Luppino & Gauci Win at Calder Park

We love to hear from our international customers to see how we at PLR have helped out their racing program. They bring a different variety of cars, large crowd turnouts, and just the pure excitement that drag racing brings us all. Our customers in Australia, Dandy Engines and Profab, are finding their way to the top with record setting passes and multiple event wins!

The Calder Park True Blue Championship was Australia's source of drag racing action last weekend.

Domenic Luppino, Australia's #1 Pro Street driver, began qualifying with several hiccups. His 449ci SBF Mustang with twin 82mm turbos, qualified in last place after suffering a transmission failure. With a lot of ground to cover and being matched up with the top qualifiers, Dom unleashed a fury of low 7 second runs to take the win in the Pro Street class! His best pass of the weekend was a 7.20@202mph. This marks the Second win in a row for Domenic!

About a month ago, we featured another Australian driver, Joe Gauci. In our last update he became Australia's #1 Modified Street driver with a 7.45@195mph pass in the Profab 370ci SBF Cortina with twin 70mm turbos. This weekend was going to be a little different. With track temps reaching 150°, the ideal track conditions were not present. He did however, consistently run in the 7.60's with the fastest pass in his class, a 7.62@192mph. His consistency paid off and put him in the Modified Street winner’s circle!

Jeremy Callaghan made the long trip to race in the Pro Street class in his Profab built Torana powered by 427ci LSX with twin 82mm turbos. Jeremy qualified #2 with a 7.66@190mph but was taken out in the first round of qualifying. This marks his fastest pass in this car and it was the first time racing with his new AMS-1000 boost controller.

Steve Bezzina recently stopped by Dandy Engines to make the switch from his supercharger setup to turbo. His Ford XW Falcon hosts a 434ci SBF with a single turbo. On only his third pass ever, Steve went 8.49@168.77mph! This pass made him the fastest stock suspension Falcon in Australia!

Todd Kasper to Drive Outlaw Big Tire

Cecil County Dragway in Maryland, is one of the better venues to find ultra-competitive Outlaw drag racing especially Outlaw 10.5. TJ and Tom Kasper were #1 and 2 in the Outlaw 10.5 standings last year.

In 2011, Cecil County Dragway will be starting a new class in the place of the 7.50 Index class. The new class will be called Outlaw Big Tire. Tom's brother, Todd Kasper, will be moving up from the 8.50 Index class to drive in the new Outlaw Big Tire class. Todd will be driving the Kasper Certified Auto and Performance 1994 Lincoln Mark VIII, powered by a Pro Line Racing 449ci SBF with twin 88mm turbos. This car turns heads with its radical paint job and aggressive looks. It's fastest pass in the 1/8th mile was a 4.60@164mph.

With another Kasper behind the wheel, you can bet that he will give the Outlaw Big Tire class a run for their money.

Bobby Lashley's N/A LSX 8.29 @ 163mph!!!

A couple weeks ago we went to Atlanta Dragway to witness Bobby Lashley's Naturally Aspirated 427ci Camaro go 8.47@160.42mph. Steve Petty said that it has a lot left in it, and he expected it to go in the .30's. Last weekend, Bobby's driver, Chris Woods, proved Petty right with an explosive performance.

Without the help of any type of power adders, Woods was able take the car from start to finish at an 8.37@161mph, 8.31@162mph, and an 8.29@163mph! With each pass he made, he improved and broke the record even more! It is very enjoyable to see a car go this fast, powered by motor alone.

Pro Line Racing sends our congrats to Lashley and Woods. We can't wait to see this car in competition.

PLR Down Under

The success stories of our customers and our engines have spread from the United States to the other side of the earth! Australia has become a drag racing hot spot and huge crowds are flocking to the action. At Calder Park in Melbourne, Victoria, a crowd of 16,000 racing fanatics gathered to see to biggest race of the year. 

One of our exclusive dealers in Australia, Dandy Engines, buys complete engine builders packages from us, which they build in their shop to create powerful race cars. Some of their cars are built at Profab, a chassis shop nearby. Dandy and Profab brought two of their most prized cars to this race and National Records were on the menu.

