Jim Howe:<\/strong> For me, it\u2019s just a matter of competing with the best in the industry. I feel like the No Prep Kings racers have shown that we aren\u2019t the low-hanging fruit that so many thought we were. I believe that on an equal playing field, anybody in NPK can compete at the top in Pro Mod. We\u2019re going one step further at this first race. I\u2019m bringing my NPK car and we\u2019re going to see how we stack up. I believe there\u2019s something to be said for bringing a steel roof and quarter car to the first one. We\u2019ve been high 60\u2019s in NPK trim, so I think we can run with them. I might be made a fool out of, but at least we\u2019ll be there trying.<\/p>\n Jimmy Taylor:<\/strong> I\u2019ve always wanted to run Pro Mod, and run against that caliber of guys. I really enjoy No Prep Kings, but I just feel like it\u2019s more competitive in Pro Mod. I honestly think it\u2019s the elite class. I want to race against the best in the world \u2013 Stevie Jackson, Todd Tutterow, Mark Micke \u2013 and I think that\u2019s where they\u2019re at.\u00a0<\/p>\n Robin Roberts:<\/strong> When this started, I thought, \u2018That looks like a lot of fun.\u2019 That\u2019s what interests me the most \u2013 I love racing and I want to have fun doing it. If I see something that I think will be fun, I want to go do it. I love what\u2019s been put together here, I love the format, and I think it\u2019s gonna be a blast.<\/p>\n Kye Kelley:<\/strong> I went over to the PDRA just to test my car, and we had a good time. I kind of realized my steel-bodied car could halfway compete in that class. I know Pro Boost is supposed to be the fastest class in the world, so I\u2019m just kind of dabbling into that side of racing.<\/p>\n Scott Taylor:<\/strong> The advertisements I\u2019ve seen from Wes [Buck] and Drag Illustrated definitely caught my attention. And American Pride Golf Carts, they\u2019ve been on board with us for a few years and (owner Paul Hayden) comes from a Pro Mod background. We\u2019ve had a great relationship and he\u2019s from Florida, so I think it will be a great fit. We\u2019re all super excited about this deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n Season 7 of NPK saw the highest level of competition yet in the series. Looking ahead to Bradenton, how do you see the competition stacking up with over 60 of the best Pro Mod teams in the world on the property?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n ST:<\/strong> There\u2019s no doubt, we\u2019re coming to race with some of the best racers in the world. We\u2019re not coming in thinking it\u2019s going to be easy or that we\u2019re going to win our first event, but what we are going to do is show up and be prepared to be one of the most competitive cars on the property. I refuse to be a class filler. We\u2019re not coming to be a class filler, but we also know how difficult it\u2019s going to be to win a race too.<\/p>\n RR:<\/strong> On the surface, it looks like it\u2019ll be NPK times five. In NPK, we\u2019re all separated by such a small number. I don\u2019t expect anything different here. One through 64 should all be separated by a tenth at most, at least in capability. It\u2019s going to be super tight, and it\u2019s going to be intense. That\u2019s what I\u2019m looking forward to; that\u2019s part of the fun.<\/p>\n JT:<\/strong> I definitely have to bring my A-game to be competitive. Like I said, I think that\u2019s the best class of guys in the world. When you go [to Winter Series], you\u2019ve got over 60 cars that are liable to be in the winner\u2019s circle at the end of the night. You\u2019re talking about people that have been doing this their whole life. There\u2019s not one duck in this series. It doesn\u2019t matter who you draw, you better bring your A-game or they\u2019ll load you on the trailer.<\/p>\n JH:<\/strong> Well, that\u2019s what we want. I don\u2019t like kicking puppies. We want to come and race with the best and cement our program as one of them. And this is a perfect opportunity to be able to do that. What Drag Illustrated and Wes have done is allow that, and in a perfect world, I\u2019d like to see us be able to show that we are a force to be reckoned with regardless of what surface we\u2019re on or who else is competing. I\u2019ve said it for years, if there\u2019s somebody out there that\u2019s faster, I want them to come race with us because I need to be taking notes.