For the last decade, one of the hottest categories in drag racing has been Pro Modified. Birthed by the chase to the 200-mph zone by IHRA Top Sportsman competitors in the late '80s, this professional drag racing division is known for its no-holds-barred, outrageous machinery, colorful racers like Scotty Cannon and Johnny Rocca, and extreme performance margins, boosted by blowers or nitrous oxide. In 1999 Mopar Performance Parts stepped up to sponsor the division, offering an additional incentive: If a competitor could qualify or win using a Mopar body/Mopar engine combo in a season-ending, eight-car shootout, the payout would be doubled.
Chip King of Semora, North Carolina, has raced IHRA for a number of seasons, notably in the mountain-motored Pro Stock division, and really had no interest in building a supercharged entry. However, since debuting his 2000-model Avenger now plying its trade on both IHRA's and NHRA's new Pro Mod divisions, King has become the undisputed fastest Mopar door-slammer on the planet, clocking an unreal 6.23 at 227 mph at Budds Creek, Maryland, last season. Now aided by veteran tuner Bill Barrett, King is moving forward in taking home championships.
"I was approached by the guys at Indy about running a blower, and frankly, as a Pro Stock racer, I'd never liked being pitted next to blown cars because of the noise," says King with a grin. "Today, you probably couldn't persuade me to get back into a Pro Stock or other carbureted car."
With a vehicle and a driver available, Russ and Fred Flagle and Ken Lazzari at Indy assembled what's probably the stoutest Hemi ever built for Pro Mod (for several years, Hemi-type engines were illegal). This started with Indy's own block, topped off with Indy prototype billet heads. A Bryant crank, Brooks rods, and Arias pistons for a final (and maximum legal) displacement of 526 inches went into the short-block. Comp supplied the cam and lifters (sorry, no specs available), while fuel goes into the heads via Indy's tremendous 2.400 intake/1.900 exhaust valve layout. Cramming those cylinders full is a Top Fuel-sized 14-71 SSI blower using high-helix rotors for reduced bottom-end drag, while a set of fabricated, zoomie-type headers sends the roar into the atmosphere after an MSD magneto gets it cooking.
"Indy wanted to develop an engine for Pro Mod," says King. "With the Hemi legalized, they realized at 29 percent overdrive the OE-type Hemi head wouldn't be the optimum design for that engine. So they went ahead and designed a head specifically for this application. This head had a higher intake port and a longer intake valve, and we're basically doing the development on the engine with our car."
Obviously, few transmissions could live in this environment; King rows through the gears using a three-speed Lenco and a RAM clutch arrangement. A fabricated 9-inch-type rear housing supports a full spool and 4.71 Richmond gears. The crew consists of David O'Hara, Barry Johnson, Chris Phelps, bride-to-be Wendy Giannini, Bobby Monticelli, Mike Antenucci, and Ken Obranovich. King's road to the level of performance he now enjoys has sometimes been laced with trial and error, although he's philosophical about it.
"When we first started, we were stuck with a difficult challenge using the old cast heads because they were prone to cracking," says King, "but since IHRA has legalized billet heads, it became a lot easier to keep the heads together. We've tried a lot of different ideas and combinations and discovered a multitude of information as we test things out. We're always looking for ways to go faster in Pro Mod, so the experiments never stop."
These changes can range from superchargers to camshafts, though sometimes these tests find weak links in other parts of the system. Equipment is driven to its optimum ability, and occasionally, things fail under the stresses. With NHRA being a nonpoint series for 2001, some of the more serious testing is being conducted at those events. Nonetheless, King and his crew are happy about where the program is ending.
"I could never go bracket racing. I need to have a car that will go faster and faster every time we take it out. It's great."