After driving his 04 Grand Am to a championship in Run What Ya Brung at Milan Dragway in Michigan in 2015, Jackie Slone decided to test the NMCA VP Racing Fuels Xtreme Pro Mod waters in 2016.
He began with the race in Florida in March, where he qualified thirteenth with a 4.02 and exited in the first round after breaking a wide-open throttle switch. He followed that with the race in Georgia in April, where he qualified sixth with another 4.02 and exited in the second round after rattling the tires, and then took part in the race in Kentucky in May, where he qualified seventh with a 4.08 and exited in the second round after lifting. He missed the NMCA races in Indiana and Chicago in June and July, but is ready to climb back into the driver's seat.
Rather than being behind the wheel of his 04 Grand Am, however, he'll be piloting a 2015 David Janes Race Cars-built Pro Mod with a 69 Camaro body wearing black paint and rolling on extra-large Hoosier slicks.
I thought I would be able to hold my own in the Xtreme Pro Mod class, but I could quickly see that I was out-classed with the Grand Am, said Slone, of Belleville, Michigan, a team leader for a GM transmission plant. I was getting whooped by about a tenth, and I started thinking, Uh-oh, I'm going to have to spend some money. When the opportunity came up to buy the 69 Camaro Pro Mod from Michael Bankston of Bankston Boyz after the race in Kentucky, we took advantage of it.
Slone will rely on the powerplant from the Grand Am to propel the Camaro down track, and it boasts an 855 cubic-inch Buck Racing Engines-built bullet, two Braswell carburetors, four SpeedTech nitrous systems, a Lenco transmission with a Bruno converter drive and a Neal Chance converter. While he had gone as quick as 3.95 with that set-up in the Grand Am, he's looking for 3.85 from the get-go in the Camaro, which is 150 pounds lighter than the Grand Am, and he'll look for ways to pick up down the road.
I think the NMCA is a good fit for me, and I plan to stay here for the long haul, said Slone, whose crew includes his dad, Jack Slone, brother, Rodney Slone, daughters, Tori and Ashley Slone, uncle, Larry Slone, and Justin Carey, Kenny Hubbard and Lindsey Taylor and whose sponsors include Mullins Auto Supply, Hoosier Racing Tires, Buck Racing Engines and Trick Titanium.
Catch him in action at the 15th Annual NMCA World Street Finals, Aug. 26-28, 2016 and the Summit Racing Equipment Shakedown at the Summit presented by Mickey Thompson Tires, Sept. 16-18, 2016, both at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Slone will rely on the powerplant from the Grand Am to propel the Camaro down track, and it boasts an 855 cubic-inch Buck Racing Engines-built bullet, two Braswell carburetors, four SpeedTech nitrous systems, a Lenco transmission with a Bruno converter drive and a Neal Chance converter. While he had gone as quick as 3.95 with that set-up in the Grand Am, he's looking for 3.85 from the get-go in the Camaro, which is 150 pounds lighter than the Grand Am, and he'll look for ways to pick up down the road.
I think the NMCA is a good fit for me, and I plan to stay here for the long haul, said Slone, whose crew includes his dad, Jack Slone, brother, Rodney Slone, daughters, Tori and Ashley Slone, uncle, Larry Slone, and Justin Carey, Kenny Hubbard and Lindsey Taylor and whose sponsors include Mullins Auto Supply, Hoosier Racing Tires, Buck Racing Engines and Trick Titanium.
Catch him in action at the 15th Annual NMCA World Street Finals, Aug. 26-28, 2016 and the Summit Racing Equipment Shakedown at the Summit presented by Mickey Thompson Tires, Sept. 16-18, 2016, both at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.