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John
Pluchino Becomes Underdog Champ in PDRA Pro Stock
PITTSBORO, N.C. (November 13, 2016): After a one year
hiatus, the PDRA welcomed back Extreme Pro Stock with a
five race schedule. The racers and organization greeted
each other with open arms, welcoming the reunion. With a
small schedule, XPS racers knew each run could play a
major role in the 2016 PDRA Pro Stock World Championship
decision.
With wins early in the season New Yorker John Pluchino and
North Carolinian Richard Penland set themselves apart as
championship contenders. They each continued a strong
push, with Penland going to two additional finals to take
the points lead over Pluchino, who had scored a runner up
finish himself. By the time the season approached the last
event of the year, Pluchino and Penland had pulled away
from former champions, Brian Gahm, Doug Kirk and John
Montecalvo.
The year started off really well,” Pluchino said,
describing his season. “We were able to scrape some money
together and buy the Mustang from Scott Hintz. This was
the first season with it and we really didn’t know how the
car was going to perform. The car really ran good. Any
adjustments we made really showed up. We qualified number
one at three races. We won Michigan. We were runner up a
couple of times.”
With the great season, Pluchino was sitting second in
points with an outside shot at the championship |
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leading up to the PDRA World
Finals. “Going into this last race in Virginia we were 203 points behind
Richard Penland,” Pluchino continued. “The only way we could win the
championship was to qualify number one and go two rounds further than
Richard. We were skeptical. That would be a pretty tough thing to do.
Friday night when we qualified number one, I said to my son, ‘We’ve
actually got a shot at this.’ But we still had to go two rounds past
Richard. We won the first round and Richard won the first round. Second
round we had to run Richard and we beat him. That meant we had to get to
the final to win the championship.”
Fortunately for Pluchino, his number one qualifying spot earned him a bye
run in the semi-finals and once he staged he was officially the 2016
Extreme Pro Stock World Champion.
“God willing somehow or other we did it,” Pluchino said humbly. “It was a
pretty awesome feat for us. We got lucky this year, real lucky. Just to
race against guys like John Montecalvo, Brian Gahm, Doug Kirk - they’re
all champions. And to race against them and win a championship is pretty
exciting for us.
While winning a world championship is a major accomplishment for anyone,
for a low budget team like Pluchino’s a victory at that level is perhaps a
little sweeter. Although Pluchino was able to purchase a new-to-him car
this season, he still relied on his trusty old Jon Kaase Racing Engine,
which, at 15 years old, is ancient in the Pro Stock world.
“We’re definitely the underdogs. My engine is one of the oldest out there.
We take good care of it. Jon Kaase updates it for me all the time. It
doesn’t make as much power as the top guys out there. We have to make that
much better runs than they do. For us to run as good as they do we have to
kill it every run. And we try and do just that. We have to work that much
harder to compete with these guys. And we do. We work real hard.
“This is a very small budget team. I say that because we don’t even have a
budget. Nobody gets paid. We all do it because we love it. My whole crew
consists of my son Johnny - he works harder than anybody out there; a good
friend of mine Bill, who owns a repair shop on Long Island and he takes
off from his business to come racing with us; then I have a good friend
named Brud who’s been racing with me for over 20 years now. He’s another
diehard racer. This championship was a team win. I could have never done
this without my son and my guys. Everybody on the team made this happen.
It was a great win for us all.
“I want to thank Jon Kaase and all the guys over at Kaase Engines. Somehow
or other, they find ways to make this old engine run with all the new
style stuff. They do a great job for me. I want to thank Jerry Haas Race
Cars, Pat from RAM Clutches, Adam from Precision Racing Suspensions. Also
want to throw out a thank you to a couple of local guys here. Nicky and
Chris Montana own Montana Race Cars, a local chassis shop. They’re always
there for me anytime I need any help. Dominique and Anthony from Florida
are two of my biggest supporters and they’re always there for me.”
Pluchino will wear the brazen number one next season as Pro Stock will
make a return the PDRA series as a regular class running the full
schedule. With support growing for the class throughout this return
season, Pluchino says he expects a good car count next season. The 2016
season produced incredible side-by-side racing and 2017 promises more of
the same. One of the best stories from this year actually came after the
championship was clinched.
“We’re all good friends and always there to help each other,” Pluchino
began again. “After we won the championship, I had to run Enoch Love’s car
in the final. Before we got there, he was packing up to go home. He had
broken his transmission. I told him, ‘You can’t go home. This is the first
race you’ve been back.’ I went to my trailer and gave them all the parts
they needed to fix the transmission. Then they ended up beating me in the
finals. I think that was pretty funny. And you wanna know something? I
would do it all over again.”
Winning a championship ranks pretty high in the logbook, but, like many
racers, for Pluchino, the racer bond is what keeps him coming back.
Photo: Gary Rowe /
PDRA660.com / RaceWorks.com
ABOUT THE PDRA
Based in Pittsboro, North Carolina, the Professional Drag Racers
Association is the top sanctioning body in the United States for the sport
of eighth-mile drag racing. The PDRA’s professional categories include Pro
Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Pro Boost, and Pro Extreme Motorcycle along with Top
Sportsman, Top Dragster, Pro Jr. Dragster, and Top Jr. Dragster. The 2016
PDRA schedule consists of nine national events. For more on the world’s
premier eighth mile drag racing organization visit
www.pdra660.com.
Follow the PDRA:
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram,
YouTube.
PRESS CONTACT: Lisa Collier
Professional Drag Racers Association
lisa@pdra660.com
704.692.4636
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