{"id":101764,"date":"2025-07-22T19:18:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T19:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/pro-modified-veteran-tommy-daprile-set-for-return-winter-series-debut\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T19:18:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T19:18:26","slug":"pro-modified-veteran-tommy-daprile-set-for-return-winter-series-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/pro-modified-veteran-tommy-daprile-set-for-return-winter-series-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro Modified Veteran Tommy D\u2019Aprile Set for Return, Winter Series Debut\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tommy D\u2019Aprile, the 2018 PDRA Pro Boost world champion, is coming off of the sidelines and jumping into a new ride as he prepares to make his Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service debut. The Pro Modified veteran, who stepped back from full-time competition in recent years, teamed up with R&R Racing Products owners Mike and Julie Riechers to drive their new screw-blown C7 Corvette in the three-race Winter Series at Bradenton Motorsports Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

D\u2019Aprile and Riechers, who both live about an hour from Bradenton on Florida\u2019s Gulf Coast, have been friends and have worked together on engine building projects for years. When Riechers purchased a new-to-him car, a G-Force Race Cars C7 Corvette formerly campaigned by Louis Ouimette, the two started discussing the possibility of a partnership. They came to an agreement and decided to go all-in on a Winter Series campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe car looks brand-spanking-new, and we\u2019ll have all the best parts and pieces to go with that setup,\u201d said D\u2019Aprile, who noted that Mark Savage, the 2023 WSOPM winning crew chief, will serve as tuner. \u201cMike and his wife have really stepped up and put all the good parts together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Corvette is a really, really nice piece,\u201d Riechers added. \u201cWe have a new engine, new M&M Transmission and converter, 11-inch Chrisman billet rear end. I think we have all the right parts and pieces together to hopefully compete with a proven driver and a proven crew chief on board. I\u2019m hoping that we can go out there and do something this winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The R&R Racing Products Corvette will serve as a proving grounds for Riechers connecting rods, which are used by top Pro Mod crew chiefs and engine shops like Resolution Racing Services, MSR Performance, Noonan Race Engineering, Al Billes, and Jan-Cen Racing Engines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m my own engine builder, so when we get done with every race, the engine comes completely apart and we go through everything,\u201d Riechers said. \u201cWe have our own full machine shop here. We mag the crank, check the rods, wrist pins, and pistons, you name it. We check everything out in the engine and try to figure out what it takes to make our aluminum connecting rods better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, D\u2019Aprile has been doing everything he can to stay sharp as a driver. He\u2019s competed in local bracket races and Top Sportsman races, even reaching the final round in Top Sportsman at the 2025 PRO Superstar Shootout. He preaches the importance of putting in work behind-the-scenes as a driver in his long-running\u00a0Drag Illustrated<\/em>\u00a0column, and now he\u2019s ready to put it to practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing about it is I\u2019m going to be very focused,\u201d D\u2019Aprile said. \u201cI take my health and my fitness very seriously. I think it\u2019s a job.\u00a0\u00a0We\u2019re going to work hard. I\u2019m going to get to bed early and get up early the next day and get ready to do what we do. It\u2019s been tough standing on the starting line when you know your heart wants to be in the car, so to be able to get back in the seat and feel it out again is really exciting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Merely getting back into a Pro Mod is a thrill for D\u2019Aprile, but to do it in the second annual DI Winter Series \u2013 the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals in December, the U.S. Street Nationals in January, and the World Series of Pro Mod in February \u2013 at his home track is the ultimate opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Winter Series racing has turned into the most exciting and close racing that I\u2019ve ever seen in my life,\u201d D\u2019Aprile said. \u201cSixty-plus cars and the fields are separated by less than a tenth of a second. This is the stuff, man. This is where it all comes together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my home track,\u201d D\u2019Aprile continued. \u201cI\u2019ve been racing here since Art Malone owned the track. It\u2019s been amazing to see the upgrades to the track and the crowds these races bring in. Pulling out there and competing with the best of the best again \u2013 I\u2019ve got to tell you, it gets me emotional just thinking about it. A lot of my good friends who\u2019ve been racing since my rookie season are still out there and there\u2019s a lot of new guys. I can tell you one thing, I don\u2019t believe I\u2019ve lost any sort of edge on the starting line, and I think that\u2019s what it\u2019s going to take to win it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tara Bowker photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Riechers is also charged up about the Winter Series and the revamped effort the R&R team has put forth to ensure they\u2019re contenders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the races I look forward to every year,\u201d Riechers said. \u201cIt\u2019s an hour from home and all of our friends are down here. The pay is really good and the competition is as stiff as it comes anywhere. That\u2019s what led to making all these upgrades.\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u2019Aprile and Riechers plan to start testing in late September before D\u2019Aprile makes his competition return at Orlando Speed World\u2019s World Street Nationals in November. They\u2019ll start the Winter Series at the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks, Dec. 5-7, at Bradenton Motorsports Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Along with R&R Racing Products, the team\u2019s supporters include Riechers\u2019 sponsor, Water Medic of Cape Coral, and D\u2019Aprile\u2019s partners like Right Trailers, DK Corporation, and King\u2019s Crossing Wedding Barn Inc.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne word is just grateful,\u201d said D\u2019Aprile, who will continue his work with God Speed Ministry and Racers For Christ. \u201cI\u2019ve done this for a long time and it\u2019s hard to find opportunities to come back out because financially, they\u2019ve become monsters to run. By no means can I afford my own team. These cars eat money. I\u2019m very grateful to Mike and Julie for allowing me the opportunity to come back out and do what I do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on July 22, 2025. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post Pro Modified Veteran Tommy D\u2019Aprile Set for Return, Winter Series Debut\u00a0<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tommy D\u2019Aprile, the 2018 PDRA Pro Boost world champion, is coming off of the sidelines and jumping into a new ride as he prepares to make his Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service debut. The Pro Modified veteran, who stepped back from full-time competition in recent years, teamed up with R&R Racing Products […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}