Pro stock

thumb|Allen Johnson's Mopar Dodge Avenger Pro Stock

Pro stock is a class of drag racing featuring "factory hot rods". The class is often described as "all motor", due to the cars not using any form of forced induction such as turbocharging or supercharging, or other enhancements, like nitrous oxide, along with regulations governing the modifications allowed to the engines and the types of bodies used.

History

The National Hot Rod Association pro stock class emerged from the production-based super stock in 1970 with a more liberal set of rules and an absence of handicaps. Rules initially favored big block V8s with Chrysler Hemi engine powered cars winning the world title the first two years. The NHRA attempted to balance the playing field for 1972 and introduced rules allowing for small displacement V8, compact cars carrying favorable weight.

On 1 July 1973, the NHRA required pro stock drivers to have competition licences, just like blown or fuel dragsters and funny cars.

Following a 1973 NHRA rule change to allow records to be set at any national meet, at the 1973 NHRA Winternationals, "Dyno Don" Nicholson set the first official pro stock e.t. record with a 9.33, while Bill Jenkins turned in a record speed; later at the same event, Nicholson made a 9.01 second/ pass, breaking both his and Jenkins' records.

In 2016, the NHRA implemented a major overhaul to the engine formula. Hood scoops and double four-barrel carburetors were eliminated and replaced by electronic fuel injection, an overhaul designed to reflect modern automotive trends, as all automobiles being produced for sale in North America have used electronic fuel injection for over 20 years.

Pro stock today

Engine

thumb|right|Dual 4-barrel [[carburetors on a "tunnel ram" intake manifold]]

Except in the NHRA 500 ci formula (starting in 2018), the engine must be manufactured by the same company as the car body.
All raw components must be available to anyone for general public purchase. Engine blocks and cylinder heads are often provided in a "raw" condition with only approximate dimensions and rough machining. Each team will continue to machine and modify the part to their own standards.
NHRA pro stock engines are restricted to a maximum single-camshaft, 90-degree V8.
Several bodies have different rules. "Mountain Motors", run by the PDRA (eighth-mile) and at selected NHRA events in 2019, do not have a 500-cubic inch rule, with some engines exceeding , to upwards of . The NHRA limits engine displacement in Mountain Motor categories to .
The Australian National Drag Racing Association and IHRA have a maximum displacement engine limit.
Depending on sanctioning body and class, engines may either be four-barrel carburetors or throttle body electronic fuel injection and must be a naturally aspirated intake system.
Those that use two four-barrel carburetors may allow them to be "split" (i.e. sawn in half) so that each of the halves can be more accurately positioned over the slightly staggered intake runners. The intake manifold and heads are open to modification. The most effective intake manifold configuration has continued to be the "tunnel ram" for nearly 40 years. The carburetors are raised above the engine; the length and configuration of the intake passages ("runners") is critical to horsepower output. The tall intake manifolds necessitate the large hood scoop that is a signature of the pro stock class. (The hood scoop is illegal in the NHRA because of EFI)
The NHRA formula (starting in 2016) requires, and the PDRA extreme pro stock permits, cars to use electronically controlled throttle body fuel injection systems.
In the NHRA, an electronic control unit (ECU) will be implemented on the EFI systems, including a 10,500 RPM limit, with modern engines approaching 12,000 RPM.
Rear spoilers cannot be longer than , measured from the body-line-to-spoiler transition point to the tip.
Complete stock headlights, parking lights and taillights must be retained in the original factory location.

This makes for some incredibly tight racing; the front runners in the class can reach speeds over in 6.47 seconds (approx). The qualifications rounds are separated by less than a tenth of a second across all competitors. In a particularly tight qualifying roster, the difference from No. 1 to the final No. 16 qualifier may be only .05 seconds.

Mountain Motor cars, because of their massive, 800+ cubic inch, mountain motors, dip into the 6.30s at almost . At the 2019 NHRA Houston Raceway Park race, where the Mountain Motor formula replaced the NHRA formula, the fastest car reached 6.233 seconds.

