NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Pro Stock engine builders have a legendary reputation for dedication and persistence that goes beyond maniacal. Their work ethic and ability to bring concepts into reality has been something to behold in NHRA pits for more than 50 years. To understand their mindset, we are profiling eight of these engine builders. These are the suppliers of naturally aspirated superpower, and all of them are for hire to build your next race engine. None of them will be your cheapest option for building an engine, but their dedication and track record is proven. As a protégée of Warren Johnson, Joey Grose focuses on developing his in-housed capabilities and his work ethic.

Business: Ron Grose Racing Engines

Online: RGracing.com

Phone: 209.368.2571

Point of contact: Joey Grose

Builds engines for: Joey Grose

Favorite accomplishment: “Being able to qualify with our own engine and our own power.”

DRCE architecture used: DRCE 3 blocks with 3 heads or DRCE 4 blocks with DRCE 2 heads

Philosophy when building engines: “We’re the guys running in the back, struggling to get in. The things we work on to be better are typically the cylinder heads and manifolds. We do everything in house because we can’t afford to buy parts from other people. Things aren’t going to build themselves, so the more you can figure out and do yourself, the less headaches you have waiting on someone else to do it.”

“I learned from Warren [Johnson] that you need to work hard, keep your head buried, and not get involved with all of the drama.”— Joey Grose

Technical capabilities that stand out: “We can do 99-percent of the work in-house. We can machine our own manifolds and do our own cylinder heads. We’ve even built some of our own rocker arms for other engines. We can machine a raw DRCE 4 block from start to finish, including lightening.”

Other engines they build: Top Sportsman, 8.90-, 9.90-, and 10.90-index engines.