Thu, 1 Apr 2010, 10:28 PM Ready to Build

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Wally Stroupe

The recent NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte might not have seemed to some like the perfect setting to make a debut, but Wally Stroupe isn't afraid of a little challenge. The former IHRA Pro Modified and Pro Stock racer was chomping at the bit to get his feet wet in NHRA competition, and the historic event was too tempting to resist, particularly since it was so close to his home in Grover, N.C.

The Stroupe Race Cars entry was one of the first down the track and thus had the honor of being a guinea pig of sorts to address the challenge of the unique staging system set in place for four-wide competition; the blue lights across the top of the tree were meant to aid the driver in determining which of the opponents in each quad had begun the staging process. The system proved to be a bit confusing for some, and Stroupe was no exception.

"It threw me for a loop, because like everybody else, we hadn't ever done that before," said Stroupe. "To get up there and have an extra set of lights, it really made you concentrate, and that seemed to take away from driving ability. We have to adapt to whatever we have, though, and as long as these cars have tunability, we can adapt."

During qualifying, Stroupe reeled off 7.33 and 7.049 passes before recording a troubled 12.740, and he ultimately missed the field in his first attempt, but it wasn't for naught and he will be back. An esteemed car builder by trade who has put together entries for many drivers in the past - including Greg Anderson and Mike Edwards - Stroupe is hoping to utilize his own drag racing as a promotion vehicle for Stroupe Race Cars.

Wally Stroupe

All business aside, Stroupe is simply thrilled to be back in competition.

"I've always loved running Pro Stock," he said. "It's been my passion after running Pro Modified, and this is really where I want to be."

Comp racer Alan Rose was a major factor in Stroupe's decision to race in the category. After building a Comp car for Rose, the two struck up a friendship, and before long, Rose was pestering his friend to try 500 cubic inches on for size, assuring Stroupe that the venture wouldn't cost him anything but parts. It was a deal that could not be refused, and Rose contentedly took on the role of engine builder.

Long before testing the waters in NHRA Pro Stock, Stroupe was developing a taste for racing, and in high school, his father bought a '68 Camaro as a project car for his son. Many dollars and manpower hours later, Stroupe started taking it to the racetrack and winning races. The fun little hobby actually kicked off Stroupe's career when he couldn't get a chassis builder to commit to a timely completion of his Chevy.

Stroupe at Budds Creek in '05 Photo by BME Photography

"I finally just built it myself," said Stroupe. "We put it together and the first year we ran it, I won 11 races. People started coming to us and asking if we could build their cars, and then we set the world record in 1991 in Pro Modified and it just kind of ran away from there. Now we've had 13 world champions in our cars and we currently have nearly 400 race cars out. We're as big as (fellow builders) Jerry Haas and Jerry Bickel, we've just never advertised like it. We've lost count of our best engineered awards, but it's well over 40."

The Camaro was fashioned as a Pro Mod machine and carried Stroupe to a position as the third driver to run 6.30s when he clocked a 6.36 at 220 mph. Prior to that, he nabbed the world record from Mike Ashley in 1991 when he laid down an efficient 6.81 pass, and he maintained his grasp on the record for over a year and a half. His career triumphs include 58 race wins ranging from IHRA national events to Quick 8 races. Stroupe has competed in Pro Mod, Comp, Top Sportsman, IHRA Pro Stock, and now NHRA Pro Stock.

"I was one of the founders of the Pro Mod class," said Stroupe, who inherited the racing gene from his father, Barry, a circle track dirt racer who is now his crew chief. "We raced Top Sportsman first and were often top qualifier, and then Pro Mod developed when IHRA wanted a faster class. We were one of the top three cars in the country and qualified in the top half of the field pretty much wherever we went. We won races and set world records, and it was a pretty good deal until the fire."

Stroupe raced Comp Eliminator last year at Silver Dollar. Photo by BME Photography/Lonnie Gautreau

At Bradenton in 1998, Stroupe was making his first qualifying pass at the IHRA Winter Nationals and suffered a nitrous explosion that blew out the back half of the intake. It initially caught fire and went out when Stroupe shut it down, but unexpectedly, the flames surged and the firebottles couldn't put a dent in the intense blaze. The firewall and windshield melted, Stroupe was left exposed, and his hands and face were badly burned.

After three years in physical rehabilitation, Stroupe expressed an interest in getting back in a race car but had his wife, Gina, to get past. Eight months pregnant with their son, Luke, at the time of the fiery accident, Gina was adamant that her husband would not set foot in a Pro Mod car again, and that was when Stroupe decided to take a turn in IHRA Pro Stock. He raced in the category until three years ago, when it came time to focus more on the business, and now he's back with plans to run a couple of races this season on NHRA's Full Throttle Series tour and to enter at least 12 next season - more if additional funding is available.

"This is something that I've always wanted to do," said Stroupe, whose Pro Stock license was signed by Harold Robinson and Animal Jim Fuerer.. "Pro Stock is challenging, and it's different than Pro Mod, where you can take nitrous and make all the horsepower you can make. Here you have to work with what you have and keep tuning and tuning to get to where you need to be. It's like building a chassis: you can build 14 of them exactly the same, but it doesn't mean they'll work the same. You have to figure it out.

"I really ought to be disappointed about not making the field in Charlotte, but I'm not. Now I know how NHRA operates and what we can and can't do, and the whole crew out here has been great. So many people have been out to wish us well and tell us they're glad we're here. We'll get the hang of it; it's just going to take us a little bit."

Stroupe receives support from his wife, Gina; daughter Sarah, who plans to one day pilot a Pro Stocker of her own; son Luke; parents Barry and Barbara; and Paul Muller.