John Montecalvo Wins Ironman in IHRA’s New Era of Mountain Motor Pro Stock

Former IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock champion John Montecalvo added another Ironman to his career collection, driving his Kaase-powered ’21 Mustang to victory at Darana Dragway – West Salem in West Salem, Ohio.

Montecalvo rejoined the IHRA fold earlier this summer at the Outlaw Nitro Series stop at Darana Dragway – Milan, marking his return to competition in the sanctioning body’s new era. Since then, he’s been knocking on the door: qualifying No. 1 at Darana Raceway – Hebron before a tough semifinal exit, and reaching the final round at the special IHRA Outlaw Pro Mod Nationals.

This time, everything came together. Montecalvo qualified No. 2 with a 4.092 at 175.99 mph, then took down Kurt Neighbor and Jordan Ensslin to set up a final-round match with Chris Powers. Powers left strong but suffered engine trouble about half track, while Montecalvo was already on his way to a winning 4.091 at 175.85.

The staging battle before the run set the tone.

“Chris likes to try to rattle me, but I’ve been around a long time and I don’t really get rattled,” Montecalvo said. “It was all good fun - we had some laughs up at top end afterwards. I had a .005 light, he was right there with a .014, and honestly, I think we had him either way.”

For Montecalvo, the win was not just about the final-round result - it was about returning to the IHRA stage and coming through in the sanctioning body’s new era.

“The last time I raced IHRA was 2015, and we won at Bradenton and Palm Beach that year,” Montecalvo said. “So it feels good to come back and get this Ironman. We’ve missed a couple of opportunities this season, so this one really means a lot.”

Montecalvo’s victory adds to his long list of accomplishments in Mountain Motor Pro Stock and reinforces his place among the stars of IHRA’s new era.