About the Pro Modified Racing Association
Several years ago, a group of Pro Modified teams from Southern Ontario and Western New York State got together to discuss the possibility of competing on a regular basis in front of their local fans at local tracks.
After meetings with several teams late in the fall of 2004, a race series format was established with regulations, race dates, venues, and purses. The series was named the Pro Modified Racing Association, and headquartered near the historic Cayuga Dragway in Kohler, Ontario, now part of Toronto Motorsports Park.
The Early Seasons: The PMRA grows slowly, but successfully
Starting with a five-race series in 2005, the PMRA was a success with fans, teams, and the hosting race facilities. Each event produced a different winner, and the seasonal Championship Point Award Series was a tight battle until the last race of the year.
In 2006, the PMRA raced at several different tracks from the year previous, plus returning to some 2005 venues, and once again, each of the five events produced a different winner. The PMRA also established a solid relationship with numerous race facilities in 2006, a relationship that continues to this day with committed race dates.
Finally in 2007 a multi-event winner was declared in the PMRA, but it was not until the final event of the season. And the Championship was not decided in 2007 until that same final event.
For 2008, another event date was added to the previous five-race schedule, along with the addition of several new race teams from Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
Once again, the PMRA Championship was not determined until the final event of the season in another year of close heads-up racing action.
First PMRA championship not decided until last event of 2005
Joe Lilienthal of Kenmore, New York won the first PMRA Championship Point Award Series title in 2005 in a very tight points race with the title still up for grabs going into the final event. For 2006, Joe Boniferro of Niagara Falls, Ontario and Kasey Janzen of St. Catharines, Ontario were declared co-champions.
In 2007 Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario was named champion. Boland also became the PMRA’s first two-time champion, winning again in 2008. And he took the title once again in 2009, giving him three straight championships.
Bruce Boland dominates with third title as the PMRA matures, safety addressed, and a truly international racing series
In 2009, continuing with a successful format, the PMRA ran six events, and for the third straight year, Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario won the Championship Point Award Series. While Boland, outright won four of these races, his title was not secured until the final event of the season. Mark Nielsen of Brantford, Ontario placed second, Jeff Roth of Kitchener, Ontario was third, Eric Latino of Scarborough, Ontario was fourth and Jason Kalso of Clarkston, Michigan was fifth.
One highlight of the 2009 year was the PMRA competing at the International Hot Rod Association MOPAR Canadian Nationals in Grand Bend, Ontario. The PMRA teams battled it out in eighth-mile competition as part of the three-day IHRA event, one of the sanction’s 10 major international events, and the PMRA returned to the Grand Bend Motorplex for the IHRA’s 2010 event.
The PMRA received strong recognition from the fans, the media, and the IHRA in participating in this event.
The PMRA instituted a professional fire/safety crew in 2008, which travels to all events. This crew is fully trained in fire and rescue procedures, and also equipped in case of an on-track emergency.
Pro Modified teams from Ontario and New Brunswick, along with teams from New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania have competed in PMRA events. The PMRA went truly international in 2009 when Australian Adam Croker competed with the PMRA.
New benchmarks obtained as PMRA racers sets records
This recognition continued in the PMRA for 2010, which saw a benchmark season in terms of competition.
While PMRA racers ran in the under six-second elapsed time mark, competitor Mike Stawicki of Medina New York driving the G-Force Race Cars / MSR Performance entry proved that the PMRA does not take a back seat to any Pro Modified racing on the planet, establishing series records of 5.739-seconds and 255.75-miles per hour in the quarter-mile. The elapsed time is just one 1000th of a second behind what is used as the world’s quickest time, Scott Cannon’s 5.738.
And driving a state-of-the-art ERD (Engine Research & Development) prepared 1968 Camaro Pro Modified with the PMRA, Vito Montesano established another benchmark in Pro Modified racing. Driving a Lenco Drive equipped torque converter driven transmission (as opposed to the traditional three-speed manual gearbox with a slider clutch), the Maple, Ontario driver posted a record-setting 5.887-second pass during the Marydel Homes qualifying round at the last race of the season in Grand Bend.
While on his way to establish this new Canadian Pro Modified record, and demonstrating the professionalism of the PMRA, Stawicki captured his first PMRA Point Award Series Championship presented by Magnum Auto Parts and Patio Passport, although he had only two series wins.
Second in the 2010 season was PMRA newcomer Derek Hawker of Corbyville, Ontario, a former Top Sportsman racer who took well to the new series. Third was Eric Latino of Port Perry, Ontario, who like Hawker, took an event win and was always in the hunt.
Former champion Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario took fourth in the Championship Point Award Series with a co-win at Grand Bend for the season. And Sam Andreacchi of Toronto, Ontario claimed his second PMRA event victory in 2010 with a win at Grand Bend, and the Chevy Nova driver placed fifth in the championship race.
A new PMRA champion is crowned in 2011 with fierce competition
In 2011, the competition was intense and the champion in the PMRA Championship Point Award Series presented by Magnum Auto Parts, Patio Passport and Global Emissions Systems, Inc. was not decided until the final round of the final event in the six-race series.
Winning his first PMRA title was Vito Montesano.
