Street legal drag racing has endured a rough road over the past ten years. When the PRO Edelbrock Drag Racing series held its 2002 debut at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the jury was still out as to what level of success this new street legal organization would have. Born from ProMedia, the same crew that founded the very successful "all-Ford" NMRA Ford Drag Racing Series, it didn't take long for the buzz to catch on. Featuring seven classes of heads-up racing and three classes based on index-style racing, the PRO-Edelbrock organization held four races during its inaugural season including a resurrection of the season-ending World Street Finals in Memphis.
The four PRO-Edelbrock events were held at Beech Bend, Cordova Dragway in Northwestern, Illinois, Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pennsylvania, and at Motorsports Park in Memphis. A fifth race was to be contested at Atlanta Dragway in September, but heavy rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hannah forced its cancellation.
The series retains several classes and rule packages that would be familiar to even novices of street legal drag racing, such as Denso Pro Street and Nitto Tires Super Street. It also departs from the norm with new classes such as Vortech Xtreme Street, which carries a flavor akin to that of the very popular Super Street class, from the sport's beginnings. There is also MSD True Street, a class designed to allow local racers to compete against the clock at the national event level, in their street-driven machines.
The PRO series enjoyed a solid turnout during the season, with well-known street legal veterans such as Pat Musi, Gary Rohe, Bill Glidden, and Joel Greathouse competing at multiple events. The champions that were crowned at the season-end PRO Award ceremony were Musi in Pro Street and Glidden in Super Street, familiar names to Popular Hot Rodding readers.
"It's our goal to offer a wide variety of classes where heads-up racers can compete," explained PRO Director Charlie Harmon. "From the ultra-quick Pro Street cars to the relatively affordable, entry level Mr. Gasket Cheap Street class, there is a class for anyone who wishes to give heads-up racing a try," Harmon added. "In addition, we are especially excited about our growing auto show segment and the burnout contest, and we've received great feedback from our spectators."
As for the success of the first season, Harmon attributes it to good planning and lessons learned from the NMRA. "We had a strong business model already in place from the NMRA, and we applied many of those same principles to the new PRO Edelbrock Series. We are trying to build this series with a strong foundation for the racers and enthusiasts, so we can be around for years to come."
While last year, the new series certainly had people talking, Harmon points out that it was still the series' rookie season. "We made some great strides in 2002, and exceeded many of our expectations, but as we enter our sophomore year there's still plenty of room for refinement and growth," he added.
The series will receive it's first taste of 2003, when its season opens at Bradenton (Florida) Motorsports Park in April--the first of a six-race season which, after the opener, returns to the same venues which hosted the tour in 2002. For more information, you can check out the PRO website at www.fasteststreetcar.com.
Gary Elliott gets a little...
Gary Elliott gets a little more bite than he bargained for, in his Nostalgia Pro Street '67 Firebird in Memphis. Elliott ended up winning the event, his first of the season, which clinched a come-from-behind championship.
Billy Glidden had been absent...
Billy Glidden had been absent from Super Street racing for three seasons. In 2002 however, he came back to compete in the PRO series with his '90 Mustang. The result was four number one qualifying efforts, three wins, a runner-up, and the season championship.
Eric Patterson emerged as...
Eric Patterson emerged as the Superchips Open Comp champion after a season long battle with several other competitors. The Open Comp class is an entry level, index-based, Pro-tree class designed for racers who don't have the budgets or time to dedicate to heads-up racing.
Jamie Gelting and his '98...
Jamie Gelting and his '98 Grand Am finished second in the '02 Nitto Tires Super Street championship behind his engine builder, Billy Glidden.
One of the most talked about...
One of the most talked about classes in 2002 was PRO's Vortech Extreme Street. The class rules were designed in an effort to mirror the Super Street rules of the mid-nineties, including no wheelie bars! Cameron Coble was one of several drivers who decided to test the waters in the new class. Despite no wins in 2002, Coble and his '69 Nova were able to secure the third spot in points.
One of the most outrageous...
One of the most outrageous cars to hit the Pro Street scene in many years is Larry Nadeau's 2002 PT Cruiser. Nadeau came up with the idea after a pulling up behind one at a stoplight near his home in Florida. The car is powered by an aluminum 525ci Keith Black Olds engine with an SSI 14-71 blower on top, and has posted 7.11s at nearly 200 mph.
One of the leaders in the...
One of the leaders in the resurgence of true muscle cars has been Bobby Barrick. He and his fellow Nostalgia Muscle Car drivers are dedicated to the preservation of stock appearing '60's and '70's era machines. Barrick's weapon of choice is this beautiful small-block powered '66 Deuce.
Tony "the Sandman" Williams,...
Tony "the Sandman" Williams, searched for the right amount of hook all season long. He finally found the handle of his blown Pro Street '69 Camaro at Memphis, resulting in his first win of the season.
James Foldenauer drove his...
James Foldenauer drove his '77 Monza to two wins in MSD True Street. The class is designed for legitimate street cars that are tagged and insured. In order to qualify, all contestants must first complete a 30-mile highway cruise. Once back at the track, the cars run three consecutive, quarter-mile passes, with the fastest three-lap average determining the winner. If you're wondering, Foldenauer's Monza ran 8.20s.
One of the more popular classes...
One of the more popular classes emerging on the street legal scene is Nostalgia Pro Street. Although the intent of the class was to offer a place for older-style Pro Street cars to compete, it didn't take long for purpose-built cars to appear. Now the term "nostalgia" has become more of a reference to the rules rather than the cars themselves. Tony Nesbitt, pictured here driving his '67 Camaro, earned "Rookie of the Year" honors from PRO.
Tony Orts and his Firebird,...
Tony Orts and his Firebird, were in a seesaw Vortech Xtreme Street points battle with Dave Rudisell, all season long. The championship was decided in the semifinals at the season finale in Memphis where Orts bested Rudisell, clinching the championship.
Mr. Gasket Cheap Street, heads-up...
Mr. Gasket Cheap Street, heads-up drag racing's first claimer class, centers around a $3,000 engine long-block claimer. Jeremy Taylor (pictured here) was the first ever champion of the innovative class.
Chris and Joe Uratchko, own...
Chris and Joe Uratchko, own this flawless '69 Camaro, which Chris drove to the 2002 Diamond Pistons Pro Stock championship. The combination is a 355 small-block backed by a Powerglide, which last season took it to a 9.15 best at 147 mph.