<\/p>\n KK:<\/strong> I like racing against the best in the world. I love driving against guys like Travis Harvey that you know is going to cut a good light. I\u2019m really looking forward to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n As we all know, the main goal when any driver shows up is to win the event. But aside from that, what are some realistic goals or expectations you all have?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n RR:<\/strong> For me, with this being our first foray into Pro Mod, my goal is to learn. We\u2019re going to be intent about learning, especially in the first race where we\u2019re going to run the NPK car. We run our own program, do all our own tuning, so we\u2019ll need to adjust a little bit. We\u2019re just going to learn how to make these things go, and that\u2019s the other part of the fun. I love the competition; but to me, learning something new, gaining knowledge, and watching this team we\u2019ve put together be able to grow through it too\u2026I don\u2019t even know if they know what\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n KK:<\/strong> It just seems like everybody has kind of looked at us our entire TV career as outlaw street racers \u2013 dumbasses, really. We enjoy coming over and proving to people that we can race with the best, drive with the best, cut a light with the best, and that our equipment is just as good as theirs. I showed a lot of people at PDRA that our cars are a lot faster than they thought we were. I know my car\u2019s got a lot more left in it, so in my heart I feel like I can compete with them in the car I got.\u00a0<\/p>\n ST:<\/strong> For the first outing, if we can qualify in the top half the field, I would be very happy. Like I say, Pro Mod teams coming to no prep would be just as hard for them as us coming to Pro Mod. It\u2019s a different animal. There\u2019s going to be a learning curve, we\u2019re going to make mistakes. If we can get a round win, every single round will be a bonus. If we can pick up a win, that would be icing on the cake.\u00a0<\/p>\n JT:<\/strong> I definitely want to qualify. That\u2019s my biggest goal is to make that top 32 and get into the race. I feel like we\u2019re up against the best and it\u2019s gonna be tough. But after this first race, it\u2019s going to let us know where we stand, and what we have to do to improve.<\/p>\n JH:<\/strong> For us, it\u2019s really just to be there on race day. I\u2019ve watched every World Series of Pro Mod, and I\u2019ve watched every one of these races play out. You\u2019ve got 65 bears that are trying to get in this field. Traditionally, you get some really fast runs when the conditions are right, but the race is ran in conditions like we race in regularly. So for us, it\u2019s about not making mistakes and getting ourselves into the program. I feel like there\u2019s a big statement to be made right there. Being the fastest on the grounds is great, but being the guy that\u2019s the last one standing is way better.<\/p>\n A large portion of your fanbase is accustomed to seeing you not show times in NPK. How excited are you for the opportunity to light the scoreboards and show everyone just how fast you all are?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n KK:<\/strong> I grew up as a grudge racer, so I was always real secretive about my times. So falling into the Street Outlaws<\/em> brand was perfect for me. But now that I\u2019ve raced and tuned against everybody that never turns clocks on, it makes it hard. It\u2019s just a big guess on how fast we need to go. It\u2019s gonna be nice to go and look at the scoreboards and see what the guy you drew actually ran before. I think that\u2019ll be a little easier, and give people a chance to see how fast our cars really go.<\/p>\n ST:<\/strong> That\u2019s one of my biggest things is wanting to light the scoreboard. I haven\u2019t put a number on the board in a very long time, probably 10 years. There\u2019s a ton of people out there that like to say we\u2019re not fast, or that any of the guys that race in other sanctioning bodies could come over and walk all over us. And that\u2019s just not the case. With no prep and grudge racing, the numbers are confidential, but I\u2019m ready to share it with the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n JH:<\/strong> It\u2019s a double-edged sword. We have a chance to go out there and show what we\u2019ve been saying all along \u2013 that we do run these numbers. I think we should show times, but I also respect the no-time world and what they\u2019re trying to accomplish. I get it on both sides, but I want people to see how fast we go and I want to see how fast others go because I think that kind of separates the men from the boys.