Ford Man Ronnie Proctor wins his first ever NHRA National Event Wally at the Gators!
A first is always something that is a treat to witness, and when it’s a car that you have been shooting for a while now, it makes the win even more special. That is exactly what happened when Ronnie Proctor took home his first ever wally this weekend at the Gatornationals in Top Sportsman.
Ronnie going over his contingency decals after his win.
Most of our readers will recognize Ronnie’s car from the numerous doorslammer races that we cover each year, including the infamous YellowBullet Nationals at Cecil County over Labor Day Weekend. While a win at any of those doorslammer races is an amazing accomplishment, you’d be hard pressed to have a bigger or better win than your first national event wally. That is the exact feelings that Ronnie and his wife Karen got to experience after his finals win over Lester Johnson at the Gators.
Ronnie and Karen coming back from the top end after the win.
Ronnie, who is a through and through a Ford man, took his big block Ford through an entire field and faced off against Lester in the finals. Lester experienced some mechanical issues and ended up timing out. You may also know Lester from photos that we shared of him at Donald Long’s Lights Out 9. Lester drives the Excalibur car.
Ronnie's 706 cubic inch Ford big block power plant.
The Mustang that Ronnie has been wheeling for a while now received a beautiful facelift over the offseason as well. A new coat of paint really makes the car pop. It’s what is under the car that really makes people surprised. In an industry filled with bastardized Ford’s with Hemi and Chevy engines in them, Ronnie sticks to his Ford blue. Under the front end of the Mustang sits a 706-cubic inch Ford block and components. A set of Oakley Motorsports C460 heads are perched on top of that block and plumbed with two kits of NOS nitrous, of which only one was used this weekend. A Hogan intake is used as the basis for bolting on the carbs built by Don’s Carbs.
Ronnie celebrates the win with the NHRA staging lane woman.
Let’s face it, behind every great driver, there is a great crew chief. In Ronnie’s case, it’s his beautiful wife Karen Proctor. You usually see her wherever you Ronnie. They are a great team and the hard work has paid off. After a handful of final rounds, Ronnie and Karen got to take the big prize home to West Virginia. Ronnie also wanted to send a huge shout out to his sponsors: Carrol and Chris Carter at C&C Motorsports, thank Dave at Cheweys Performance, thank Philip and Jay at Oakley Motorsports, Marco at Abruzzi Trans and Convertors, Jerron at Imagine That Customs, Roy at Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic.
Ronnie's wife, better half, and crew chief Karen. She is making sure Wally is in good hands.
When I talked to Ronnie in the lanes after his win, he let us know that he plans on running PDRA this season, along with more NHRA, and of course he plans on being at the annual party that is the YellowBullet Nationals on Labor Day weekend. It is great to see Ronnie and Karen get that wally, and to do it with a Ford powerplant makes me even more excited. Watch for Ronnie to be a front runner in whatever he enters the Mustang in this season. Congratulations to Ronnie and Karen!