Extreme Pro Stock racer John Montecalvo put together an astounding 2019 season in the PDRA’s all-motor class, and going into the finale, Montecalvo has a virtual lock on the championship. But he doesn’t plan on taking his foot off the gas at the World Finals. For Montecalvo, the finals will be about having fun and savoring his championship run this year.

Looking at the statistics for this season, it becomes obvious how dominant Montecalvo really was. He made it to five final rounds, won two races, and was number one qualifier multiple times over the course of six events. That level of performance on a consistent basis helped Montecalvo to overwhelm the Extreme Pro Stock category this year.

Extracting the performance from his Camaro didn’t require anything special for Montecalvo’s team, they just needed to get back to the basics that worked in the past.

“We really didn’t make any big changes this year. We still had the great power from Sonny’s and a good car from Jerry Haas, we were just off last year. The 2018 season was one of the worst years I’ve ever had and now this year we rebounded with one of the best ever. It was just a matter of getting our baseline back, working together well as a team, and me driving better,” Montecalvo explains.

Racing a Mountain Motor Pro Stock car is one of the most challenging tasks in heads-up drag racing. The cars are a totally different animal than their smaller cubic-inch cousins that race in the NHRAm and knowing how difficult these cars can be to handle Montecalvo has surrounded himself with a good team.

“We brought Bobby Lorello back this year — he’d worked with me in the past on these mountain motor cars. Tommy’s been doing a great job as crew chief ensuring everything runs as it should and Williams has been with us forever as well. My wife also helps out with the team when it comes to all the odds and ends, plus she keeps us fed. We just have a really good team that’s motivated and full of talent,” Montecalvo says.

With the pressure off and the championship essentially in his pocket, Montecalvo plans on having a good time in Virginia.

“I’m going to have fun at the finals this year. We’re still going to go out and try to win the event and qualify number one. We are also going to try and become the first team to run in the 3-second zone — officially — at the World Finals. A few people have put up a 3-second pass but nobody has actually done it during competition and we hope to be the first. Everything will have to be perfect on the pass but I think we have the ability,” Montecalvo says.

You can watch John Montecalvo try breaking the 3-second barrier during the PDRA World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park RIGHT HERE on SpeedVideo.  This broadcast is brought to you by presenting sponsor Titan Fuel Tanks along with Vortech Superchargers, Crane Cams, TCI Automotive, Race Star Wheels, Flying A Motorsports, Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Trend Performance, Competition Products, and American Racing Headers.