Pulling the Trigger on the Young Guns

The 2008 NHRA POWERade drag racing season has featured a serious injection of new Mopar® talent and machinery. That fact is particularly evident within the demanding Pro Stock category which now includes a number of crossover drivers and new blood. Let’s make some introductions.

Leading the pack within the newest wave for Mopar is promising upstart Rickie Jones, from Illinois, who has gotten off to a truly impressive start in the category. At only 20 years old, Jones, who is son to legendary drag racing car builder Rick Jones (RJ Race Cars), has proven to be more than competitive within NHRA’s POWERade Pro Stock circuit so far.

Driving his all new Quarter-Max-sponsored and HEMI®-powered Dodge Stratus, Jones has, at press time, qualified for every NHRA Pro Stock race (4-4) entered so far this season. That feat should not and cannot be underestimated within the enormously competitive class category.

“This has been such a blast so far; it’s everything I had always dreamed it would be,” admitted Jones. “My Dad is the best teacher I could have. We took things gradually since last summer. We crawled, walked and then ran to get to this point.”

While’s Jones’ initial NHRA circuit progress may come as a surprise to some, in retrospect it probably shouldn’t. His age is deceiving because of his extensive background in drag racing as well as within his Dad’s race car building company. That fact allows for a unique perspective and possible future advantage.

“I’ve been involved with drag racing as far back as I can remember,” he said. “I crewed for my Dad for several years. At the shop every car that goes out the door I personally oversee and manage the assembly. I know every nut, bolt and part, so I have a good handle on the tuning aspects and how the car is supposed to work. As a driver now I am trying to translate that—listen to what the car is communicating.”

Rick Jones and his son plan to treat the 2008 NHRA POWERade drag racing season as a learning period. Instead of running the entire schedule they will attend approximately 15 events this year while working towards a possible full tour in NHRA for 2009.

Another young driver that has made an impressive class debut this season is Matt Hartford, from Phoenix, Ariz. Hartford, who was deservedly rated as a star driver within the Sports Compact drag racing series, has aligned himself with reputed Mopar engine builder/tuner David Nickens and expert chassis builder Jerry Haas. Together, the three have fielded another awesome 500 cid HEMI-powered Dodge Stratus with very positive early results.

David Nickens is very high on his drivers’ talents as well as his team’s future potential.

“Matt will be very good in this category I assure you,” he said. “He has the will to do this, which is very important and he brings a lot to the table with his driving skills. The three of us are working together for the foreseeable future. Sponsorship is always a factor if we will be able to run the entire years’ schedule, but our current plans are to do exactly that.”

Hartford too has been very impressive out of the season gate, qualifying for the majority of the events attended so far.

One of the bigger off-season developments prior to 2008 was the announcement that California’s Vinnie Deceglie was going Pro Stock racing. Deceglie was a top-ranked driver within NHRA’s Competition eliminator Sportsman category driving one of the fastest cars ever seen in that category. However after he and his car owner Nick Mitsos (owner of the Mountain View Tire chain) began exchanges with Larry Morgan late last summer, a plan to switch to Mopar Pro Stock racing was put in place.

“Last year we decided that going heads-up racing is where we needed to be,” said Deceglie. “In Competition eliminator we were making a lot of power but then we were often required to put weight in the car or shut if off before the finish line to save our index to remain competitive. We just grew tired of racing that way. We had developed a good relationship with Larry Morgan and we knew his HEMI engine programs made good power.”

For Deceglie the biggest challenge so far has been adjusting his driving style to Pro Stock car.

“Our previous car was in fact faster, but Pro Stock is a much more complicated car to race,” he added. “There is no room for error – you have to be right on with your combination, tune-up and your driving. We seem to have all the power we need. The biggest challenge for us so far has been in the transmission and clutch—finding out what the car likes and will respond to.”

Deceglie’s first year within NHRA POWERade Pro Stock class racing will also be an abbreviated one. His team’s focus will be on doing well at select events versus running the entire season campaign as they build towards the future.