NHRA Announces Sudden Pro Mod Rule Changes
Surprising drivers, the National Hot Rod Association made several sudden and unexpected changes to the pro mod class, primarily that turbo-charged entries will lose two pounds of boost, from 38 to 36 psi.
According to officials, these changes were necessary to adjust for performance advantages that one particular engine combination might have over another.
“In Pro Mod we have three engine combinations: nitrous, supercharged and turbocharged. We specifically look at the average of the four quickest ETs of each of the three engine combinations at each race. When any of them gets more than a three hundredths advantage in ET at a number of races we typically make a rule change to bring the three combinations closer together in performance,” said Vice President of Technical Operations for NHRA Glen Gray.
“In this case the turbocharged combination had a more than three hundredths difference in performance over the supercharged combination and a greater than four hundredths difference over the nitrous combination over the past five races. While we don’t like to make changes this late in the season, we still have 25 percent of the Pro Mod season left.”
This is a massive power hit for competitors like two-time series champion Troy Coughlin.
“With just three races left in our season the timing of this decision is tough, but it’s the NHRA’s sandbox so they can do whatever they want I suppose,” said Coughlin.
“We actually started hearing this rumor a week or so ago so we figured they would target the turbo-charged cars, so we went to work right away to try and find different ways to make power. Eric Dillard and his crew at Proline Racing Engines have been very proactive and we’re fighting back the best we can.”
It remains to be seen how this rule change will affect this weekend’s Pro Mod race outcome.
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