When you strap into a racecar and get your first taste of going fast, it’s almost impossible to forget that feeling, even when life changes your priorities. Harry Hruska began his racing career in the twisties as a road racer and started Precision Turbo to pay for his track time. After selling the company he built from the ground up, Hruska has had more time to spend at the track and decided last winter to get back behind the wheel — only this time in something well beyond his previous racing experiences.

When Hruska started racing back in the 1980s he needed a way to pay for his racing so it wouldn’t impact his family, so he founded Precision Turbo. At the time he was racing a 2.2-liter Ford-powered that had a single turbo and made well over 500 horsepower.

“We made a lot of the parts for that car ourselves and learned to tune it the hard way. After racing that car for a few years I did some asphalt circle track racing. But, I had never pulled a parachute in a racecar until I started driving this Pro Mod,” Hruska says.

In 1993 Precision Turbo had grown to the point that it was Hruska’s primary form of income and was keeping him quite busy. As the company expanded more he had a choice to make: keep racing, or take a break to help the business through its explosive growth spurt.

“In 1996 I stopped racing because I just didn’t have time anymore with everything that was going on at Precision. At that point, I started helping other people race and during that time period I helped many teams set records and win championships,” Hruska explains.

Over the years, Hruska has had some pretty talented guys sitting in the driver’s seat of his Pro Mod cars, from Don Walsh Jr. to Billy Glidden, but when he sold Precision in 2016 it was the perfect time for him to give the driving thing a try himself.

“The cool thing about what I did for many years as a part of the racing industry was I helped a lot of people have fun and race their cars. That was very rewarding to be a part of that in this industry. Now, rather than working with a driver that comes back with that smile you can’t chisel off his face, I’m that guy, and it’s fun. It’s cool to be back in the driver’s seat and being in-tune with the car itself for sure. Being the crew chief and driver makes me more comfortable calling the shots, since I’m the one providing the feedback and helping figure the car out,” Hruska says.

With his years of experience racing on road courses, Hruska knew that just jumping behind the wheel of a 4,000 horsepower Pro Modified car cold-turkey wasn’t a good idea. To help get acclimated to the car and racing at this level Hruska decided to go to school and work on building his skill-set as a driver.

“Frank Hawley and his driving school really got me up to speed quickly. They are a great asset to the sport and I think that everybody should attend just to grow as a driver and learn more about driving,” Hruska explains.

Hruska took everything he learned at Hawley’s school seriously and continues to try and improve as a driver anyway he can.

“I learned a lot from taking classes and from those who used to drive for me, so trying to get better every pass is important to me. I wear a heart rate monitor to provide extra data on each pass and I’m very open about the challenges I face driving. I don’t want my peers to worry about racing me, I am very focused on this, and want to do better. Trying to improve based on the feedback of others has been a great choice,” Hruska says.

The 2017 NHRA season for Hruska and his team comes to a close at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. During the season Hruska was able to put his Larry Jeffers-built Camaro into the 5.7-second range and showed he has the potential to be a real threat in the NHRA Pro Modified ranks. With 2018 around the corner he’s ready to take his racing to the next level with his team.

“I appreciate all the fans and support behind Pro Mod. I’m very humbled and honored to be a part of this NHRA Pro Mod program and just want to see it grow more. I can’t wait for 2018 to see what the NHRA Pro Mod class does. For next season, we plan on doing our best, racing hard, and trying to work for a title,” Hruska says.

Harry Hruska is proof that you can’t keep a racer out of the driver’s seat forever. He has successfully transitioned from being a top-level road and circle track racer to a Pro Mod driver capable of running with the fastest door cars in the world. With his drive to improve as a wheelman and tenacity to be at the forefront of everything he does, the 2018 NHRA Pro Mod season will be an interesting one, for sure.