Pro stock is a class of drag racing featuring "factory hot rods". The class is often described as "all motor", due to the cars not using any form of forced induction such as turbocharging or supercharging, or other enhancements, like nitrous oxide, along with regulations governing the modifications allowed to the engines and the types of bodies used.
The National Hot Rod Association pro stock class emerged from the production-based super stock in 1970 with a more liberal set of rules and an absence of handicaps. [1] Rules initially favored big block V8s with Chrysler Hemi engine powered cars winning the world title the first two years. The NHRA attempted to balance the playing field for 1972 and introduced rules allowing for small displacement V8, compact cars carrying favorable weight.
On 1 July 1973, the NHRA required pro stock drivers to have competition licences, just like blown or fuel dragsters and funny cars. [2]
Following a 1973 NHRA rule change to allow records to be set at any national meet, at the 1973 NHRA Winternationals, "Dyno Don" Nicholson set the first official pro stock e.t. record with a 9.33, while Bill Jenkins turned in a record 148.76 mph (239.41 km/h) speed; later at the same event, Nicholson made a 9.01 second/150.50 mph (242.21 km/h) pass, breaking both his and Jenkins' records. [2]
Over the 1974 and 1975 seasons, Bob Glidden became the first driver to win two pro stock championships.
In 1982, the NHRA did away with the weight break system and implemented a 2,350 pound minimum weight, 500 cubic inch maximum rule across the board, due to the popularity of the Mountain Motor IHRA pro stock cars, which have unlimited displacements.
Lee Shepherd won the second of four championships in a row in 1983, the year he also won IHRA's title, making him the first driver ever to do so; he repeated the feat in 1984. [3]
In 2016, the NHRA implemented a major overhaul to the engine formula. Hood scoops and double four-barrel carburetors were eliminated and replaced by electronic fuel injection, an overhaul designed to reflect modern automotive trends, as all automobiles being produced for sale in North America have used electronic fuel injection for over 20 years.
The rules that exclude forced induction of any sort, plus allowing head modifications, have resulted in pro stock heads being the most sophisticated in any drag racing category, with valve lifts in the 1 inch region.
Modern pro stock engines generally produce around 2.5 hp/in3 (114 kW/L), and make upwards of 1,500 hp while being naturally aspirated. [8]
A complete NHRA pro stock engine can cost upwards of $100,000. [4]
In addition to all of these specifications, each car must:
This makes for some incredibly tight racing; the front runners in the class can reach speeds over 213 miles per hour (343 km/h) in 6.47 seconds (approx). The qualifications rounds are separated by less than a tenth of a second across all competitors. In a particularly tight qualifying roster, the difference from No. 1 to the final No. 16 qualifier may be only .05 seconds.
Mountain Motor cars, because of their massive, 800+ cubic inch, mountain motors, dip into the 6.30s at almost 220 miles per hour (354 km/h). At the 2019 NHRA Houston Raceway Park race, where the Mountain Motor formula replaced the NHRA formula, the fastest car reached 6.233 seconds.
The most championships for a driver in pro stock is 10-time champion Bob Glidden. During the 1978 and 1979 seasons when he all but shut out his competition, Glidden advanced to 18 of the 19 final rounds, winning 14 times. Nine of those wins came in a row, widely considered by many to be one of the most impressive winning streaks in the history of the sport. The driver with the most wins in a single season is five-time champion Greg Anderson, who won 15 of 23 events en route to his 2004 championship.
| Driver | Wins |
|---|---|
| Greg Anderson | 105 |
| Warren Johnson | 97 |
| Bob Glidden | 85 |
| Jeg Coughlin | 69 |
| Jason Line | 51 |
| Erica Enders | 48 |
| Mike Edwards | 40 |
| Kurt Johnson | 40 |
| Darrell Alderman | 28 |
| Allen Johnson | 27 |
| Dave Connolly | 26 |
| Lee Shepherd | 26 |
| Jim Yates | 25 |
| Bruce Allen | 16 |
| Vincent Nobile | 13 |
| Tanner Gray | 13 |
| Aaron Stanfield | 13 |
| Dallas Glenn | 13 |
| Larry Morgan | 12 |
| Frank Iaconio | 11 |
| Bill Jenkins | 11 |
| James E. Butner III | 11 |
| Ronnie Sox | 9 |
| Scott Geoffrion | 9 |
| Matt Hartford | 8 |
| Butch Leal | 8 |
| Jerry Eckman | 8 |
| Ron Krisher | 8 |
| Chris McGaha | 8 |
| Drew Skillman | 7 |
| Larry Lombardo | 6 |
| Richie Stevens Jr | 6 |
| Shane Gray | 6 |
| Don Nicholson | 6 |
| Deric Kramer | 5 |
| Tom Martino | 5 |
| Greg Stanfield | 5 |
| Troy Coughlin Jr. | 5 |
| Alex Laughlin | 4 |
| V Gaines | 4 |
| Roger Brogdon | 3 |
| Johnathan Gray | 1 |
| Camrie Caruso | 1 |
| Kenny Delco | 1 |
| Kyle Koretsky | 1 |
| Aaron Strong | 1 |
| Jimmy Alund | 1 |
| Justin Humphreys | 1 |
| Rickie Jones | 1 |
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