This intense class has been a fan favorite for decades after over 51 years in the NHRA.
The NHRA is an iconic association because of its dedication to bringing the American automotive enthusiast community a place to play around with their favorite pastime. With a great emphasis on ensuring that everyone could have fun with their vehicles in a safe and fast environment, the racing brand separated its racers into classes based on a specific set of rules and seed requirements. This decision was very similar to other sports leagues that separate players based on weight class to allow a more fair game. One such class within the NHRA is the famous Pro-stock class which has seen some of the craziest cars ever on the tracks of America.
Starting with the 1970 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Ca. This race would be the first Pro-stock race ever to be featured in the NHRA series and would lead to an American automotive revolution as people began to see what they could do with their favorite muscle and sports cars from the 1960s and '70s. Regularly you could see quarter-mile times as low as 9-seconds due to the heavy emphasis on modifying and tuning up the crazy vehicles to their full potential. However, now and then, you might find yourself watching some of the world's most incredible automotive feats, such as in 1984 when Sammy Miller set an insane record of 3.58 seconds on the quarter-mile.
Crazy drivers such as Bill Jenkins, Ronnie Sox, Dick Landy, and Sammy Miller brought Pro-stock drag racing into the eye of the public, and the legends of these ridiculous racers still stand firm to this day. Many have tried and failed to beat records set around that time, and pro-stock racing is still one of the most popular types of drag racing because of its ability to combine the stock, more like stock-adjacent, style with tons of power and extremely low quarter-mile times. Nowadays, this class is still alive and thriving, with tons of racers competing to be the best in their class.