Joe Gauci, from Profab and driver of the blue Ford Cortina, went 7.45@194mph off the trailer to make him the driver of Australia's #1 Modified Street car!

Long time customer of Dandy and Pro Line Racing, Dom Luppino, was present with his SBF Twin Turbo Mustang. He belted out an incredible 7.12@204.70mph. This run made history repeat itself again, Dom broke his old record as Australia's #1 Pro Street car! Not to mention, Dom was the winner of the Pro Street class! 

With performances like this, its not hard to see why they can bring in large crowds like this and we expect to see more and more action coming from our friends in Australia!

Bobby Lashley's N/A LSX 8.47 @ 160mph!!!

Bobby Lashley brought his Camaro with a Pro Line Racing built Naturally Aspirated 427ci C5R to Atlanta International Dragway for a private test session. His driver, Chris Woods, was ready to break records and truly show what this car can do. This was the first time they had the car on the track since they changed it to a manual transmission. On his second pass, he went a 8.47@160.42mph, with no power adders!

The current record for a Naturally Aspirated LSX is; ET - 8.58 and MPH - 157.8. This makes Bobby Lashley's Camaro the fastest NA LSX in the world! Steve Petty was helping them tune the car and said he thinks that it has a lot left in it, and he expects it to go in the .30's. Congrats to Bobby and Chris for this great achievement!

Pro Line Racing Seminar at PRI

Check out this article from the PRI Trade Show website. We hope to see you at our seminar at 8am on Friday, December 10th!

"Race Engine Builder’s Website You Have To See

By John Kilroy on November 9, 2010

Building race engines will always be first and foremost about winning races. If your engines don’t win races, you’re going to struggle. Even a great website won’t help you. But imagine a great website for a race engine company that also, by the way, produces engines that win races and championships.

At PRI, our message for over two decades is that technical proficiency comes first, but the companies that can provide technical proficiency with creative, consistent promotion and aggressive selling techniques will find the annual road to profit a lot smoother.

Take a look at the website for Pro Line Racing Engines(www.prolineracing.net). You can find the latest news (a championship at the moment I write this), an online store, classified advertising, a history of the company and a description of the Pro Line team, client projects….and a lot more.

At this year’s PRI Trade Show, we have Pro Line’s Eric Dillard, Matt Petka and Doug Patton presenting a seminar at 8 a.m., Friday morning, giving us a behind-the-scenes look at how they operate their busy race engine shop. Part of the presentation will be about their website, how it was put together, and how it brings them business.

Our guess is that most race engine builders view their website as a necessary evil. But, if the race engine builder can identify someone who can speak the language of racing and understands the culture, plus has the capacity to implement a great website, the potential is very much in evidence in the Pro Line Racing Engines website.

For most race engine builders, our guess is that they generally don’t know much about social media on the Internet, and don’t care. And that’s OK. We’re in the learning stages, too, at PRI.  But Facebook is part of the daily life of most young people, and that includes a  lot of gearheads, too. It’s an amazing way in which young people are staying in contact with each other on a daily basis.

Imagine a young racer who checks his Facebook every day, which also includes regular messages from the business that builds his race engine.

Check out Pro Line Racing’s Facebook page and Twitter page.

Outstanding. We hope we’ve provided some inspiration here, via the great work by Pro Line.

At PRI, we say, “Promote, promote, promote.”

And don’t miss the Pro Line Racing Engines seminar at the PRI Trade Show!"

Coby Rabon Goes 3.88@195

Carolina Dragway was the center of Automatic Pro Mod action last weekend and some of the fastest doorslammer cars were ready for battle. Coby Rabon, owner and driver of the PLR 670ci Pro Mod Mustang, was ready to show what his car could do.

In qualifying, Coby went 3.93@193mph and 3.92@194mph to qualify #2 in the 24 car field. In eliminations, Danny Blankenship broke and Rabon started the 1st round with a bye run. Coby wasn't just going to make a slow pass to move to the next round. He wanted to see what this car could really do and he did not disappoint. Coby went 3.88@195mph (60ft- .976, 330ft- 2.614, 1/8th- 3.885) breaking the Carolina Dragway record! 

