Randy “The Natural” Couture has been surprising people his entire life. A late start in mixed‑martial‑arts turned into six UFC titles. Hollywood roles followed. Now, at 60, the Hall of Famer is diving into one of drag racing’s most unforgiving arenas: Pro Mod. This week on The Wes Buck Show, Couture walked fans through the unlikely path that led him from the Octagon to a 4,000‑horsepower doorslammer.
The first hook was Pomona, 2014. Couture went as a casual fan, standing on the starting line with Ron Capps’ Funny Car team. When 11,000 horsepower detonated in front of him, he felt the concussion in his chest and knew he’d stumbled onto a different kind of combat sport. Later that same afternoon, Capps’ car erupted in a fireball. Couture, convinced he had just watched a man die, sat stunned while Capps’ mother and wife never flinched. An hour later Capps was at dinner, unscathed, and Couture left California with newfound respect for both the danger and the safety tech that define top‑level drag racing.
A decade passed before the second hook. Earlier this year Couture returned to Pomona, this time thinking like a student rather than a spectator. While visiting friends in the pits, he met SCAG Power Equipment CEO Randy Gloede. The two shared a handshake and a conversation that stretched past an hour—long enough for Couture to realize their values and competitive outlook aligned perfectly. By the time they parted ways, Gloede was asking about budgets and Couture was ready to swap gloves for a firesuit. The result: SCAG Racing will field a Pro Mod car for Couture later this season, with his licensing laps scheduled for the summer and a public reveal planned for May at Route 66 Raceway.
Couture is blunt about the challenge ahead. “I don’t know shit from Shinola about driving a race car,” he joked. “But I’m tabula rasa—no bad habits.” He has already spent a little time getting comfortable in the cockpit of Nathan Bate’s supercharged “Al Capone” 1937 Chevy, strapping in, working through warm‑up procedures, and learning how to load parachutes. When Bates cracked the throttle during a warm‑up, Couture’s grin stretched ear‑to‑ear. The visceral punch reminded him of why he loved drag racing in the first place—and why Pro Mod, with its blend of blower, turbo, and nitrous combinations, feels so much like the eclectic skill‑set dogfights that made him a legend in MMA.
Host Wes Buck views Couture’s arrival as a potential watershed moment, comparing Pro Mod’s diversity to the early days of mixed‑martial‑arts, when boxers, wrestlers, and jiu‑jitsu artists all collided under one roof. Pro Mod, Buck noted, gives fans the same “styles‑make‑fights” drama, plus the universal simplicity of two cars, one finish line, and no judges’ scorecards. The class is already riding a surge of momentum, thanks in part to the big-money, high-energy Drag Illustrated Winter Series, and Couture’s crossover star power could be the catalyst that drives the sport deeper into mainstream consciousness.
For Couture, the appeal is as much about personal purpose as it is about spectacle. Fighting offered only a narrow window of elite performance; drag racing, he’s been told repeatedly, will let him compete at a high level for years. The cockpit is a fresh arena to channel the discipline, timing, and mental toughness forged through decades of wrestling and cage fights. “It’s a new way to tickle that competitive spirit,” he said. “I’m excited to see what I can do.”
From the outside, the move looks like another bold pivot in a career defined by them. Inside, Couture sees a straight line: a soldier‑turned‑wrestler who chased challenge after challenge until drag racing flashed across his radar and dared him to try one more. If the trajectory of his past ventures is any indication, the Pro Mod pit area could be the next place “The Natural” adds another unlikely chapter to an already improbable résumé. Drag racing’s great American stage just gained a marquee name, and the sport will be better for it.
This story was originally published on April 17, 2025. 
