Here’s a little-known Throwback Thursday fact for you!

Back in late 2004, just after I had made the decision to try and sell my beloved Drag Radial coupe off to chase my Pro 5.0/Pro Mod dreams, there was another path that almost came to fruition.   Before the Thunderbird, before even the radial car found a new home, there was another Ford that almost became my first Pro 5.0 race car.

1972 Pro 5.0 Maverick

Wanting to move up to the Pro 5.0 class and end my long run in Drag Radial to pursue faster time slips, I knew I needed to find a full tube chassis car on a very limited budget, hoping that I could transplant my build little 302-based turbocharged bullet into it for a rookie run at Pro 5.0.   A long-unfinished Pro Street project from back home at Lugo Performance sat untouched, but posed a perfect opportunity for a partnership.   Dennis made a few calls, and it was agreed that I could pick up the car and get to work on putting my engine/transmission combo in for a joint Pro 5.0 Maverick venture.

A trip down to Florida, and the car was brought back up to Parker Chassis to get down to work.  We started mocking up mid-plates and removing the sheet metal to send out for powder coating,  Unfortunately, early in the process, I received another phone call.  Apparently, the owner’s wife wasn’t too keen on having someone else racing the car, and they decided against continuing.  It put a damper on my spirits at the time, but it wasn’t too long afterwards that I got a message from good friend, Mike Herring — a lead on the Thunderbird that would give me my great start in Pro Mod.

But, had it come to fruition, this would have been the first Horsepower & Heels Pro 5.0 Race car, a 1972 Pro 5.0 Maverick.

What a difference in what Horsepower & Heels’ first Pro Mod could have been!