At the recent 11th Annual Funny Car Nationals presented by Discount Tire, held at US131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, eight racers took to the track with a chance to win a brand-new race engine from the folks at Engine Pro Racing. This is the eighth year Engine Pro has sponsored this event.
The racers were chosen from a field of 20 Top Ten points finishers in the Top ET and Modified bracket-racing divisions held at the track, and when all was said and done, South Bend, Indiana’s Andy Wrobleski came out on top of the field.
Engine bearings are from Clevite, gaskets are from Fel-Pro, valvetrain components from Comp Cams, and pistons from JE Pistons. Melling supplied the oil pump, valves are from Ferrea, Oliver tossed in a set of their connecting rods, while Scat‘s crankshaft is installed. The oil pan is from Milodon, and Driven Racing Oil supplied the lubricant.
The engine — which was provided by Pro-Filer Performance Products and assembled by Performance Engineering — is valued at $17,000.
Other racers who took part in the shootout included Bill Swain, Jason Jenson, Kelly Smith, Tony Whitehead, Sr., Matt Napp, Steve Mesik, and Jason Keifer.
During the elimination sessions, Wrobleski had a perfect reaction time and ran an 8.07 on an 8.11 dial-in to defeat Smith, who redlit, in the first round. He then beat Jenson with a .012/8.13 on an 8.08 dial to Jenson’s .043/9.61 on a 9.58 dial.
That’s one serious payday for the longtime racer. Congratulations to all who competed!