Elite Motorsports owner Richard Freeman recently underlined his dedication to IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock racing by announcing he was forming a three-car team to pursue the 2009 IHRA Pro Stock championship.

Today he added the exclamation point.

Elite Motorsports has entered into an agreement with IHRA to become the class sponsor for Pro Stock at all 2009 Nitro Jam national events. The class, which will be named “Elite Motorsports Pro Stock,” will feature an 8-car shootout at the President’s Cup Nationals in Budds Creek Sept. 25-27, the “Elite Motorsports Elite Eight Pro Stock Shootout.”

“We’ve made this commitment to IHRA Pro Stock because we feel this class deserves this kind of excitement,” Freeman said. “When you look at the guys in this class, guys like John Montecalvo, Pete Berner, Elijah Morton, the Goforths and everyone else, you see a group of really good guys who love this sport. We wanted to make sure this class would be growing and would continue as strong as ever.”

Shootout points will begin to accumulate at the season-opening IHRA Mardi Gras Nationals at State Capitol Raceway in Baton Rouge and will finalize after the North American Nationals in Epping, N.H. The top eight points earners will run off for their share of a $40,000 purse at the President’s Cup Nationals. Points will be earned through final qualifying positions at the first eight Nitro Jam events of the 2009 season.

“Richard and the team at Elite Motorsports have shown an incredible amount of support and dedication to the Pro Stock class,” IHRA director of national sales Tommy Dupree said. “The program we have come up with, including the Shootout in Budds Creek, is another example of where this class, with the help of Richard and Elite, is heading. We look forward to an exciting season of Elite Motorsports Pro Stock racing.”

Freeman wanted to ensure the class, which gained quite a bit of momentum over the last few years by featuring the quickest and fastest Pro Stockers on the planet, continued its upward swing. He also wanted to provide something for the fans as well.

“We all have to do our part to get the people out to the races, not just the racers but the fans as well,” Freeman said. “We can’t approach things with a ‘what’s in it for me?’ approach, we have to forget about ‘I’ and ‘me’ and start worrying more about ‘we.’ All of us, racers, sponsors and the sanctioning body, have to work together to build on the solid foundation that’s already in place. By doing this I feel like I’m doing my part.”

John Montecalvo 676
Pete Berner 671
Frank Gugliotta 661
Bob Bertsch 559
Cary Goforth 506
Mark Martino 490
Richard Freeman 472
JR Carr 466
Dean Goforth 342
Jason Collins 288
Cale Aronson 204
John Pluchino 177