In round 2, Coby faced Brian Williams and won with a 3.97@191mph to Williams' 4.11. In the 3rd round Coby was matched up with Bubba Livingston. Rabon ran a 3.98@19mph to Livingston's 4.08@179mph; Bubba took the win on a holeshot. We are still working out bugs on the tune. The motor stumbled on the transbrake and caused a late start and an early dismissal from the race.

Coby has a large list of accomplishments with this car and we think he's just begun to tap into its possibilities.

Photo by CompetitionPlus.com

Tom Kasper and John Carter Win at MIR

The U.S. Army World Cup Finals, at Maryland International Raceway, brought together the hottest outlaw drag racers with some of the most extreme import racers for an all out battle for bragging rights and a $5000 purse.

Outlaw 10.5 action was provided by Tom Kasper, driver of the Gil Christy Motorsports PLR 670 powered Mustang. In qualifying, Tom started his weekend by taking control of the #1 qualifier spot with a 6.61@224mph. In eliminations, Tom started to make some real progress. He started with a wheelstand victory in the 1st round. In the 2nd round, he faced Paul Barham and defeated him with a 6.56@217mph! During the next round, he was lined up against Gary Walker. "Turbo Tommy" went 6.40@223.95mph to take the round. 

In the final round of eliminations, Kasper took on Tim Essick. Tom definitely saved the best for last, going 6.35@228mph! This run made him the 2nd fastest Outlaw 10.5 driver in the world! Needless to say, he won the final race and the battle of Outlaw vs. Extreme Import. We're happy to see the Gil Christy Motorsports team take another record for the team. They now have the 2nd and 3rd fastest Outlaw 10.5 cars in the world!

Maryland's own, John Carter, represented PLR in the Drag Radial class. His performance can be summed up into two words; speed and consistency. His 2004 Corvette, with a twin turbocharged PLR 622ci BBC weighing in at 3490lbs, did exactly what he wanted it to do.

During qualifying, John set the bar for the rest of the weekend with a 6.87@216.55mph. He held his position as the #1 qualifier all the way to eliminations. A string of 6.90 runs followed as Carter breezed through eliminations. He defeated Alex Vettros with a 6.97@214mph and finished the night by taking out Dave Hinzman in the final race with a 6.95@215mph!

We send our congratulations to Tom and John for their achievements at this race and for the year. We are looking forward to your next victories and what you have in store for 2011!

Photos by GoneDragRacing.com and TMK Photography

TJ Kasper Becomes the ATCO Champion

TJ Kasper, driver of the Gil Christy Motorsports Outlaw 10.5 2002 Mustang, has had quite a year in 2010. He recently secured the Cecil County Dragway Championship. Last weekend, they announced that TJ took #2 in the Ultimate Outlaw Shootout!

TJ and his father Tom Kasper went to ATCO Dragway to try for another championship title and there was enough Pro Line Racing power to get the job done. In qualifying, Tom took the upper hand by qualifying #2 with three 4.27 passes in a row! TJ followed closely behind him and qualified #4 with a 4.31.

During eliminations, things started going TJ's way. He knocked Bill Mitchell out of the competition with his best run of the day, a 4.29. Tom coasted to the semis with another 4.27, but he unfortunately ran into some issues that prevented him from making a pass in the next round. Tom did, however, secure the #2 spot in the points race for the ATCO Dragway Championship!

TJ took it easy on his semifinals bye run and started preparing for the final race against Brian Penna. Luck was on TJ's side all day and it continued in the finals. Right before the light turned, Penna red lit and TJ was victorious.

After this big win, TJ became the official ACTO Champion of 2010. We, here at Pro Line, would like to congratulate you on your many achievements. We would also like to thank the Kaspers, their crew, and Gil Christy Motorsports for all of your support. We are looking forward to the next big wins to come from Gil's crew.

PLR at ORTC Radial Revolution

The ORTC Radial Revolution at South Georgia Motorsports Park may have had the largest car count we've seen in a long time. Pro Line Racing was represented in 3 different classes including X275, Outlaw 10.5, and Outlaw Drag Radial.

