As the day was coming to a close for the normal 8-5 working class, the day was just firing up for Midwest Street Cars owner, Justin Shearer. Most of America knows this man as ‘Big Chief’ and the face of Discovery Channel’s hit television series, Street Outlaws. As of this afternoon, he can add NHRA J&A Service Pro Modified driver to his impressive and growing resume.
Many people check the quota sheets on NHRA.com numerous times a day to see if a spot has opened up at national events, especially at ‘The Big Go,’ the most prestigious of them all. While scanning through the Pro Modified list, car number 469 popped up with the famed street racers’ name along side. Immediately, social media went into a frenzy and we’re willing to bet that the data usage on Shearer’s phone went through the roof of Midwest Street Cars. In a short reply to a message sent over, you could sense the excitement.
“That’s some crazy shit, huh?” said Shearer.
Soon after the social media buzz calmed down, the questions began to fly – “Whose car is he driving?” and “Will he keep the Pontiac power to try and run with the big boys?”
Missouri based chassis builder, Larry Jeffers Race Cars, may have answered one of those questions with a press release of their own. LJRC announced that the already world famous ‘CrowMod’ is a his chassis shop, receiving the necessary updates and changes to in fact be NHRA competition legal.
While Shearers’ car was already very safe compared to most cars that race on the street, a fresh chassis certification and a few added features to meet the NHRA safety requirements will be accomplished, keeping one of the most well known names and faces in drag racing safe, both on the track and on the street.
The question remains, will the CrowMod still be sporting the all-Pontiac heartbeat that made it so famous with the fans? That, we cannot answer at this time but we’re looking forward to finding out, if the powerplant does stay as is, can an undergunned Pontiac doorslammer compete with the world’s baddest on the biggest stage of them all? The 2015 edition of the U.S. Nationals brought the quickest Pro Modified field to date with a bump spot of a 5.940. Can Shearer reach the pinnacle and qualify for hands down the biggest race on the globe as a drag racer? No matter the outcome, one thing is for certain: Chief’s presence in Indy is going to generate a lot of talk.