Fans of the NMRA’s late, great Pro 5.0 category may recall that in the final days of that class 2007, Aeromotive rolled out a brand new 5.4 Modular-powered car that reset everyone’s expectations of what was possible with that combination. With the demise of the class, driver Steve Matusek and the Aeromotive team went looking for other racing venues, like NHRA BB/AT and the NMCA, but the true goal was Pro Mod, and we brought you an update on their plans for a Pro Stock-style Roush/Yates 500ci twin turbo powerplant to provide the requisite horsepower.

Pro Stock racer Justin Humphreys is part of the same motor development program, and while progress is being made, it wasn’t coming along at the same pace as Aeromotive’s chassis work on the new double-framerail long wheelbase Pro Mod chassis. Per Aeromotive’s Jesse Powell, “Since the car was done, but the motor wasn’t, we wanted to go racing. We still had the Mod Motor power plant from the last car, so we changed a few things on the car and got it ready.”

The 323ci Modular is a holdover from the Pro 5.0 program back in the day, and while it’s a proven powerplant, the new chassis might have been the final straw for the veteran mill. “First two trips down the track and we hurt the motor, which is wild since we campaigned that for 3 seasons without issue,” Powell explains. “I think that the ability to turn up the wick and stick this car to the track proved to be too much for the motor. Believe it or not, it’s kind of encouraging knowing that really might be able to be competitive even with a small block Mod motor. So, while we wait for Roush/Yates to finish the new engine, which will be twin turboed as well, we’ll see what kind of damage we can do with this platform.”

Aeromotive's twin-turbo Modular 5.4 was well-proven in NMRA Pro 5.0, NMCA Pro Street, and ADRL competition in the "old" chassis.