Words by Jeff Burk - Photos by Jeff Burk and Chris Haverly

t’s a rare feat in auto racing when a rookie driver wins a series’ premier event like the Indy 500, the Daytona 500 or drag racing’s U.S. Nationals. It is even more rare when the winning driver does so in his very first race. That is exactly what NHRA rookie Pro Mod driver James Eric Dillard did when the won the 57th annual U.S. Nationals driving Get Screened America Pro Mod series sponsor Roger Burgess’s turbocharged 2012 Ford Mustang.

Driving his Steve Petty-tuned Pro Mod, Dillard beat the Reher-Morrison-powered, nitrous oxide-injected Camaro driven by 2008 U.S. Nationals Pro Mod winner Mike Castellana. Dillard’s winning pass was a 5.830 at 253.99, which reset the Indianapolis Raceway Park ET track record for Pro Mods.

"He's raced in exactly one NHRA event in his life, this weekend right here at the U.S. Nationals, and he wins the thing," said R2B2 team owner Burgess. "He should walk up on the stage, grab that trophy and announce his retirement. He'd be the only driver in history to retire with a perfect record and a U.S. Nationals Wally."

Dillard, who co-owns ProLine Racing, has been working with R2B2 Racing this season transitioning from using superchargers to turbochargers on top of their Pro Mod powerplants.  As a reward for his hard work with the team Burgess gave Dillard a one-race deal in the brand-new Mustang that R2B2's in-house chassis department had just finished.

Although Dillard is new to NHRA competition, he's not unknown to fans of turbocharged Outlaw Limited Street and 10.5 racing.

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