{"id":98833,"date":"2025-02-11T22:18:23","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T22:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/johnny-pluchino-seeking-elusive-mountain-motor-pro-stock-invitational-victory\/"},"modified":"2025-02-11T22:18:23","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T22:18:23","slug":"johnny-pluchino-seeking-elusive-mountain-motor-pro-stock-invitational-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/johnny-pluchino-seeking-elusive-mountain-motor-pro-stock-invitational-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnny Pluchino Seeking Elusive Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

After winning the inaugural Johnson\u2019s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world championship last season, there isn\u2019t much that Johnny Pluchino hasn\u2019t accomplished in Mountain Motor Pro Stock. He\u2019s a two-time PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion with numerous wins in both PDRA and NHRA competition. He\u2019s won the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars all-star event. But a win at the Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational (MMPSI) has eluded him, and he\u2019s determined to change that this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pluchino is one of more than 18 drivers expected to compete in the $25,000-to-win MMPSI during the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, Feb. 27-March 1, at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Driving his Kaase-powered Feather-Lite Batteries \u201913 Mustang, Pluchino raced to a runner-up finish to Matt Giangrande at the 2024 MMPSI and reached the semifinals the year before that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the trophy missing on the mantle right now,\u201d Pluchino said. \u201cIt\u2019s the one I want. Not that we\u2019re done by any stretch, but we\u2019ve accomplished everything else there is to accomplish in this class. That\u2019s the one spot that\u2019s kind of empty and we\u2019re gonna fill it. We\u2019ve got two races like this under our belt for the last two years. Went to the semis and the finals, so the next step is to win the damn thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Chris Sears photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The MMPSI is a unique standalone event for the drivers and teams who compete in the PDRA Extreme Pro Stock and NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock series. Without points implications to consider, racers can focus on chasing the $25,000 prize and the bragging rights that come with a win at Bradenton. The chip draw format, where qualified drivers use random chip draws to determine pairings in eliminations, also appeals to Pluchino.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chip draw really stirs things up,\u201d Pluchino said. \u201cYou can get somebody who maybe wouldn\u2019t normally make it to the final. Maybe they get some momentum early with some more favorable matchups. It really stirs the pot and it gives you a little bit of a different take on how you race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, Pluchino has been working with event officials to round up racer and sponsor support for the MMPSI. More than 20 drivers have accepted their invitations to partake in the third annual running of the MMPSI.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of the group as a whole,\u201d said Pluchino, who\u2019s been around Mountain Motor Pro Stock racing since his father, John, started competing in the class in 2007. \u201cThey\u2019ve really showed the support. From talking to everybody, I\u2019m expecting a really nice turnout for a 16-car field and plan on having a bump spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than going out and qualifying with a time on the bottom of the scoreboard that you need to run in order to be in the show,\u201d Pluchino continued. \u201cThat makes it exciting. It makes racers push, and once you\u2019re in, you\u2019re in. It\u2019s anyone\u2019s race. We plan on having enough racers out there to have a nice bump spot and make you push the envelope a little bit in qualifying to get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Scott Witty photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The World Series of Pro Mod serves as the grand finale for the inaugural three-race Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service. The Pro Mod winner will walk away with $150,000 and the points champion will pocket a $25,000 bonus. The WSOPM lineup also includes the second annual Pro 10.5 Challenge, Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Lil\u2019 Gangstas, Super Pro, and a Jr. Dragster Shootout.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MMPSI competitors will get two qualifying sessions on Thursday, Feb. 27 and two on Friday, Feb. 28, before starting eliminations on Saturday, March 1. For more info, visit\u00a0www.WorldSeriesofProMod.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0www.TheWinterSeries.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on February 11, 2025. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post Johnny Pluchino Seeking Elusive Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational Victory<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After winning the inaugural Johnson\u2019s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world championship last season, there isn\u2019t much that Johnny Pluchino hasn\u2019t accomplished in Mountain Motor Pro Stock. He\u2019s a two-time PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion with numerous wins in both PDRA and NHRA competition. He\u2019s won the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars […]<\/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-98833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98833","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=98833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98833\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}