Long Island, NY – November 5, 2019 – THE NORTHEAST OUTLAW PRO MOD ASSOCIATION (NEOPMA) has officially wrapped up its 2019 drag racing season and named driver David Norris as the overall Pro Mod Elite series champion.
Based out of western Pennsylvania just north of Pittsburgh, Norris has been involved in racing since he was a child as his family has always been focused on motorsports. From going to the track in the ‘60s with his parents through his current endeavors, Norris has spent his entire life chasing speed and working towards the championship title he finally clinched in 2019 with the NEOPMA. His wife, Mary Lou, has been by his side since he was a street racing teenager, too, and also avidly wrenches and races.
Now, Norris has found his stride with a G-Force Race Cars 2018 Chevy Corvette-bodied Pro Mod door slammer. A Noonan Race Engines-headed Hemi built by the renowned Jeff Fowler of Fowler Engines huffs compressed air courtesy of a PSI Superchargers screw blower. While the combination is menacing, Norris prefers to keep the car itself on the subtle side and let its performance speak for itself. “The whole car in general is pretty amazing, we’ve been to ten events this year and four final rounds,” stated the driver who isn’t fond of flash or smack talk.
Despite his low-key attitude, Norris is a front runner in the Pro Mod ranks and was consistent enough throughout the 2019 NEOPMA season to come out ahead. A good group of down-to-Earth, working class blue-collar guys, Norris is joined by his tuner and crew chief, the Pro Street legend John Anderson, Jeff McDade who takes care of the engine, and Matt McDade is a jack of all trades. Doug Jones is also on hand to help out, as is Brad Caldwell. “My wife packs the ‘chutes, makes all the arrangements, and is right up there with everything – she’s the one that really makes it all possible,” added Norris. Additional help from Jon and Jim Salemi at Resolution Racing Services, as well as assistance from Steve Graves at Quick Drive Racing, Mark Gissendaner at GIS Automotive who handles paint and body, and Hoosier tire supplier Brett Neupert at Precise Racing keep Norris’s program running smoothly.
The 2019 NEOPMA season opener held in conjunction with the 11th Annual MDIR Door Wars at Maryland International Raceway over the weekend of April 12-14, and Norris qualified well in second. Unfortunately, trouble struck in the first elimination round and he went out early. His misfortune continued at the following race at Capital Raceway, as once again he qualified second but a broken transmission meant he wasn’t able to return for the final round appearance he had so rightfully earned.
Incidentally, Norris, who “dabbles in some amateur MMA stuff” had torn his ACL in February prior to the season getting started and had to suffer through one race with the injury, then went in for surgery in May and had to sit another out as a result.
Fortunately, Norris’s luck soon turned around and he was able to close out the year with a string of strong performances. Scoring the number one qualifier spot at NEOPMA race six at Atco Raceway in August with a 5.769 at 255 mph pass positioned him well for eliminations, but he made an exit in round one. The following month, back at Capital Raceway, Norris’s 5.81 at 256 mph pass qualified him in the number two spot, and he proceeded to power through rounds one and two of eliminations with matching 5.76-second hits. Tire shake in the finals, though, meant Norris went home as the runner-up.
In October, Norris headed back to Maryland International Raceway and clicked off a cool 5.654 at 259 mph blast to begin eliminations from the number three position. Another respectable runner-up finish there, too, gave him a good advance in the points chase.
It was tight between Norris, Tyler Hard, and Chuck Ulsch in a battle of the superchargers, but when the ninth and final race of the season at Atco Raceway was rained out and the standings finalized, Norris was honored by being named the NEOPMA Pro Mod Elite 2019 points champion.
“The NEOPMA is a great group of guys to go racing with and thanks to John Mazzorana for promoting it,” said Norris, who persevered through a challenging but rewarding season and came out with a new personal best of 5.63 at 250 mph on top of his new title. “We haven’t been able to seal the deal on an event win yet – we’ve come close and something always pops up – but we got the championship regardless and I’m really happy with that!”
“David and his wife share a passion for racing and we love having the both of them racing with us,” said Mazzorana, owner of the longest running Pro Modified organization in the United States. “We had a banner year in 2019 with tons of records broken with all the power adders – nitrous, turbo, and supercharger – and we are excited about the switch to the eighth-mile format for 2020 which we believe will allow us to attract more members who can compete aggressively in the field.”
Looking ahead to 2020, the NEOPMA expects an even bigger year than ever before with the new eighth-mile format and the addition of legendary drag racer and event promoter David Hance stepping up to help with the organization’s marketing and promotional responsibilities. A full schedule will be announced soon, and Norris will certainly be back to defend his well-deserved championship title.
