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Defending Champ Says 2015 Will
be Toughest Year Yet in Pro Nitrous
PITTSBORO, N.C. March 16, 2015: Pro Nitrous has never been a class for the faint
of heart. With a host of committed, passionate, top notch teams, this
fire-breathing division of Pro Mod took required a profusion of guts and was
stingy on the glory. Last season, Jason Harris made Pro Nitrous look more like a
cakewalk, going to the final of every PDRA National Event, claiming six overall
event wins and a clear Championship victory. Looks can be deceiving, however,
and Harris believes things will only get tougher from here.
“I’d say this year will be the toughest year we’ve seen in Pro Nitrous, just for
the simple fact that everybody seems to have the same combination,” explained
the defending Champ. “There’s a lot of Musi motors out there and a lot of Sonny
motors. Plus, Reher Morrison has really stepped up their game. It’s going to
probably be as tight as NHRA Pro Stock. It’s going to come down to drivers more
than equipment this year. Everybody’s got the horsepower. Everybody’s got a good
car and crew. It’s definitely going to a battleground this year. Not that last
year was easy, but I think I made it look a little easier than it actually was.
It’s definitely going to be a fight this year.”
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Harris says he’s happy to enter that
battlefield and walk around with a
target on his back, a badge of honor
that he’s worked 20 years to achieve.
“If I can have half as good of a year
this year as I had last year, I’ll be
happy. I’m just thankful to be racing,
doing what I love to do. I never was
star struck as far as what I’ve done.
I’m really proud of what I’ve done,
but it took me a while to realize what
I accomplished last year. Over the
last 20 years of me drag racing, I’ve
tried really hard to win a local
championship or one with the IHRA. I
never really got close other than
divisional stuff. It was a surreal
ending when I realized I had finally
won the championship and against such
a great group of racers. These guys
are the best of the best. I still
don’t think it’s fully sunk in. But we
did have such a good year, that I’m
sure we’ll have some disappointments
along the way this year. My dad told
me a long time ago that you’ve got to
be a good loser before you can be a
good winner, and I told him I’ve done
my fair share of losing. Now I’ve done
some great winning. Like I said, if I
can have half as good a year as I had
a last year, I’ll be pleased.
“I went into every race thinking as
long as we can qualify we’ll have a
good weekend,” Harris continued. “I
just kept that optimistic attitude. I
don’t go into every race thinking that
I’m going to win every one. I just
want to have a good time, try to
qualify, not mess up our parts and
just race. That’s all I care about. I
take each one round by round, and
that’s what really helped us last
year. We just took each round as it
came. That simplistic attitude got us
to where we’re at. We’re going into it
with the same mentality this year. And
it’s going to be a lot tougher this
year. There’s a lot of good guys out
there. It’s going to be a challenge,
but I’m up to it. And with good
sponsors behind me hopefully I’ll be
able to repeat.”
Harris plans to repeat by keeping much
of the same combination that led to
his incredible Championship-clinching
season. “We didn't try to change a lot
[in the off season]. We had talked
about buying or building a new car,
but we just didn’t. When you have
something that works good, don't’
change it. We didn’t want to start the
year off with an experiment. I think
that was part of the reason I did so
good last year. We came in basically
with the same combination we did the
year before. that helped us a lot as
far as testing and getting off on the
right foot. I think getting off to a
good start sets the precedence for the
year, so this year we didn’t want to
change a lot.
“We do have a new motor, a bigger
motor, to try to keep up with the
cubic inch wars. DRAG 965 with Sheik
Mohammad al Sabah is backing us again
this year. We really appreciate his
partnership and support. I’ve also
still got Hoosier Tire, Fuse Fuel, and
Diamond Pistons back on board. I did
pick up the Nitrous Outlet with David
Vasser. They came on board this year
with me to help me out with nitrous
bottles and anything else I need.
They’re real nice guys. I like to deal
with companies that give back to the
racers, and all those companies really
work for their races.”
Also new to Harris’ operation is his
son, born just days before Harris
accepted his trophy at the PDRA
banquet in December. Harris is already
a second generation racer and expects
that it won’t be long before his son
will make the Harris dynasty three
generations strong. “This will be his
first race coming up at Dallas. He’ll
do okay I think. It’s in his blood. I
tried to fight it for a long time,
didn’t think I wanted to do it, but
there’s no fighting it. We eat, sleep
and breathe it.”
With the second PDRA season just days
away from getting its start at the
Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Tx. vibes
surrounding the growing organization
are even more positive than they were
for the series’ inaugural year. Racer
support is high and companies are
coming on board weekly to show their
support for professional eighth mile
racing. For Harris there’s no question
that the PDRA is exactly what drag
racing needs.
“I think drag racing really needs an
organization that’s run by people that
not only have businesses themselves
but are also racers themselves,” he
explained. “A lot of racing
organizations are run by businessmen,
but they’re not as tied to the racing
end of it and they kind of lose track
of what's important for racers and for
drag racing in general. I think these
guys who work at their regular
businesses everyday and have a passion
for drag racing is a great
combination. It’s a win-win. We can’t
ask for a better series than what
we’ve got. It’s very family oriented.
The owners really listen to the
racers. Every day they make strides to
not only make the PDRA, but the sport
overall, better. It’s here to stay.
Drag racing is changing and I think
these guys are on board to go with the
change. It’s been the same for the
last 50 years and it’s time for
everybody to take a step back and look
at how drag racing is changing and I
think these guys are willing to do
that.”
ABOUT THE PDRA
Based in Pittsboro, North Carolina,
the Professional Drag Racers
Association is the top sanctioning
body in the United States for the
sport of eighth-mile drag racing. The
PDRA’s professional categories include
Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Pro Boost,
and Pro Extreme Motorcycle along with
Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Pro Jr.
Dragster, and Top Jr. Dragster. The
2015 PDRA schedule consists of ten
national events.
Follow the PDRA:
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram,
YouTube.
Photo: Chuck Brooks / RaceWorks.com /
PDRA660.com
PRESS CONTACT: Lisa Collier
Professional Drag Racers Association
lisa@pdra660.com
704.692.4636 |
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