The new class, Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car, will accompany a brand new format and new look to the Nitro Jam series when the season gets underway in January of 2010.
Featuring many of the best nostalgia drivers in the country, the eight car field of Prostalgia Nitro Funny Cars will be at all Nitro Jam events in 2010 and will mark the return of fuel floppers to IHRA competition after a one year absence.
The newly formed class will feature half-track burnouts, insane dry hops and out-of-control nostalgia racing that fans have come to expect from the older bodied version of the modern day Nitro Funny Car.
“We are very excited to be a part of the IHRA and Nitro Jam next year. The new format gives us an opportunity to showcase ourselves against the best competition in the country,” said John Dunn, driver of the Dunn and Gone ’73 Duster. “National television hasn’t seen eighth mile burnouts and dry hops from a fuel funny car in a long time. When we go to some of these smaller tracks and put on a show the crowds go insane when they see what we are all about.
“This new class will give us a chance to continue to put on the same crazy show except now it will be in front of thousands more in the stands and millions more watching on television.”
Headlining the Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car class next season is Dunn, driver of the Dunn and Gone ’73 Duster, and a full contingent of talented drivers including, but not limited to “Bullet” Bob Floch, Army Armstrong in the “Jungle Jim” ’70 Camaro, Peter Gallen in the “Poverty Stricken” ’76 Vega, Steve Nichols and the Mill Road Boys, Mike “McAttack” McIntire, Greg Jacobsmeyer and the “All Star” Dodge Challenger and Mike Faser in the “Chicago Fire” ’70 Cuda and many more.
All of the drivers will adhere to the new Nitro Jam format which will see all eight cars make two passes each night with the quickest winning cars from round one squaring off at the end of the night to determine that night’s champion.
Considered one of the most popular classes in drag racing, Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car will provide a national stage for drivers who have made a living out of match racing and showcasing their talent at smaller venues across North America.
“The difference in our cars and current cars are that the modern cars are all computer controlled and the racing is pretty much taken out of the drivers hands. Modern cars can’t do long burnouts and dry hops are out of the question. You stage the car, leave and keep it in the groove and that is pretty much all there is to it,” Dunn said. “Our cars are animals and require a lot of work which is what makes them so much fun. There are a lot of things we can do that the modern cars can’t.
“From monster burnouts, vicious dry hops and out-of-control racing, Nostalgia racing is one of the most exciting forms of racing out there. I don’t know that I have gone down the track straight yet which, from a driver and fans point of view, is just plain cool.
“We have everything to offer that the big boys do except we are much more entertaining.”
Dunn admits that while most of the drivers making up the new class have traveled the country and raced one another before, the new format will give them a chance to put on a better show for the fans and develop a few rivalries in the process.
“When we put on our suites and are in the staging lanes there is a level of ‘butt whooping’ that is about to take place and in my case, being a lower budget underdog, I try to beat up on them as much as possible and make a name for myself,” Dunn said. “Even though it lasts just six seconds there is a lot going on out there and that is what makes it so exciting.”
The new class will join Top Fuel, Pro Fuel, Pro Stock and a ton of extras including jet trucks, wheelstanders and a number of bonus classes at Nitro Jam events in 2010. The new format is designed to better suite the spectator with more variety than ever before fit into a shorter window giving race fans and thrill seekers alike a chance to see everything in a more compact, action-filled show.
“I think it is awesome and long overdue. The average American family has a lot of decisions to make entertainment wise. They can go to a hockey game or a baseball game for two or three hours, but drag racing is the only sport in the country where you have to devote a whole weekend to see the outcome,” Dunn said. “The new IHRA format is now like a hockey game or a football game. We are going to get in a fist fight, put it all on the line and determine a winner each night. It is revolutionary in the drag racing industry and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”
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