Tommy Cunningham secures first ever Pro Mod victory
/In the industry, we all talk about how much drag racing is a family. That fact was never more evident than it was last weekend in Madison, IL. when Tommy Cunningham, the owner of Cunningham Machine and Stroud Safety secured his first-ever pro mod victory with a win over Joey Oksas.
When I say that this is a family, the Cunningham family defines that for a lot of people. I don’t think I have ever seen Tommy at the track without his wonderful wife Anita, along with Tommy’s parents. Over the weekend it was a little different though. Just prior to this event, Tommy’s dad suffered a knee injury that the doctors apparently said would require surgery. Being the trooper that he is, surgery isn’t an option until after the season though, so he was there, along with Tommy’s mom, wife Anita, and Tommy’s brother Tim.
Those that don’t know Tommy, you are certainly missing out. Tommy is from the wonderful state of Kentucky, where he is the owner of Cunningham Machine. They make more things than I can count, but you may have seen his fittings on the valve covers of some of the fastest and quickest cars in the country. Most recently, Tommy became the owner of Stroud Safety, which is a leader in safety product manufacturing, based in Oklahoma.
Tommy isn’t the only one that loves the smell of burnt rubber, sticky glue, and massive amounts of smoke. Tommy’s brother Tim has been in the drag racing world for a long time as well. In fact, Tim is now employed at Tulsa Raceway Park and oversees the new dirt track that is set to open next month. Before making the jump to Tulsa, Tim worked at the racetrack in Paducah, KY. as well as the world-famous Memphis International Raceway just outside Memphis, TN.
Anita, Tommy’s wife, can always be found at the race track. Whether it is working on the car, strapping Tommy in, and lining Tommy up to make that low 3.70’s pass down the track. Anita is successful in her own right though. Away from the drag strip, Anita has made a name for herself as a very successful Cadillac Sales Director within the Mary Kay business. Yes, she can look glamorous, but don’t let that fool you, she is certainly not afraid to get dirty at the track.
It hasn’t been the easiest of roads for Tommy to get here, and anyone that has raced at that level can attest to. Last year Tommy cracked into the top twenty in points with the Mid-West Drag Racing Series, and now after his win over the weekend, he sits third in points without drops figured in and still has two races left including a double points race in Martin, MI next month. Not too shabby for someone that just captured his first pro mod victory and now is on the steps of fighting for a championship.
How did he pull it off last weekend though? Tommy was slated in the #4 spot after three rounds of qualifying with a 3.741. This meant that he was set to face off against the Proline powered, Garrett turbo-boosted entry of Jeff Rudolph. Jeff’s car had been pretty darn consistent all weekend and was running huge MPH in qualifying. While Tommy and Jeff were almost identical on the tree (.066 to .064) it was Tommy’s 3.743 that took the win over Jeff’s 3.783.
After getting past an extremely tough competitor in the first round, things weren’t going to get easier for Tommy on his way to victory. The second round of eliminations paired Tommy up against another blown Mustang. It was none other than the Co-Owner of Tulsa Raceway Park, Mr. Todd Martin in the other lane. This race was won on the tree and not the top-end though. Tommy’s .031 light helped him garner the holeshot victory over Todd. Todd had an uncharacteristic .082 light and ran a personal best of a 3.693 to Tommy’s 3.706.
The semi-finals became of matchup of who wanted it more. Tommy vs. Jon Stouffer and his ‘71 Barracuda. Neither car made a clean hit at the track, but Tommy managed to cross the stripe first at a whopping 5.730 at 90 mph to Jon’s 6.437 at 129 mph. This meant that Tommy and the Cunningham family was heading to the finals and facing off against the young gun Joey Oksas, who took over the driver’s seat from his dad Scott this weekend.
In the finals, it was set to be a matchup between the veteran and the young gun. Both of them were piloting much different combos though. Joey was strapped into the blue ‘67 Mustang that was powered by a pair of turbos, while Tommy in his black ‘67 Mustang sports the big screw blower sticking out of the hood. Joey had a huge starting line advantage over Tommy with a .015 light to Tommy’s .041 light. Consistency is the name of the game though, and Tommy caught up to take the stripe with a 3.717 at 200 mph versus Joey’s hard-charging 3.745 at staggering 214 mph.