91°µÍø

Second-year Pro Stock competitor Jerry Tucker, carrying the banner for Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer on the Chevrolet Camaro he's piloting, has had some great breakthrough moments this season. He's on target for a big one, and that could very well happen this weekend at the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals.

It's been a long while since a first win in Pro Stock has been claimed at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, but Tucker is in a prime position to make it happen. The red Chevy that he's driving is the same car in which Elite Motorsports teammate Erica Enders won last season's championship. Enders is in a new Rick Jones-built RJ Race Cars Chevy this year.

"Winning one of these things is very, very difficult," said Tucker, after racing to the pole at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, the previous event. "Our team knows how to win, I just need to learn how to win. I've had the fastest car, realistically, three times all year – I can't get it done."

Prior to this particular challenge, a glimmer of promise was bestowed upon Tucker when he made his Pro Stock debut with the Elite Motorsports team in Gainesville in 2023. When opponent Enders broke in the first round, No. 15 qualifier Tucker got the win in a shocking upset. He was served a slice of luck to start his career in the incredibly competitive class of naturally aspirated hot rods, but Tucker went on to claim even more round wins and a semifinals finish as he got the hang of driving the finicky 500-cubic-inch-powered machines. He finished lucky No. 13 at the end of the season and came into 2024 ready to get back to work.

But then the season started with back-to-back disappointments as a first-round loss in Gainesville was followed by a DNQ in Pomona. Soon, though, Tucker began to find his footing. In Las Vegas, race four of the regular season, he scooped up the first No. 1 qualifier award of his career and carried the momentum to a final round on Sunday.

Three semifinals appearances and another low qualifier award would come to round out Tucker's scorecard heading into the U.S. Nationals, where Herb McCandless (1970), Ray Allen (1972), Bob Glidden (1973), and Larry Morgan (1989) each picked up the first Pro Stock wins of their respective careers.

Tucker realizes he has a good shot of joining that exclusive list, but he also knows that there is more to winning than simply having a fast race car. Testing ahead of Brainerd reinforced his car's capabilities; the red Chevy out-performed the Camaros of teammates Jeg Coughlin Jr., Troy Coughlin Jr., and Enders.

"But when the car is that fast, it's a lot of pressure on a guy not to mess up a good deal," he admitted. "Erica drove that car for five years, and there are no issues with that car. It's the fastest car. I kind of had it down on racing a slower car, where there's not much pressure. But when you have the fastest car, it's a lot of pressure. I have to learn how to race the fastest car."

Tucker isn't standing on an island of his own though, and credits his success so far and in the races ahead to those around him.

"The Elite team is something," said Tucker, who is No. 7 in the Pro Stock points entering the event. "It's hard to put your finger on, but everyone is pulling in the same direction. Erica Enders has been great to me, Jeg has been right beside me. Anytime you have that many champions trying to keep you in line, it's kind of hard to mess up."