NHRA pro stock champions (1970–present)

1970 - Ronnie Sox
1971 - Mike Fons
1972 - Bill Jenkins
1973 - Wayne Gapp
1974 - Bob Glidden
1975 - Bob Glidden
1976 - Larry Lombardo
1977 - Don Nicholson
1978 - Bob Glidden
1979 - Bob Glidden
1980 - Bob Glidden
1981 - Lee Shepherd
1982 - Lee Shepherd
1983 - Lee Shepherd
1984 - Lee Shepherd
1985 - Bob Glidden
1986 - Bob Glidden
1987 - Bob Glidden
1988 - Bob Glidden
1989 - Bob Glidden
1990 - Darrell Alderman
1991 - Darrell Alderman
1992 - Warren Johnson
1993 - Warren Johnson
1994 - Darrell Alderman
1995 - Warren Johnson
1996 - Jim Yates
1997 - Jim Yates
1998 - Warren Johnson
1999 - Warren Johnson
2000 - Jeg Coughlin, Jr.
2001 - Warren Johnson
2002 - Jeg Coughlin
2003 - Greg Anderson
2004 - Greg Anderson
2005 - Greg Anderson
2006 - Jason Line
2007 - Jeg Coughlin
2008 - Jeg Coughlin
2009 - Mike Edwards
2010 - Greg Anderson
2011 - Jason Line
2012 - Allen Johnson
2013 - Jeg Coughlin
2014 - Erica Enders
2015 - Erica Enders
2016 - Jason Line
2017 - Bo Butner
2018 - Tanner Gray
2019 - Erica Enders
2020 - Erica Enders
2021 - Greg Anderson
2022 - Erica Enders
2023 - Erica Enders
2024 - Greg Anderson
2025 - Dallas Glenn

The most championships for a driver in pro stock is 10-time champion Bob Glidden. During the 1978 and 1979 seasons when he all but shut out his competition, Glidden advanced to 18 of the 19 final rounds, winning 14 times. Nine of those wins came in a row, widely considered by many to be one of the most impressive winning streaks in the history of the sport. The driver with the most wins in a single season is six-time champion Greg Anderson, who won 15 of 23 events en route to his 2004 championship.

Most NHRA pro stock wins

{| class="wikitable"

! Driver !! Wins

| Greg Anderson || 114

| Warren Johnson || 97

| Bob Glidden || 85

| Jeg Coughlin || 69

| Jason Line || 51

| Erica Enders || 50

| Mike Edwards || 40

| Kurt Johnson || 40

| Darrell Alderman || 28

| Allen Johnson || 27

| Dave Connolly || 26

| Lee Shepherd|| 26

| Jim Yates || 25

| Dallas Glenn || 22

| Bruce Allen || 16

| Aaron Stanfield || 14

| Vincent Nobile || 13

| Tanner Gray || 13

| Larry Morgan || 12

| Frank Iaconio || 11

| Bill Jenkins || 11

| James E. Butner III || 11

| Matt Hartford || 10

| Scott Geoffrion || 10

| Ronnie Sox || 9

| Jerry Eckman || 8

| Butch Leal || 8

| Greg Stanfield** || 6

| Richie Stevens Jr. || 6

| Larry Lombardo || 6

| Don Nicholson || 6

| Wayne Gapp || 6

| Wally Booth || 6

| Deric Kramer** || 5

| Tom Martino || 5

| Mark Osbourne || 5

| Mark Pawuk || 5

| Vieri Gaines || 4

| Steve Schmidt || 3

| Don Beverley || 3

| Tony Christian || 3

| Ron Krisher || 2

| George Marnell || 2

| Don Carlton || 2

| Kenny Delco** || 1

| Cory Reed || 1

| Mike Thomas || 1

| Chuck Harris || 1

| Rickie Smith || 1

| Joe Lepone Jr. || 1

| Don Campanello || 1

| Harry Scribner || 1

| Morris Johnson Jr. || 1

| Randy Humphrey || 1

| Herb McCandless || 1

| Dick Landy || 1

| Ray Allen || 1

| Mike Fons || 1

| Richie Zul || 1

External links

Anatomy of a Pro stock
NHRA homepage