Turbocharging had no significant impact on the two-lane acceleration game until the late Buddy Ingersoll turned the Pro Stock world upside down when he brought his twin-turbo, V-6-powered Buick Regal, a former Warren Johnson car, to the track at both IHRA and NHRA sanctioned events in the mid-80s. In what at the time would have been the ultimate sacrilege, Ingersoll reached the final round of Pro Stock at the 1986 IHRA Fall Nationals at Bristol, Tennessee. The negative outcry that arose from the ranks of the traditional Pro Stock contingent, they of the massive, naturally-aspirated V8 powerplants, in the aftermath of the what-could-have-been scenario spelled the end for Ingersoll’s bold experiment. Looking back, however, it’s now obvious that Ingersoll stuck his toe into a door that has now been flung wide open as turbo equipped race cars are today among the quickest and fastest in the world of drag racing.

At the forefront of the revolution that is rewriting drag racing’s history and record books is the PDRA and its Precision Turbo & Engine Pro Boost category, which, just three races into the season has proven to be an outstanding part of the new organization’s overall racing strategy. Thus far in 2014, the class elapsed time mark, set at Rockingham by Todd Tutterow, stands at 3.859, while Todd Moyer holds the mile-per-hour record of 205.22, also posted at Rockingham.

Since 2008, Precision Turbo and Engine customers have compiled over 103 world championships and set over 200 world records, a feat that no other forced induction manufacturer can claim.

PTE owner and president Harry Hruska is extremely satisfied with the way things are going with the new eighth-mile series and particularly the Pro Boost class.

“I think it’s real exciting that the class has taken off as well as it has, and it’s real exciting that there seems to be good parity built into the class already,” Hruska said. “Of course we have to see how the rest of the year pans out and how people get their programs set up to run this class on the eighth-mile. There may be some adjustments down the road but right now it’s really good.

“I think our younger generation is basically turbo driven,” said Hruska when asked why he felt the turbo combination in drag racing has shown such steady gains over the years. “In motorsports we always have to look towards the future, and turbocharging is a factor when it comes to the products being manufactured and sold by auto makers around the world. Turbocharged vehicles can literally be found in every dealership these days and in some cases it’s their premier product. This is what our kids are exposed to so you have to realize that this is the future. What we have to figure out is how we will keep our car counts in years to come. What kind of cars are going to be racing twenty-five years from now? We have to be sure there’s a recipe for success in that area.”

For years the turbocharged combination was treated as the proverbial red-headed stepchild in the fast doorslammer arena. As the blower and nitrous sides squared off in a fight for superiority, turbos were considered nothing more than a curiosity - a great idea that not many racers could make work consistently in real world competition.

That has all changed now, according to Hruska.

“I think that turbocharging in racing has now earned the respect it deserves, but I also believe that there’s more on the table,” he said. “I think there’s more respect that needs to be earned. Even though there have been guys racing with turbos for over thirty years, the category is still in its early years. It hasn’t matured the way naturally-aspirated, supercharged or nitrous cars have – there still aren’t that many people doing it. However, there is a much solider foundation today than there was even ten years ago. Just as the Internet has expanded our horizons electronically, turbocharging today is one of the fastest-growing power-adders in the world.”

Precision Turbo & Engines has accomplished an enviable racing reputation. Being a leading innovator in the field has undoubtedly contributed to the success of turbos in competition.

“We always have something new on the horizon, that’s for sure,” said Hruska. “Today our main focus is working to stay ahead of our customers and anticipating what they will need and when they will need it. We have to take into consideration the fact that we have to run with our power-adder friends and we don’t want to get too far ahead technology wise and risk the loss of parity and adding major expense to a racer’s budget. We want our racers to be able to race and their competitors to be able to race against them. Everybody wants to win, but the balance is making sure people have the opportunity to win. We don’t want the rules to become so tight that the turbochargers can’t run. There has to be a place for every power-adder in motorsports.”

Thanks to the PDRA, there’s now a place for many of the best turbocharged cars in the country to compete, a fact appreciated by Hruska.
“My overall take on the PDRA is that it’s run by a group of honest people who are really passionate about the sport. I’m very optimistic that they are going to keep this program together and grow it. This will greatly help the motorsports industry and that’s why we are participating with them because we have confidence that they will be successful. We want to help them any way we can to be successful because racers need a place to race and sponsors need a place to promote themselves. There’s a huge business plan that all has to come together for any sanctioning body to be successful. At PTE our vision is simple - we always want to be on top and we always want to provide the best possible products for our customers. We feel we can go a long way towards fulfilling that vision by partnering with the PDRA.”

This is a sentiment expressed by the PDRA as well.

“It’s great to see the racer and sponsor support behind the Pro Boost class,” said PDRA Race Director Bob Harris. “Already this year we have increased the fields in Pro Boost from eight to sixteen, and the car counts have been great at every event. We really appreciate Precision Turbo and Pro Line for backing this venture. The future looks bright for the PDRA and the Pro Boost class.”