Doug Winters , a veteran in the Pro Mod class , couldn ’ t be more excited about the rule change . The oldschool driver was surprised by the move but believes there ’ s an abundance of positives with the decision .
STEVIE " FAST " JACKSON
February 2021
STEVIE “ FAST ” JACKSON BACK-TO-BACK NHRA PRO MOD WORLD CHAMP
■ Jackson has dominated the class since he arrived . He ’ s universally regarded as one of the top drivers in the sport , but Jackson has only used automated shifting devices in his relatively young NHRA Pro Mod career . That makes for big change , but Jackson noted the safety impact and praised the fact drivers will play a bigger role in each race .
“ I am all for anything that makes these cars require more driver input . I think it will cause some upsets , which is a good thing . It can potentially save a car from crashing , which is a good thing ,” Jackson says . “ The driver has more influence on the outcome of the run and that ’ s a great thing . It ’ s going to be exciting to watch races that routinely are decided by a couple thousandths also be decided by another performance factor with the driver .”
CLINT SATTERFIELD NHRA PRO MOD VETERAN
■ Satterfield has forged a strong 10-year career in the class , but one thing he hasn ’ t done is drive with a manual shifter . He was stunned about the news and initially voiced his displeasure in a call with NHRA . But after a conversation , Satterfield was willing to accept the reasoning , which centered on safety .
“ I called them and asked what in the world are you doing ,” he says . “ I wanted to find out what the reasoning was , and it was all about the safety . If they ’ re doing this for our best interest , what they deem we need , and if that ’ s the rule , that ’ s the rule and I ’ m going to live with it .”
Satterfield notes “ it ’ s going to be interesting ,” but he ’ s also confident he ’ ll get through it and figure it out .
“ I ’ ll have to do a lot of different things than I ever have before ,” he says . “ I believe in myself and
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