NHRA Pro Stock Rule Change Draws Mixed Reaction

NHRA Pro Stock Rule Change Draws Mixed ReactionIcon Sports Wire - Getty Images

A decade after ditching hood scoops and implementing Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI), the NHRA is doing an about face with the Pro Stock class. But not every driver thinks the move will result in what the Technical Department is promoting—parity, lower costs, and increased participation.

EFI will remain, hood scoops will return in 2027, and the single forward-facing throttle body will give way to two top-mounted four-barrel-style throttle bodies.

In layman’s terms, “it's a total waste of money for all of the teams,” according to KB Titan Racing megateam principal and Pro Stock driver Eric Latino.

Latino, prefacing his remarks by emphasizing that they aren’t intended to sound arrogant, contended that the performance gap his organization has on rival Elite Motorsports and any other team will be the same unless other teams use the same work ethic his does. “I’m just telling the truth,” he said.

“Some of the teams have tested with the throttle bodies up top and hood scoop and picked up 15 horsepower so far,” he said. “You know how well the KB Titan cars perform. So, if the other teams are picking up 15 horsepower, do they not think that we will also pick up 15 horsepower or more? We will spend about $50,000 per car and be no further ahead.

Eric Lation of KB Titan Racing.Icon Sportswire - Getty Images

“These other teams need to understand that the KB Titan team is the hardest-working Pro Stock team out there and no matter what the rules are, we will always outwork all of the other teams and will continue to dominate until they learn or commit to work just as hard as our guys do. They are focused, committed, and relentless,” Latino said. “And that's what it takes to be a championship team.”

Latino had a message for the sanctioning body, too: “If they want the Pro Stock cars to run quicker and pick up 50 horsepower, then we have a program that NHRA should be listening to.”

Latino’s son and KB Racing teammate Matt Latino said, “Ultimately I don’t think this really does a whole lot. There’s a lot of speculation out there or talk that this is going to help some of the smaller, single-car teams compete kind of on our level. And I would like to believe that, because I wish we could bridge some of that gap. But at the same time, I don’t think that’s really the case. We’ve got a ton of CNC machines that never shut off. We will not stop until we know that we are absolutely dialed in and ready to dominate. We have the best CNC equipment. We have the best machine shop. That’s why we’re doing so well over the past few years. And ultimately, once we all adapt and get outfitted with the same scoops, same thing’s going to happen. Maybe be a small period where everyone’s learning, but we’ll get to it and we’ll pick it back up again.”

Matt Latino said he’s not looking forward to being hit with increased costs.

“I just know that it’s going to cost me more money next year to go racing. It certainly will cost a lot of money. Hopefully, I can sell that hood-scoop spot to someone who wants to put their company name on it to make up for the difference. But it will cost more. There’s no doubt about it. It’s more R&D, which is good—R&D is good for the sport. As someone who pays a very large amount of money to do this, I’m not too thrilled about it, because it’s not like a lot of people say, ‘Oh, just cut a hole, put a scoop on, that’s all there is to it.’ That’s not the case. There are thousands of dollars—hundreds of thousands of dollars, really—to do R&D and to outfit all six of our cars with this set-up. We’re talking about developing all new intake manifolds, body work on all the cars, paint work on all the cars, all the R&D, the dyno time. It is going to be nonstop. Our guys are going to be working overtime easily until the spring. It’s not going to be any stopping.”

Matt Latino.Icon Sportswire - Getty Images

Although Matt Latino sees drawbacks to the new policy, he also has found positives.

“I’m pretty new to this,” he younger Latino said. “I haven’t been racing Pro Stock for many years. This is my first full year in the car. So for me, it’s not like I’ve gotten used to one combination and I’ve spent years going with that. So I think I can adapt pretty easily. As a driver, I don’t really care a whole lot. I think if we can pick up power and we can go faster, that’s exciting to me.

“Ultimately, I see a lot of the comments online. It seems like fans are pretty excited about it. So if fans like it, then I like it, because that’s what keeps the sport alive. I’m indifferent on the topic. I can adapt, but financially, I don’t think it makes a lot of sense.”

Jeg Coughlin Jr., who competes under the Elite Motorsports umbrella, was only positive—although he joked about having to sit differently in the seat to adjust to the hood scoops again. (See Erica Enders’ Elite Motorsports car at the top of the story.)

“The new hood scoop rule coming for the 2027 season is being welcomed by the teams to help improve performance and potentially reduce the continual research and development costs created from the current approved format,” he said.

“From a drivers perspective I don’t see a big change, as we’ve run with hood scoops up and until 2016,” Coughlin sad. “The view will definitely change in the left lane. We will go from a virtually open windshield now to having to raise and look around the approved hood scoop. The Pro Stock ‘lean’ will be back.”