Charles Carpenter and Pat Doherty Team Up For Two-car Pro Mod Team

CHARLOTTE, NC - Charles Carpenter and northeast Pro Mod competitor Pat Doherty have formed a two-car team and will compete at the remaining IHRA events during the 2003 season. The two met several years ago through a mutual friend, former Super Chevy Show and IHRA Pro Mod driver Donnie Little, now a sales manager for Country Motors Trailers in Illinois.

Charles Carpenter

Carpenter is ecstatic about the opportunity to run with the front-runners of pro mod once again thanks to Doherty, who also owns a successful construction company in New Hampshire. "This is the kind of opportunity that comes once in a lifetime," explained Carpenter. "We are going to give it our best shot and I am looking forward to working with Pat. he has a first-class operation and I'm proud to be associated with him."

Carpenter has been on the long road to a comeback for the past two years after some prodding to get back on the track from Bobby Bennett and the Competitonplus.com staff. In his bid to remain involved in Pro Modified competition, Carpenter offered color commentary at a few of the IHRA and NHRA races this season. Late in the 2002 season and in the first part of 2003, Carpenter teamed with fellow nitrous Pro Mod competitor Steve Vick as a crew member and advisor before Vick loaned Carpenter one of his Gene Fulton powerplants. In October of last year, with Vick's engine in Carpenter's famous 1955 Chevy, he recorded a career best lap of 6.35 seconds at 223 MPH during the IHRA World Finals at Rockingham Dragway despite being dramatically overweight compared to the competition, tipping the scales at 2530 lbs. Since then Carpenter has been hard at work putting his '55 Chevy on a diet.

Kenny Farrell from CFM Components fabricated a carbon fiber front-end and doors for the car, while Rick Moore and Kevin Apple of Rick Moore Racing in High Point, NC, helped out by installing carbon fiber wheel tubs, rear interior panels, Lexan windows by Pro Glass, and a new fire system.

The man making it all happen is Pat Doherty, whose team is well established in the northeast with their Gene Fulton/Shannon Jenkins powered 1957 Chevy. The team has won the Super Slammer Championship two times in the past three years, also winning the Pro Mod series at New England Dragway.

Crew chief Paul Albino and crew, Mike and Steve Leighton and Russ Glancy have the car running some very impressive numbers this season.

"We definitely expect both cars to be extremely competitive in IHRA competition for the remainder of this season," says Carpenter, who will be assisted by his longtime crew chief Ken Hively and the newest addition to his full-time crew, his 20-year-old son Michael Carpenter. Charles adds, "Pat and I are out to prove that the nitrous Pro Mods are far from dead."