John Montecalvo, then the newly crowned 2009 IHRA Pro Stock world champion, lays down a smoky burnout across the starting line at North Carolina’s iconic Rockingham Dragway. This photo was taken at an event held in conjunction with the Mountain Motor Pro Stock Association, which was formed after the IHRA dropped Pro Stock from its lineup for the 2010 season. Montecalvo went on to reach the semifinals in the event. Later that season, he secured the ADRL Extreme Pro Stock world championship. In more recent years, the Long Islander won the 2019 PDRA Extreme Pro Stock title and the $25,000-to-win inaugural $hameless Racing Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational presented by Seminole Paving at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod earlier this season.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #184, the State of Drag Issue, in September/October of 2023.]
Photograph by Van Abernethy
Rockingham Dragway
Rockingham, North Carolina
Saturday, April 10th, 2010
This story was originally published on December 1, 2023. 
