Kenjo Kelley is preparing to make a big jump in his racing career at Bradenton Motorsports Park during the U.S. Street Nationals January 26-28. Since Kelley began racing he has made his mark in the small-tire world, but will now be jumping behind the wheel of a ProLine Racing Engines-powered 2015 Pro Modified Mustang with a big set of slicks in the back. Based on Kelley’s skills behind the wheel it could be a long weekend for the Pro Mod field at the U.S. Street Nationals.

For Kelley, the history-rich grounds of Bradenton Motorsports Park are something he knows well. Back in his NMRA racing days, Kelley won the first-ever NMRA Street Outlaw race at the track, so his memories of the facility are very fond. With his history there, the timing of the car’s completion, and the level of track preparation at the U.S. Street Nationals, it only made sense for Kelley to debut his new car there.

In 2017, Kelley saw some significant success in the No Prep world winning several events, including the NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston in the Redemption series exhibition race. Even with that success and his wins in the NMRA Kelley wanted more and with his new Mustang that’s about to happen. ” It’s always been a dream to drive the fastest cars on the planet. I’d say I’m getting closer with this new car for sure,” Kelley says.

Making the transition to this new machine is going to be an interesting one to say the least, as Kelley is used to running on a set of small slicks or radials with a lot less power.

“There definitely will be a pretty steep learning curve with this car. It is going to drive different and the fact it will run on alcohol will also make it tricky to learn how to tune,” Kelley explains.

The 2015 Mustang body sits on a Tim McAmis chassis that Dan Parker at DP Race Cars put the finishing touches on. Powering the Mustang will be a stout ProLine Racing Engines 481X Stage 4 engine that will get boost from a pair of Precision 102mm Pro Mod turbos. Kelley built the turbo system himself and added Turbosmart blow-off valves and a pair of Precision wastegates. Gear changes will come courtesy of an M&M Transmission that’s matched to one of their lock-up torque converters. Kelley will get his data from a Racepak system to help him tune the FuelTech ECU. Under the car to put the power down will be a full McAmis floater rearend with Menscer Motorsports shocks in the back and Lamb Components struts in the front.

Coming to the U.S. Street Nationals is going to allow Kelley to cut his teeth behind the wheel of his Pro Mod and gather valuable data for the 2018 season. He has plans to put a lot of laps in on this car in more than just full Pro Mod trim. “We will be running the car in Radial vs The World at Donald Long’s races at some point this year. If the Street Outlaws get rid of the steel roof and quarters rule we will race some No Prep with it, too,” Kelley says.

One thing is clear, Kenjo Kelley isn’t jumping into Pro Mod to just go fast at the U.S. Street Nationals, and he has his eye on the victory. You can see all the racing action from the U.S. Street Nationals at Bradenton Motorsports Park RIGHT HERE on SpeedVideo.com. This broadcast is brought to you by presenting sponsor Mickey Thompson Tires, along with ProCharger, Comp Cams, Driven Racing Oil, Strange Engineering, FuelTech, Royal Purple, Moser Engineering, and Ferrea Racing Components.