After a record-setting winter season in Bradenton, Florida, Drag Illustrated founder and editorial director Wes Buck is looking beyond state lines—and even national borders—to expand the reach of the World Series of Pro Mod. While he’s quick to point out that Florida remains the immediate priority, Buck believes the seeds for a truly international Pro Mod tour are already planted and poised to take root across the globe.
The Drag Illustrated Winter Series and its marquee World Series of Pro Mod (WSOPM) have quickly been established as amongst the most competitive venues in drag racing today, and the level of competition and parity is especially significant considering the wide variety of engine, power adder and body styles included. The inaugural running of the DI Winter Series has showcased remarkable parity: from centrifugal superchargers to nitrous oxide injection, twin turbos, and a variety of blower configurations, every combination finds a way to remain competitive. Incredibly tight qualifying ladders – separated by mere hundredths of a second—underscore why fans and racers alike are increasingly calling this the most exciting eliminator in drag racing.
As proud as he is of how far the Winter Series and WSOPM have come, Buck sees an even greater opportunity by looking overseas. He points out that, at the most recent Bradenton race, drivers arrived from Australia, Russia, Brazil, Sweden, Puerto Rico, and several Canadian provinces—not to mention from all corners of the continental United States. Past iterations have featured racers from the Middle East, and it’s clear there’s room for more. In Buck’s mind, the next logical step is launching a series of “qualifier” events in major international markets.
“The dream scenario,” he says, “would be a WSOPM European Qualifier, a Middle East or Arabian Gulf Region Qualifier, and one in Australia, possibly another. We want to go where the sport is already doing well, invite those teams to run under our rules, and then funnel them into the main show in Florida. That’s when things could really get crazy.”
For Buck, the main challenge lies in unifying disparate rulesets. Plenty of international Pro Mod and doorslammer racers run exclusively on the quarter mile, or are restricted in terms of which power adders they can use. Moving everyone to an eighth-mile format with additional power-adder freedom will require open minds on both sides. Still, he sees enough appetite among racers—those hungry for the kind of excitement, enthusiasm and drama the WSOPM delivers—that he firmly believes the groundwork exists.
“I’m blissfully content with what we’ve accomplished,” Buck explains, “especially considering the fan and racer support we’ve seen and how tight the fields have been. Across three winter races, our average No. 1 qualifier was 3.577, and the average bump was 3.646 – that’s 32 drivers separated by just a hair under seven-hundredths of a second. That’s insane. I know we can take this same energy and level of competition to iconic drag venues around the world.”
Buck often refers to Pro Mod as “the universal language of drag racing,” a sentiment he backs up by pointing to the wide range of countries and powertrain combinations that have already converged on the Florida stage. He believes these international qualifiers would only enhance that vibe: the allure of bringing together drivers from every corner of the world, all dialed in on a common rulebook, all chasing that same elusive trophy and big-money payday at the grand finale.
The plan, he admits, will demand careful coordination and collaboration with international promoters, track owners, and racer communities who have grown accustomed to their own norms. But from Buck’s perspective, the reward is worth the work. A unified, worldwide door-car championship, culminating in the biggest Pro Mod race on the planet, could be exactly the push needed to elevate the class—and drag racing as a whole—to new heights of mainstream recognition.
“There’s no doubt we’re going to take this show on the road,” he says. “When, exactly, is still up in the air, but the desire is there. The racers are out there, the fans are out there, and the facilities are out there. Now it’s a matter of putting the puzzle together. We’ve proven the formula works in Florida; now the fun is figuring out how to make it play in Sydney, Santa Pod, Qatar—wherever doorslammer drag racing thrives. I think it’s more than doable.”
For Buck and the WSOPM, it’s no longer a question of whether the show will expand beyond U.S. borders—only how soon. The excitement of a true “world” series has never been higher, and with scores of international teams already eyeing the eighth-mile chaos in Florida, it seems only a matter of time before that chaos goes global.
This story was originally published on March 21, 2025.
The post Wes Buck Teases International Expansion for World Series of Pro Mod first appeared on Drag Illustrated.