Recreating the Golden Age of Pro Stock

Nostalgia drag racing is currently one of the hottest things going in the sport. The stands at every one of the hot rod-style reunions held throughout the country have been filled to capacity. It’s no surprise one of the most popular types of vehicles participating in these events are the Nostalgia Pro Stocks.  

To give you an up-close and hands-on perspective of this phenomenon, Drag Racer Magazine decided to attend a few events to follow the exploits of the Midwest Nostalgia Pro Stock Association Paying Tribute to the Legends group (MWNPSA).

We spoke with Mark Pappas and Mike Ruth, two of the organization’s main players, whose group is widely recognized as the largest and most active in the nostalgia racing scene. We asked them why are they were so popular.

“We give the spectators a great show with long smoky burnouts, dry hops, staging duels and all the stuff the modern Pro Stocks don’t do. We have all the top cars from the golden age of Pro Stock: Reher-Morrison, Sox & Martin, Bob Glidden, Bill ‘Grumpy’ Jenkins, Billy ‘The Kid’ Stepp, Jim Ruth and more,” Mark said. “We’ve managed to keep the cars nearly period-correct and maintaining similar ETs and mphs from that time period,” Mike echoed.

These cars feature tunnel rams with two four-barrels, clutch-activated and manually shifted Lenco transmissions, snorkel-style hood scoops and period-correct wheels. No power-adders are allowed, and the engine and body must be from the same manufacturer. There are no Chevy motors in Mopars or Fords and vice versa.

The MWNPSA is a highly professional group of seasoned racers who are doing an excellent job of recreating the past with one goal in mind: to entertain the fans who choose to attend a nostalgia drag racing event.

The MWNPSA group has several large automotive aftermarket companies that help considerably, including Powermaster Performance, Strange Engineering, McLeod Industries, Flat-out Gaskets, ARP and Heidts Automotive. Mark and Mike point out that without tremendous support from these sponsors it would be very difficult to maintain their busy racing schedule.

The MWNPSA is a highly professional group of seasoned racers who are doing an excellent job of recreating the past with one goal in mind: to entertain the fans who choose to attend a nostalgia drag racing event. The future of this type of racing is in good hands.

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