Montecalvo — IHRA’s Eras Collide In Victory Lane

WEST SALEM, Ohio — Former IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock champion John Montecalvo added another Ironman to his collection, driving his Kaase-powered ’21 Mustang to victory on Sept. 27 at Darana Dragway – West Salem.

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.