This year, McNeal will make his Pro Mod debut in Jon Stouffer\u2019s 1971 Cuda<\/strong>, a machine built by Larry Jeffers and tuned by the same man who\u2019s helped shape his Top Fuel career: Scott Palmer. The team\u2019s first race? The Throw Down at T-Town<\/strong>, May 7\u201310. Jacob\u2019s story doesn\u2019t begin in a 10,000-horsepower nitro car. Like many of today\u2019s stars, it started with the familiar buzz of a junior dragster. He cut his teeth racing up and down local tracks in East Texas, learning the basics from staging to reaction times.<\/p>\n From there, he graduated to bracket cars \u2014 a world where every thousandth of a second counts and mental toughness often matters more than raw power. It\u2019s where Jacob truly learned what it meant to race.<\/p>\n \u201cBracket racing taught me how to win,\u201d Jacob says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be perfect. It sharpened everything, especially reaction time and focus.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The hard work paid off in 2012 when he won the Race of Champions at the Division 4 E.T. Finals, his first big victory in a “big car.” That win didn\u2019t just validate his skill \u2014 it hooked him for life.<\/p>\n While working in the oilfields to fund his dream, McNeal kept grinding. He moved into A\/Fuel dragsters, racing under Randy Meyer, then earned his Top Fuel license in 2022 with none other than Del Worsham. In 2023, he made waves with Scott Palmer in a limited Top Fuel schedule, including a quarterfinal finish in Chicago.<\/p>\n So why jump into the fire of Pro Mod racing? For McNeal, the answer was simple.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the fastest thing with doors on it,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s actually a car. And nothing sounds more fun than a short-wheelbase Pro Mod.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s not a whim \u2014 it\u2019s the next logical step in a carefully built career. His time in bracket racing gave him razor-sharp reflexes and a deep understanding of the importance of reaction times in racing. His experience in Top Fuel taught him how to handle absurd speeds and violent acceleration. And now, as he faces the unpredictable nature of doorslammers with atransbrake button and sheer speed, McNeal is betting that everything he\u2019s learned will make him one of the most well-rounded Pro Mod drivers on the scene.<\/p>\n When speaking with McNeal this morning, he was extremely grateful for the opportunity that Jon Stouffer has given him. McNeal said, “It shows that Jon has a lot of trust in me to allow me to drive the most beautiful promod in the country.” Like all of us, McNeal enjoys racing, but what he loves most of all are the friendships that have been built along the way.<\/p>\n In 2025, Jacob McNeal will do something few drivers can manage \u2014 compete at the highest level in both Top Fuel and Pro Mod.<\/p>\n When the NHRA schedule allows, he\u2019ll shift focus from 1,000-foot blasts in his nitro dragster to showdowns in the Pro Mod Cuda. Whether it\u2019s Midwest Drag Racing Series stops or outlaw races scattered across the country, McNeal will be there \u2014 racing smart, racing hard, and racing like he belongs.<\/p>\n Through it all, Scott Palmer remains a key part of the story, tuning both cars and helping guide Jacob\u2019s dual-class campaign with the same belief he\u2019s held since the beginning: this kid\u2019s the real deal. Now Jon Stouffer is keeping the team together while putting a top tier driver behind the wheel of professionally tuned promod.<\/p>\n It all kicks off at Tulsa Raceway Park<\/strong>, where the Pro Mod Cuda will make its highly anticipated debut under the lights and thunder of the Throw Down at T-Town. It\u2019s a chance to see something new from a name you\u2019ll be hearing a lot more of in the years to come.<\/p>\n Because no matter what class he\u2019s in \u2014 from juniors, to Top Fuel, to Pro Mod \u2014 Jacob McNeal doesn\u2019t just race. He builds. He learns. He evolves. And he shows up ready to win.<\/p>\n While Jacob would like to thank Jon Stouffer for this amazing opportunity, he would also like to thank: 3b Striping, Night Owl Services, Poseidon Oilfield Services, Poseidon trucking, Crestant Site Services, Empact Vision Services, Blue Chip Specialty Services, Environmental Oil Recovery, Nutrition Station, Kekius Maximus.<\/p>\n For Jacob McNeal, drag racing has never been just a hobby or a weekend thrill \u2014 it\u2019s been a mission. One that started in the junior dragster ranks and evolved into NHRA Top Fuel showdowns, and now, in 2025, a bold new chapter: Pro Modified racing. But don\u2019t mistake this for a lane change. McNeal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,50],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[55],"class_list":["post-2957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-driver-features"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Cuda2-600x400.jpeg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Cuda2-600x496.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"Kline Whitley","author_link":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/author\/klinewhitley"},"authors":[{"term_id":55,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"klinewhitley","display_name":"Kline Whitley","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Me.png","url2x":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Me.png"},"first_name":"Kline","last_name":"Whitley","user_url":"http:\/\/www.DragCoverage.com","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2957"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fppma_author&post=2957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Cuda1.webp\")
<\/p>\nFrom Juniors to 300+ MPH<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TF2.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/h3>\nClimbing the Ladder<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Why Pro Mod, and Why Now?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Cuda3-scaled.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nThe Double Life of a Racer<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Catch the Debut: Throw Down at T-Town, May 7\u201310<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Cuda2.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"