With more than two dozen Pro Modified and Top Sportsman teams based in Ontario and Western New York, there was a need for these teams to compete on a regular basis in front of their local fans. 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.

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 points race was a tight battle until the last race of the year. In 2006, the PMRA raced at different tracks, and once again, each of the five events produced a different winner. The PMRA also established a solid relationship with several race tracks 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.

The PMRA is a self-governing organization with its own payouts and set of technical rules as outlined by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).
Pro Modified teams from Ontario and New Brunswick, along with teams from New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania have competed in PMRA events.

Since its inception close to 20 years ago, the Pro Modified class has become 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 230-mph with sub six-second times. Engines in the class are also diverse, with supercharged, nitrous-assisted, or turbocharger powerplants. This class, known as “the world’s fastest door slammers,” always attracts attention and interest wherever they compete.

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.

Pro Modified Racing Overview

One of the most popular divisions in drag racing, Pro Modified captures the true spirit of hot rodding. Bursting on the scene in 1990, this class has retained its roots but has advanced tremendously in terms of technology and speeds. Cars of the class encompass a wide variety of crowd-pleasing body styles, and there are three main engine combinations which can power the cars down the quarter-mile in under six seconds at speeds well over 230 mph.

The Pro Modified class was an extension of Top Sportsman racing, basically hot rods 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 body has become popular in the past year.

By the mid-1990s, the class became very popular with fans, and through the efforts of such competitors as Charles Carpenter, 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 compete in IHRA and NHRA national events, including Mike Stawicki and Mike Janis, both of New York, John Russo of Massachusetts, and Ontario drivers Carl Spiering, Mark Nielsen, and Tony Pontieri. Along with Pontieri and Raymond Commisso, who has also raced in the PMRA, both these Toronto-area drivers compete in the exhibition Pro Modified racing at selected NHRA events.

Since its inception until the end of the 2007 season, the PMRA has had only one repeat winner. Joe Boniferro of Niagara Falls, Ontario, won the 2006 and 2007 Grand Bend Motorplex races. He also was co-champion in 2006 with Kasey Janzen of St. Catharines, Ontario.

Joe Lilienthal of Kenmore, New York won the 2005 PMRA title, and for 2007, Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario was champion. Boland also became the PMRA’s first two-time champion, winning once again in 2008.

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.

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.

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.

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.