Bo Knows Pro Stock: Check Out Bo Butner’s First Passes In Pro Stock

Longtime heavy hitter in NHRA’s Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, and Stock categories, Bo Butner has driven a multitude of cars featuring many combinations of powerplants, transmissions, and performance levels. So it should come as no surprise when he suited up to make a couple of laps in his new teammate Jimmy Alund’s Speed Dawg-sponsored NHRA Pro Stock Camaro to upgrade his license that he took the sleek, naturally-aspirated hot rod straight down broadway like a seasoned vet.

It’s been said that doing a burnout in a Pro Stocker is a very tricky affair involving a precise routine of clutch release, engine revs and gear changes, all the while keeping the car pointed straight down the groove to lay down a fresh coat of hot sticky rubber. Watching Butner’s first burnout, you’d think he has done it hundreds of times. Compare the sound of his burnouts to any other regular on the NHRA tour without looking and I bet you will have a very hard time discerning the rookie from the pro. It would be safe to assume many a newcomer to the class has fried the clutch or worse.

On their first launch, most rookies plan to run only to the sixty-foot maker, or perhaps through the first gear change or two, but not Bo. Butner let fly a stout looking pass that sounded to be under power nearly to the point where he’d shift into 5th gear. While it appears the clocks were turned off, likely to protect the team’s performance from prying eyes, the run sounded like any other mid-six second pass until he clicked it off.

We’re given a clue to what may have bolstered Butner’s natural gifts and allowed him to advance the learning curve after the first run when we see that he’s under the watchful eye of perennial Pro Stock powerhouses Jason Line and Greg Anderson, who have nothing but praise, even if it’s a bit guarded, for the new pro pilot.

Returning for another pass, Butner lays down another gorgeous burnout, then follows it with a blast through the full 1320, accomplishing in his second run what many take weeks of practice to do: make a complete pass in an NHRA Pro Stock car. Back at the trailer, it is revealed that Bo has shown up one of his teachers, ripping off a quicker reaction time in only his second pass than Line had all weekend at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at ZMax Dragway, where the test session took place.

Based on his early success, it’s only a matter of time before Pro Stock is dealing with one more badass behind the wheel. Alund, who has been racing as a teammate to the Ken Black Racing team at the seasons first four races, is reportedly headed back to Sweden in a few weeks to compete for another FIA Pro Stock championship, which opens the door for Butner, who will take over the driving chores of the Camaro beginning with the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in Atlanta in mid-May.