Wolf’s Word: Chapter Two Of The Outlaw Pro Mod Saga

You just knew there had to be more chapters to the story.

Back in the latter part of 2010, American Drag Racing League founder Kenny Nowling was dismissed from his role as the CEO of the fledgling 1/8 mile outlaw drag racing series that he built from nothing. Dave Wood and Tommy Lipar, who had been a part of the NHRA Pro Modified venture with Nowling and helped found the new series, had already sold off their stake. The majority of Nowling’s management team soon followed him out.

The colorful and sometimes controversial race promoter was named the Director of International Development for the Arabian Drag Racing League in Qatar, but hasn’t been or heard from in drag racing circles until now. Well, sort of, anyway.

A new Facebook page, known simply as “3-9-13” was launched in late August, a somewhat cryptic reference to the series’ first scheduled event at the Rockingham Dragway on March 9th of next year. Things didn’t really gain traction until the Shakedown Nationals in Englishtown in October when former ADRL Vice President of Operations Bubba Corzine spoke publicly for the first time on the new series that he and Jessica Nowling, Kenny’s wife, were planning for next season.

One can only presume that the ADRL, as any smart business would do, formed a non-compete agreement with Nowling when they parted ways. But just because Nowling can’t promote a competing series doesn’t mean his family can’t. Well played, Kenny. Well played.

There are only negative effects if the two series schedule dates on top of another and force the racer and the fan to choose.

In the two years that Nowling has been away from the sport, he’s continued to promote his FightMe MMA mixed martial arts shows in the Missouri area that he began cross-promoting at the ADRL races in 2010 with some considerable success. Both Nowling and Corzine were racers before they formed the ADRL, however, and as we all know, it’s not an addiction that’s easy to shake. It wasn’t as though the two enjoyed a long career and rode off into the sunset into a blissful retirement. They were displaced from their pride and joy, and you just knew the story wasn’t over yet.

So now there’s a new heads-up doorslammer series on the horizon, with a four-race schedule proposed for the inaugural season that promises an intent focus on entertainment. Several high profile race teams have already verbally expressed interest in competing with the series, and a handful of sponsors have joined the bandwagon, as well. Newly crowned Pro Extreme champion Mick Snyder is one of the supposedly confirmed entries, as is Burton Auxier, Brian Gahm, Rickie Smith, Steve Vick, and others. The Rockingham date is already set, and according to Corzine, the South Georgia Motorsports Park will host a date. The rumor mill also suggests possible additions in the Texas and Kansas areas.

There’s been no word if Wood and Lipar will join in the new deal, but Nowling has alluded to their involvement in his MMA shows during web interviews.

The new venture gained some valuable exposure in a rather controversial way at the ADRL’s season ending race at the Texas Motorplex in Dallas when Corzine, who reportedly purchased a spectator ticket and entered the gate, was promptly escorted from the premises by race officials and a couple of Texas Mounties. The story hit the news wires and the message boards and instantly spread the “3-9-13” message.

It’s not the first time the ADRL has found itself in a controversial scuffle with a competitor, however. In 2009, Pro Extreme racer Don Wootton arrived in St. Louis with every intent of pouring the can to his injected nitro-burning doorslammer, but the NHRA, in a move many consider to have been carried out due to concern over how big the ADRL had become, put the kabosh on Wootton’s plans at the last minute. The ADRL later put a large, quite visible decal on the spoiler of Tony Pedregon’s Quaker State Funny Car, perhaps just in the competitive spirit to gain some exposure.

Critics of the the venture that the Nowling’s and Corzine have put together have expressed concern over its effects on the sport, and rightly so. But, putting aside the negative feelings for this group that many still harbor, there are only damaging effects if the two series schedule dates on top of one another and force the racer and the fan to choose. Such an situation has never been a good tactic for any sport, and though it can work to send a clear message, rarely does anyone win.

If the two series can peacefully coincide, this is a great thing for the sport, and like them or hate them, from drag racing to boxing, Nowling and Corzine have an impressive track record of finding a way to put butts in the seats, and that’s exactly what sponsors want to see. At the end of the day, the sport is gaining a place to race, not losing one.