<\/p>\n RR:<\/strong> It\u2019ll be interesting. It\u2019s something we\u2019ve never shown before. To be able to watch it and see the true numbers\u2026it\u2019s going to be just as interesting for us, because we\u2019re not used to that kind of racing. I don\u2019t know what the other guy did, I don\u2019t know what the differences were in mph. We do a lot of guessing. It will be interesting for us to see those differences. I think in No Prep Kings it would be a distraction, but at the Winter Series it will be very interesting for us.\u00a0<\/p>\n JT:<\/strong> I\u2019m a fan of the clocks. I would love for them to do that in NPK. I know there\u2019s a lot of people that don\u2019t like the clocks, but I love for the fans to see the times. You wouldn\u2019t believe how many people come up and say we can\u2019t run a 4.00 in NPK. They just don\u2019t have a clue. I\u2019ve been 3.72 at 208 mph in a no prep car. I understand NPK\u2019s side of it too, though, because if you\u2019re a guy that can only run 4.00, you\u2019re either going to get better or you\u2019re going to leave the scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n Final thoughts \u2013 with just a couple weeks left until the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals, what are you most excited about or looking forward to once the Winter Series begins?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n JT:<\/strong> For me, it\u2019s getting to see all the people that are into that type of racing. I\u2019ve got a lot of friends that run Pro Mod. These are guys I\u2019ve watched my whole life, and now I actually get to go out there and see where I stack up against them. I\u2019m just excited to be there. I think what Wes is doing is going to be the next big thing. I believe it\u2019s really going to take off, and I just want to get in on the ground floor of it.<\/p>\n RR:<\/strong> I\u2019m looking forward to getting into competition with a whole new group of people, learning who they are, and building relationships like we have in No Prep Kings. I also think there\u2019s a little bit of looking forward to showing how fast we can be in something like this.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n KK:<\/strong> Just going fast, man; seeing how fast this car can really go. My ultimate goal is to get as close to the 3.50\u2019s as we can. If I put a steel-bodied car in the 3.50\u2019s, that\u2019s gotta be some type of world record. That\u2019s my goal, that\u2019s my plan. Other than that, I\u2019m gonna come down there and meet a whole different type of drag racing fans, mingle with them, and give them boys everything we\u2019ve got.\u00a0<\/p>\n ST:<\/strong> We\u2019ve been on a fast-paced deal with NPK. There\u2019s not a lot of classes there, so they\u2019ve been pushing us pretty hard and I haven\u2019t got to spend as much time with other teams, friends, and fans as much as I would like. I\u2019m looking forward to talking with a lot of people there in Florida, meeting new people and seeing old friends; getting back into the sport we love, hanging out, talking a bit, and socializing. That\u2019s what we\u2019re really looking forward to.<\/p>\n JH:<\/strong> I\u2019m most excited \u2013 and also a little nervous \u2013 about the opportunity to go out there. It\u2019s not a big secret, we had a good year as far as how we finished in No Prep Kings, but I had probably one of the worst years I\u2019ve ever had drag racing because we were faced with so many obstacles. So I\u2019m excited about being past all that, going down there and actually racing and having a good time. I\u2019m excited to go out there and race with these guys that I\u2019ve held in high regard for years. Having a deal where we\u2019re all going to come together on one stage is the most exciting thing I think we\u2019ve seen in a long time.<\/p>\n This story was originally published on November 18, 2024. The post DI Roundtable: NPK Stars Discuss Competing at Upcoming Drag Illustrated Winter Series<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The\u00a0Drag Illustrated Winter Series kicks off at Bradenton Motorsports Park with the historic Snowbird Outlaw Nationals on December 6-8, 2024, followed by the U.S. Street Nationals on January 24-26, 2025, and culminates with the World Series of Pro Mod from February 27 to March 1, 2025. This year, joining the elite field of Pro Mod […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97089","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"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97089\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/npk-sunday-54.jpg\")
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