When Stevie “Fast” Jackson made known, just before the Christmas holiday, that he was recovering from neck surgery that was necessary after a career of NHRA Pro Mod racing and occasional shunts that had caused spinal damage, the big question was – what will this guy do with his down-time for the next six months?
Apparently, even before he went under the knife, Jackson was busy planning his 2023 NHRA FuelTech Pro Mod season – and beyond. This week’s Friday surprise from the Evans, Georgia two-time Pro Mod champion is the announcement that he and competitor Sidnei Frigo are partnering for this upcoming season and into the future.
Still in the cast he’s been wearing since his December 19th surgery, Jackson said he and Brazilian racer Frigo have “inked a new partnership between [Jackson’s] Killin Time Racing (KTR) and Artivinco Racing for 2023 and beyond. We’re both very thrilled to head down this path of showcasing KTR as a Motorsports Solution Business,” Jackson explained, “and that’s what our business model is, going forward. If you want to compete in world championship-style drag racing, we are the place that you go for that.”
Frigo, with three career NHRA Pro Modified wins in five final round appearances – most recently at 2022’s 53rd Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals this past March at Gainesville, Fla. – and three No. 1 qualifying results, is equally excited about the chance to partner with Jackson. “I have known Steve for a long time, racing together in NHRA,” Frigo stated. “I think we both have the same competitive mindset and goals, which is to win the NHRA Pro Modified Championship. I’m very excited and looking forward to seeing what this new partnership can bring for both of us.”
Neither Jackson nor Frigo will talk about their choice of power adders for the team, due to the changes announced by NHRA that bans some nitrous oxide use on supercharged and turbocharged entries. “No bottle may be turned on until after the burnout is completed; no inline valves accepted as bottle shutoff in the staging lanes; push systems accepted” the new ruling stated. If using nitrous, a Hobbs switch is mandatory and has to be installed, so that the nitrous system is only activated when there is sufficient fuel pressure, using a wide-open throttle switch. The use an external nitrous bottle heater is expressly banned and results in DQ at the event. Because of these new dictates, the partners have to be careful with their choices.
“I’m managing all of Sidnei’s Artivinco Racing team assets from top to bottom in the USA and abroad,” Jackson said of the newly-melded teams. “It’s really awesome to partner with someone who is both talented and passionate about motorsports as Sidnei Frigo; we’ve endured an onslaught of NHRA rules changes over the last couple of weeks that affects the screw-blown combination, the Roots blower, the ProCharger, as well as the turbo, so we’re evaluating a path for him right now. I’m incredibly excited about this new partnership and Sidney is looking forward to a NON-store-bought drag racing experience,” he concluded.
NHRA’s FuelTech Pro Mod Drag Racing Series begins its 10-contest 2023 season next March, with the 54th annual Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla.
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