Aaron Strong has been an NHRA comp eliminator competition in Division 6 for some time and last year he made the move to pro stock, making his debut during the Western Swing in Sonoma. Like many others, Strong has made the adjustments and alterations to his program to conform with the new rules of the category. That means losing the hood scoop, altering the front of the car to fit the mandated air inlet duct, and lastly making some significant updates to the engine program. Holley EFI is now the industry standard in NHRA pro stock and there’s a 10,500 RPM rev limit in place as well.
Like many teams, Strong and his operation sought some assistance from someone that was seasoned in the EFI tuning world and they found it in a cool place. School of Automotive Machinists instructor Chris Bennett was the one tapped to tweak the fuel maps on the dyno and make this 500ci baby sing. Bennett is a master machinist and engine builder who also has plenty of working knowledge of Holley EFI. While we don’t know exactly how they hooked up we do know that lots of these pro stock tuner relationships have been born this year. Geography could have something to do with it as they are testing the engine at Stanfield Enterprises in Louisiana and SAM where Bennett is based is in the Houston area.
While we expect the majority of them to be fleeting as the teams who are familiar with carbs get ever more comfortable working with the fuel injection, some names will be made and others could be tarnished as the season begins and the different programs show what they actually have figured out as far as horsepower goes.
For a guy like Aaron Strong, we have to be thinking that this is a really fun time of the year. Likely full of stress and worry but a guy like him could be in a great position to snap up round wins over guys who are still not comfortable with making the transition, etc. The first half of the season is going to be a wild gunfight in pro stock and with this bullet screaming on the dyno as cleanly as it does here, we’re thinking that he’s going to be in Pomona with a weapon that could do some damage if given the chance.
As expected the engine does not sound all that much different but have you ever honestly disliked the sound of a pro stock engine before? Scream on!
IIRC, a couple years ago before the 10,500 rule, Larry Morgan said on a TV interview, that the teams were starting to see more valve spring breakage because they were up to 12,000 rpm. Now they are running quicker and faster at 10,500 with EFI. Amazing. What if…….