Johnny Pluchino came into the second stop on the 2026 IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series tour as the man to beat in Mountain Motor Pro Stock. He left Virginia Motorsports Park having removed any remaining doubt.
Pluchino wheeled his Kaase-powered, Ross Environmental Services 2013 Ford Mustang to a 4.014 at 180.21 mph in the final round to defeat Jordan Ensslin’s 4.032 at 178.54, resetting both the IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock ET and speed records in the process. The previous marks – a 4.019 at 180.02 set in qualifying by Matt Giangrande – didn’t survive the weekend.
“I think he was pretty good on the bulb there,” Pluchino said of Ensslin, who had the better reaction time with an .015 to Pluchino’s .022. “I saw a lot of purple, but it’s all right. We set the record, ET record, speed record, and we got that thing. It’s pretty beautiful.”
It was the second consecutive IHRA victory for Pluchino, who also won the season opener at Galot Motorsports Park, making him the first back-to-back Mountain Motor Pro Stock winner since Chris Powers. The 24-car field at Virginia Motorsports Park was the quickest in IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock history, with the bump spot for the 16-car field landing at a 4.089.
Pluchino qualified third with a 4.031 and went to work from there, beating Dwayne Rice in the opening round before scoring a holeshot win – .039 to .058 – over Chris Powers in the second round. A 4.026 in the semifinals dispatched Jeremy Huffman and set up a rematch of the Galot final with Ensslin.
Getting to the final wasn’t easy for Ensslin, either. A staging beam malfunction in his semifinal matchup with John DeFlorian forced a re-run, and Ensslin had to put his car back together before coming up to the line for the final. Pluchino told officials to give Ensslin all the time he needed.
“A lot of respect for this team,” Pluchino said of Ensslin’s operation. “It’s going to be a battle all year long.”
That respect didn’t soften the competitive edge, however. Between the semifinals and the final, Pluchino and his father, John – himself a 2016 PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion – huddled over the data and debated whether to swing for the fences.
“We talked about it way too long because they were up there running it again,” Pluchino said. “So we talked about it way too long and second-guessed and third-guessed and fourth-guessed, but it worked out.”
It more than worked out. The 4.014 was the quickest pass in IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock history, and the margin of victory at the stripe was just 11-thousandths of a second.
Pluchino, from Long Island, New York, has been building toward this kind of dominance for years. He grew up in his father’s backyard shop, learning the car from the ground up. That foundation has carried Pluchino Racing to six world championships: John’s 2016 PDRA Extreme Pro Stock title, Johnny’s two PDRA Pro 632 championships, two more in PDRA Extreme Pro Stock, and the inaugural Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world championship he won in Las Vegas in 2024. He added the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational title at Bradenton in 2025.
“My team…Ross Environmental Services, first of all, amazing partner to have with us, but the people that are here, turning wrenches, driving the truck to the track, my dad for putting this team together…everybody works their heart out,” Pluchino said. “Everybody does it because they love it, and that’s why these two teams are in the final round. And hey, we did it in style.”
With two wins in two races and the points lead firmly in hand, Pluchino isn’t slowing down.
“Mountain Motor Pro Stock is putting on a hell of a show,” he said. “I’m just super excited to continue this season.”
The IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series heads to Capital City Motorsports Park in Montgomery, Alabama, May 7-9 for the third event of the 2026 season.
This story was originally published on April 13, 2026. 
