By Mary Lendzion
Photos courtesy of Mike DiDomenico
Mike DiDomenico and his team work hard to have a phenomenal combination that is capable of propelling them to the winner’s circle in NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod.
They carefully consider each and every part they put on DiDomenico’s 1968 Camaro-bodied Pro Mod built by G-Force Race Cars, and they conscientiously collect data from each and every pass he makes.
Their extreme effort through the years has helped DiDomenico win rounds and rack up points in the famously fierce category.
Taking all of that into consideration, it is easy to understand why it was especially frustrating for DiDomenico and his son and crew chief Sal DiDomenico, when the car’s performance was not up to par in competition for most of last year.
“Something was definitely not right, and we were analyzing everything to pinpoint the problem,” said DiDomenico, who is also supported in his racing efforts by Gary Lucas, Adam Stablein, Garrett Smith and Blake Molnar. “This year, we decided to change our engine program, and we sent the engine and the car to Wyo Motorsports, which is owned by racer Todd Tutterow.”
Tutterow freshened DiDomenico’s Noonan Hemi, while Chris Cline made adjustments to the chassis. DiDomenico’s Noonan heads were sent to Noonan for some valve work.
“That was the first time I had worked with Todd Tutterow, and it was a great experience,” said DiDomenico, who also relies on a Noonan intake and a PSI screw blower. “There were no grey areas in our communication, and I appreciated that. Both Todd Tutterow and Chris Cline went above and beyond.”
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Also over winter, DiDomenico, who owns and operates CNC Performance Products in Bedford Heights, Ohio with his son, Sal, replaced his previous converter from Neal Chance Racing Converters with another converter from Neal Chance Racing Converters recommended by Tutterow, and welcomed some changes to the gearing in his Liberty five-speed transmission.
“Sal worked closely with Craig Liberty of Liberty Transmission to change the gearing in our transmission, and with all of this, we are headed in the right direction,” said DiDomenico. “We have worked seven days a week on this, and it is the next step for us to take. You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over.”
DiDomenico is now preparing to leave his home in Ohio and head to the first NMCA race of the year, the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines, which is this weekend, March 16-19, at Orlando Speed World Dragway.
“We will do some testing on Wednesday and Thursday, and we will be focused on the short times because the car was struggling just past the 60-foot last year, just past the shake zone,” said DiDomenico, whose car, in addition to flying banners for his company, CNC Performance Products, will fly banners for his wife, Kathy DiDomenico’s company, Royale Funky Junque. “Then, we will be focused on trying to earn the Xtreme Pro Mod championship this year. We really want it.”
In addition to NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod, DiDomenico has his sights set on competing in R&R Auto Body and DeCerbo Construction Rumble Wars Extreme 8, a series of four races held at the 17th Annual Cavalcade of Stars presented by Budweiser, June 1-4, 46th Annual Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire, Aug. 5, 22nd Annual NMCA All-American Nationals, Aug. 25-27 and the Inaugural Ganley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram World of Mopar, Sept. 22-24, all at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
.jpg)
Photos courtesy of Mike DiDomenico
Mike DiDomenico and his team work hard to have a phenomenal combination that is capable of propelling them to the winner’s circle in NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod.
They carefully consider each and every part they put on DiDomenico’s 1968 Camaro-bodied Pro Mod built by G-Force Race Cars, and they conscientiously collect data from each and every pass he makes.
Their extreme effort through the years has helped DiDomenico win rounds and rack up points in the famously fierce category.
Taking all of that into consideration, it is easy to understand why it was especially frustrating for DiDomenico and his son and crew chief Sal DiDomenico, when the car’s performance was not up to par in competition for most of last year.
“Something was definitely not right, and we were analyzing everything to pinpoint the problem,” said DiDomenico, who is also supported in his racing efforts by Gary Lucas, Adam Stablein, Garrett Smith and Blake Molnar. “This year, we decided to change our engine program, and we sent the engine and the car to Wyo Motorsports, which is owned by racer Todd Tutterow.”
Tutterow freshened DiDomenico’s Noonan Hemi, while Chris Cline made adjustments to the chassis. DiDomenico’s Noonan heads were sent to Noonan for some valve work.
“That was the first time I had worked with Todd Tutterow, and it was a great experience,” said DiDomenico, who also relies on a Noonan intake and a PSI screw blower. “There were no grey areas in our communication, and I appreciated that. Both Todd Tutterow and Chris Cline went above and beyond.”
Also over winter, DiDomenico, who owns and operates CNC Performance Products in Bedford Heights, Ohio with his son, Sal, replaced his previous converter from Neal Chance Racing Converters with another converter from Neal Chance Racing Converters recommended by Tutterow, and welcomed some changes to the gearing in his Liberty five-speed transmission.
“Sal worked closely with Craig Liberty of Liberty Transmission to change the gearing in our transmission, and with all of this, we are headed in the right direction,” said DiDomenico. “We have worked seven days a week on this, and it is the next step for us to take. You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over.”
DiDomenico is now preparing to leave his home in Ohio and head to the first NMCA race of the year, the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines, which is this weekend, March 16-19, at Orlando Speed World Dragway.
“We will do some testing on Wednesday and Thursday, and we will be focused on the short times because the car was struggling just past the 60-foot last year, just past the shake zone,” said DiDomenico, whose car, in addition to flying banners for his company, CNC Performance Products, will fly banners for his wife, Kathy DiDomenico’s company, Royale Funky Junque. “Then, we will be focused on trying to earn the Xtreme Pro Mod championship this year. We really want it.”
In addition to NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod, DiDomenico has his sights set on competing in R&R Auto Body and DeCerbo Construction Rumble Wars Extreme 8, a series of four races held at the 17th Annual Cavalcade of Stars presented by Budweiser, June 1-4, 46th Annual Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire, Aug. 5, 22nd Annual NMCA All-American Nationals, Aug. 25-27 and the Inaugural Ganley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram World of Mopar, Sept. 22-24, all at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.