With new cars for the season, Bruce Boland and Eric Latino recorded a pair of wins each, but could not catch Montesano, who qualified well at each event and was always on his game plan. Going into the final round at Cayuga in September, only a handful of points separated the three leaders, and when Boland won over Latino, Montesano won the title with 1543 points, only one over Boland’s 1533 with Latino placing third at 1526.
Jeff Roth of Kitchener, Ontario took fourth spot with 1464 points, and Mark Nielsen of Brantford, Ontario, was fifth with 1431 points.
Quarter-mile times showed the performance of the PMRA Pro Modifieds, as Montesano or Latino qualified number one in all events but one with sub six-second times. Top speeds in the races were all over 240 mph.
Several high-profile teams joined the PMRA in 2011, including former IHRA Alcohol Funny Car champion Rob Atchison of London, Ontario, and IHRA Pro Modified champion and present NHRA Pro Modified competitor Kenny Lang of Grande Pointe, Manitoba.
Pro Modified Racing Overview
Since its inception close to 20 years ago, the Pro Modified class has established itself as one of drag racing’s most popular divisions, with large engines and a variety of unique body styles, propelling the cars to quarter-mile speeds of over 240-mph with sub six-second times. Engines in the class are also diverse, with supercharged, nitrous-assisted, or turbocharger power plants. This class, known as “the world’s fastest door slammers,” always attracts attention and interest wherever they compete.
The Pro Modified class began as an extension of Top Sportsman racing, basically full-fendered race cars (as opposed to a dragster-style car) taken to the max with unique body styles and large (over 500-cubic inches) engines. Body styles range from 1933 Willys coupes through early 1950s Studebakers to split-window Corvette Sting Rays.
The 1967-68 Camaro/Firebird body has become popular in the past years, as well as some Dodge-inspired muscle cars of the late 1960s.
Pro Modified racing comes of age
By the mid-1990s, the class had become a hit with fans, and through the efforts of such competitors as Charles Carpenter and Ed Hoover of South Carolina, Johnny Rocca of Virginia, the New York team of Fred Hahn and Jim Oddy, and Al Billes and Gary Irving of Ontario, the class grew in stature and popularity.
The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) embraced Pro Modified as a competitive class in 1990. Missouri’s Tim McAmis was the first IHRA Pro Modified champion in 1990, and cars were running the low to mid-seven elapsed times with speeds of around 200-mph.
Several PMRA drivers have competed in IHRA and NHRA national events, including Mike Stawicki and Mike Janis, both of New York, along with Ontario drivers Carl Spiering, Mark Nielsen, Ike Maier, Tony Pontieri, Kenny Lang, and Raymond Commisso. The latter four PMRA drivers compete in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, part of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, and compete at selected NHRA events.
PMRA Pro Modifieds offer a diversity of powerplants and body styles
The PMRA is a self-governing organization with input from its teams, and adheres to the technical and safety rules as outlined by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).
Today’s Pro Modified teams have the choice of running either a supercharged engine with a maximum displacement of 527-cubic inches, a non-supercharged-engine with nitrous oxide assist of up to a maximum 820-cubic inches, or a turbo-charged engine with a maximum displacement of 650-cubic inches. While the supercharged (“blower”) cars are most common in the PMRA, examples of all engine combinations are prevalent. Teams with supercharged cars are starting to employ the “screw” blower, which offers more instant power than the traditional Roots-type supercharger.
Turbocharged cars must weigh a minimum of 2700-pounds, nitrous 2425 pounds, and supercharged cars 2650 pounds. Most cars employ a three-speed transmission that is shifted manually through the use of air-assisted buttons. Some teams have fitted their cars with an automatic-shifting transmission employing a torque converter which provides quicker set-up time and less strain on the racecar.
Wheelbases range from 100 to 115 inches. This modern racing equipment can be shrouded in a wide variety of body styles, from coupe bodies of the 1930s to early 1950s Corvettes, to more modern-looking Camaros, Novas, and Mopars. The car bodies resemble their street roots but are very light, most under 100 pounds. Very little is allowed in aerodynamic body panels except for a large rear deck spoiler, and each car must have two fully-functional doors situated traditionally on the car’s body. The driver operates the car from the left side of the vehicle.
In 2001 the National Hot Rod Association adopted Pro Modified racing, and while the class has become popular at selected events, the NHRA is still treating Pro Modified racing with an exhibition status.
Pro Modified racing offers the best in heads-up racing with a fantastic variety of race cars. The PMRA presents the best in Pro Modified action in one of North America’s most populated areas. When the PMRA compete at an event, it is the headline Series, and has gained a strong following in the past few years.
Since 2005, the PMRA has continued to entertain fans at tracks in Ontario, Quebec, and New York, and the teams are comfortable competing on either quarter-mile or eighth-mile strips.
Not to be overshadowed by the competition on the track, the PMRA works in a close-knit atmosphere off-track. A strong camaraderie has developed between the teams, working as a group and always willing to help each other out with parts and labor to make that next round.
The PMRA events are run in conjunction with the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts, www.Quick32.ca, and the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS), www.PBSS.ca, offering fans a great show of drag racing.
