IHRA: Class action - Pro Stock

With the IHRA Pro Stock class, looks can be deceiving. Just because the cars resemble road-going vehicles you see in the parking lot of IHRA events, doesn't mean they share anything more than a passing resemblance.

While some other Pro Stock classes worldwide limit engine displacement to 400 or 500 cubic inches, there is no limit to the engine size in the IHRA Pro Stock class, and some of the cars have engine displacements of well over 900 cubic inches.

That means, of course, that these are purpose-built engines, and no stock engine can be modified to such extreme limits.

As you can imagine, then, these engines aren't cheap: Sonny's Racing Components, a Virginia-based engine builder founded by ex-racer Sonny Leonard, is a popular source of Pro Stock power. Sonny's offers a V-8 with just over 1,000 cubic inches, but a more modest choice might be the GM 932 cubic-inch choice with an aluminum block and rods and twin carburetors for $89,500 – and no, there isn't a 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty.

Of course, even though Sonny's says that particular engine pumps out 2,025 horsepower and 1,475 foot-pounds of torque, it wouldn't be IHRA drag racing if the teams didn't try to squeeze out a little more power after they get familiar with the powerplant.

To win an IHRA Pro Stock event, you'd better be prepared to run in the low six-second range, at over 220 mph. The chassis choice is important – many competitors choose one from Jerry Haas Race Cars in Fenton, Missouri. Transmissions are manuals, like the Lenco CS3, but that particular transmission is recommended for Pro Stock cars with "only" 1,800 horsepower or less. There are plenty of top-notch suppliers for IHRA race cars – the ones mentioned here are examples only.

The IHRA Pro Stocks will be in action next at Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville, Maryland, for the IHRA President's Cup Nationals June 17-19. For more information, log onto RaceMDIR.com.