Glen Jones, driver of the Pro Line powered X275 Mustang, qualified #44 out of a very competitive 76 car field. He ran a 5.196@137.55mph and was unfortunately knocked out of the competition in the first round.

Brandon Harmon qualified #28 of 74 in the X275 class. His 1997 Mustang went a 5.02@147.47mph and was put out in the 1st round of eliminations. 

Wes Whittle, the driver of the Pro Line Racing 454ci Small Block Ford Mustang, qualified #9 with a 4.92@154.86mph. In eliminations, all of Wes's passes were side by side with his opponent, which made him and the x275 class very exciting to watch. During eliminations, Whittle was able to go 4.885@154.39mph, 4.916@154.76mph, 4.844@151.73mph, and a 4.786@154.69mph in the final race to take the win!!
Check out the video here.

Ron Schlessinger and his driver, Larry Wood, brought the 10.5 ZR1 Corvette with a PLR 670 to SGMP. They qualified #9 with a 4.48@172.63mph and defeated Harry Jarvis with a 4.42@173.85mph. Later they faced Tim Lynch and had trouble keeping the tires on the track.

Danny Lowry, out of Griffin,GA, has been trying some new tuning combinations and they have definitely paid off. Danny had difficulties during qualifying which landed him in the #14 spot. Despite the slow start, Danny still had some great driving up his sleeve. During eliminations, he defeated Mo Hall with a 4.48@171.82mph, Craig Pio with a 4.30@182.18mph, and he took out the always dangerous Rob Wells with a 4.28@183.89mph. Watch the video! The finals placed him next to Tim Lynch for a late night match-up. In the final race, Lowry started nicely but started to lift the front wheels and let out early. Congrats to Danny and his crew for this impressive performance and the high mph of the event! 

Tim Lynch and Steve Petty have been winning races and enjoying the benefits of a new car. Tim started the race off with a 4.24@183.64mph to qualify #1! They cruised through eliminations with passes of: 4.38, 4.30, 4.26, and the final race where Tim went 4.25@183mph. This win makes it 5 of their last 6 races that they have been victorious! Check out the video!

Kevin Kram made the trip from Texas to take on the 64 car field in Outlaw Drag Radial. His Pro Line Racing powered '67 Camaro looked clean and mean.  Kevin started off by qualifying at the #51 spot with a 5.27@162.24mph. In eliminations, he defeated Roger Holder and Brad Edwards with a 4.76@167.34mph. Unfortunately, Kram broke an input shaft on the transmission which ended his day early.

JR Gibson came down from Michigan to try for the top prize. He qualified #45 with a 5.00@149.91mph and had to face Keith Szabo in the first round of eliminations. JR lost to Szabo, but showed us that his fox body Mustang has what it takes to race in the Outlaw Drag Radial class.

Tommy Rainer and the crew had a nice weekend of racing. He qualified #31 with a 4.81@160.06mph. In eliminations, he defeated Jeff Cooner but could not handle everything that David Wolfe brought to the table.

Jere Ethridge made quite an impression from the get go. His 2000 Mustang was flying all weekend! He qualified #4 with a strong 4.57@171.03mph. Jere took out Francis Johnson, Paul Major, and Buck Walker in eliminations. Ethridge was the only racer who raced against David Wolfe and gave him a run for his money. In the semifinals, Jere ran a 4.55@172.87mph to Wolfe's 4.40@179.30mph. Congrats on a successful race weekend and we look forward to seeing Jere race again.

This 1987 Mustang belongs to Dave Hinzman out of Ohio. He made some nice passes, including his #8 qualifying pass which was a 4.61@162.65mph. On his way to the quarterfinals, he beat Eddie Rogers, Kevin Mullins, and Jason Wade. Unfortunately, his match-up with Wolfe ended his night early.

Eric Dillard, driver of Todd Berry's 1991 Mustang powered by a PLR 632ci BBF, was on fire during qualifying. He ran a new personal best with a 4.48@176.51mph!  Check out the video here. Luck didn't go his way in eliminations. He made it to the quarterfinals and was beat on a hole shot by Carlton Thompson. This was his first time ever on drag radials and a 4.48 showed him that the 30's are not too far away!