Project Probe is now complete. This article was my attempt to show all of steps necessary to build a 1990 Probe for IHRA Crate Motor Stock competition. I took as many photos as possible, however sometimes it was not practical to capture every minute detail. Construction on the Probe began in November of 1998.
The Probe was tested at Milan Dragway on October 21st and 28th, 2000. I then took the Probe to Rockingham Dragway for the IHRA Autumn Nationals on November 4th and 5th. I was the number one qualifier in Stock with an 11.423 on a 13.10 index. I was 1.677 under the M/CM index. This performance prompted a fellow competetor to put up protest money to have me torn down and inspected. On Saturday afternoon after my second qualifying run my crew (Gary Barnes & Mark Heiters) and I removed a cylinder head and a piston and rod for the IHRA tech inspectors to check. The IHRA tech inspectors also checked the cam lift, cylinder bore size and stroke. I passed with no problems. I was then awarded the lion's share of the protest money. The engine was re-assembled late Saturday night and I was able to run first round the next morning. I then ended up losing first round due to a poor reaction time. Later on Sunday I was presented the "Best Engineered Sportsman Car" award by IHRA.