees Pro Nitrous as being that next step for nitrous-assisted Pro Outlaw 632 racers like Wes Distefano or Elite Top Sportsman drivers who are already running toned-down Pro Nitrous cars in the low 3.70s .
“ That ’ s awesome to see people like Johnny chasing those dreams and being able to accomplish them ,” Franklin says . “ For us at the PDRA , we want them to be able to stay in house when they do that . We want
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to have those levels for them to go to . I ’ m sure there are other racers in 632 who have that same idea . They like what they ’ re doing , but they want to go faster and take another leap and accomplish that . I want everybody to be able to accomplish that on the grounds , whether it happens this year , next year or 10 years from now . However long it takes them , I want them to have the ability to do that within PDRA .”
While the class saw some unusually short fields in 2020 , those instances don ’ t reflect the future of the class .
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It was one of numerous classes that was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic , and car counts towards the end of the season suggest the numbers will be back up in 2021 .
“ There ’ s so many cars out there ,” Franklin points out . “ We had 17 nitrous cars on the property [ at the Proline Racing Brian Olson Memorial World Finals ] and I can count 10-12 cars that weren ’ t there . I just invite everybody to come out and line up against the best racers out there . The side-by-side racing in Pro Nitrous is just unbeatable .”
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