NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Though the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock class was contested at just a handful of races in its inaugural NHRA season, the impact was felt across the board as the throaty 800-plus-cid-motored monsters stretched a rousing championship chase across six national events. No one was impacted more than young Johnny Pluchino, who emerged as the first NHRA world champion in the brazenly bold category.  

“This means the world,” said Pluchino, driver of the Feather-Lite Batteries Ford Mustang. “I was a fan of Mountain Motor Pro Stock way before I got involved in it. I was born in 1990, and in the early to mid-2000s, I really came to love the class. I watched NHRA Pro Stock forever, and to be the first-ever Mountain Motor Pro Stock champion in the premier drag racing series – it’s quite an accomplishment to hold that title, and one I never imagined holding.” 

Pluchino, a second-generation drag racer, has been a hot rodder since joining the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League at legendary Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown. There, he was a three-time track champion before stepping out of the seat of his half-scale dragster to work on dad John’s crew. Dad won a PDRA Extreme Pro Stock title in 2016, and an impression was made. Two years later, the younger Pluchino earned the first of two consecutive Outlaw 632 championships of his own. In 2020, he transitioned to the family Mountain Motor entry and won the first of another two championships in the series. 

“Winning four championships in a short time frame over there is something I’m very grateful for, and I think that experience helps with high-pressure situations,” said Pluchino. “Come the end of the season, you want to be in the mix, put your best foot forward, and be able to get the job done when all the chips are on the table. I feel like we rise to the occasion as a team, and myself as a driver, in those moments. It was the years at the PDRA, fighting for championships, that prepared me for this.” 

The season started with a runner-up at the JHG Mountain Motor Pro Stock season opener at the Charlotte NHRA 4-Wide Nationals next to class rookie Bo Butner, and although Butner went on to win the second race in Bristol, Pluchino was ready when the tide shifted. He broke through with a win in Richmond after ousting Butner in the first round by .002-second.  

“I was counting points from the first round of qualifying at the first race,” said Pluchino. “It didn’t look so good after Bo Butner grabbed the first two wins. We felt behind the eight ball, but we didn’t feel down-and-out – we knew we had to do something big at that third race, and that’s what we did. We put a stop to him, went out, and won the race, and then we just had to keep building. That was the turning point; if he won that race, I don’t know that we would ever have recovered.” 

But it wasn’t easy street from there. Just after the Richmond race, Pluchino was injured. A crack across his left-side femur and hip left him concerned that he would not be able to race the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd in August, particularly as one of his strengths was leaving the starting line ahead of his competitors, and the injury was directly in line with his clutch foot.  

Miraculously, Pluchino healed enough to be cleared to race, and he raced fairly well. His doctor only wanted him to stay off the hip joint as much as possible, and he accomplished that with a ton of help from the crew taking over his responsibilities outside of the race car. Pluchino finished in the semifinals, while eventual event winner Brad Waddle helpfully took out Butner in the first round.  

By the time the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals in Reading came around, Pluchino was all but healed, and feeling back in the game, he was primed for success. There at Maple Grove Raceway, Pluchino saw Butner removed in the first round by Tony Gillig while he disposed of John DeFlorian – No. 3 in the points at that time – to advance. Round two was a tough one as he and Gillig both fell into tire shake and pedaled, but Pluchino made it through unscathed to reach his fourth final of the season. Defeating veteran racer John Montecalvo with a .005 reaction time and a 6.325 to a 6.326 made the victory that much sweeter.  

By the time he got to Las Vegas for the JHG series closer, all Pluchino had to do was qualify, and he would be the 2024 Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world champion. 

“That took the pressure off, and we just kept doing what we did all year – run well,” said Pluchino. “We felt really good about our chances, and we ended up qualifying No. 1. That settled it all.”

Earning the first Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world championship has kept the fire burning in Pluchino’s heart. 

“Mountain Motor Pro Stock is the only thing I see in my future,” he stated emphatically. “I am Mountain Motor Pro Stock, through and through, and there is nothing more special than how we do this together as a team. My dad, the guys, it’s just special. My long-term goal is that when you mention NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock, I want you to think, ‘Johnny Pluchino.’ ”

Pluchino thanked his father, John, for putting the team together and building it up through the years; Keith Kelling and Kelling Equipment Repair; Jonathan Pickett and Feather-Lite Batteries; the crew; Brud; Ross Environmental Services; RAM Clutches; Jon Kaase Racing Engines; AED Competition Fuel Systems; Hoosier Racing Tire; Maxima Racing Oils; and Precision Racing Suspension.

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