Robbie Blankenship is renowned in the world of naturally aspirated racing. In his light blue 1999 Mustang with a chassis by Steve Matukas, he made waves in NMRA Hot Street, NMCA Pro Stock, and NMCA NA 10.5. When those series and classes faded into the history books last fall, Blankenship focused on Small Tire Pro Stock. In addition to competing in the recently formed naturally aspirated heads-up class, he serves on its steering committee and is charting a new course with fellow racers passionate about high-performance propulsion without power-adders.

While he went as quick as 7.66 in the quarter-mile in his well-built 1999 Mustang, Blankenship debuted a 2018 Mustang at the first Small Tire Pro Stock race, which was part of Sick at the Rock presented by Motion Raceworks, April 10-12, 2025, at Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, North Carolina.

Robbie Blankenship remains a strong competitor in naturally aspirated racing. (Photo Credit: Scott Sparrow)

“I bought the 2018 Mustang from an auction after the hurricane went through Texas in 2017,” Blankenship recalled. “It was a brand-new car that had been in a flood,  and I thought we could make a good race car out of it, with all of the latest technology, so it was definitely an ongoing project over the past few years.”

Justin Elkes and his team at Modern Racing in North Carolina built the car’s chassis and set it up with a four-link, Penske shocks, and Strange struts. They also handled the wiring and plumbing, and painted the car in a beautiful dark blue hue.

Start To Finish

“This is the first car Justin Elkes and his team have built from start to finish,” Blankenship said. “They do repair work for Pro Stock, and their main business is wiring cars. They did a great job on this car.”

Ben Strader and 10K Technology built engines for Blankenship for the past five years, and also put together the 400-cubic-inch engine combination for his new car. It features a Dart block, Ford D3 cast heads, and a sheetmetal intake designed by Tom Slawko. The fuel-injected combination inhales deeply via two Holley throttle bodies.

Ben Strader and 10K Technology have built reliable, robust, naturally aspirated engines for Robbie Blankenship for the past five years. (Photo Credit: Robbie Blankenship)

“Ben Strader has done a lot of work on our engine, and it is a package we have been running for five years,” Blankenship said. “It has great durability and power.”

Modern Racing installed the 10K Technology engine in the car, along with the Holley Dominator ECU and RacePak datalogger, and Blankenship’s Liberty’s clutchless five-speed transmission.

Dialing It In

While Blankenship continues to dial in his new car and get it set up for success, he already sees its power and potential.

“We were fighting new car issues during testing at Bradenton and racing at the first Small Tire Pro Stock race at Rockingham Dragway, and we could not get the car to run right, so as soon as I left Rockingham Dragway, I took it to Modern Racing,” Blankenship explained. “Justin Elkes went through it to track down the programming issues so we can get the Holley Dominator ECU and RacePak talking together properly.”

With just a few passes in his new Mustang, Robbie Blankenship is already rocketing down the right path. (Photo Credit: Scott Sparrow)

Blankenship and his commitment are legendary, so odds are, he and his car will be making music together in time for the second Small Tire Pro Stock race, which is Sick on the Green, from May 30-31 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Kentucky.

“We could have taken the easy route and brought my old 1999 Mustang to the first Small Tire Pro Stock race and run better, but we knew that as a team, we needed to work the bugs out while also showing people the caliber of cars coming to Small Tire Pro Stock,” said Blankenship, who has support from crew chief Ben Strader and Lee Cowles (who has been part of his crew since his first day of racing), among others. “We will try to test before the next race, and we are anxious to reach the potential of this engine, which is mid-7.60s.”

Fans of Blankenship’s 1999 Mustang will still see it in action down the road, as his son, Chase, expressed interest in climbing into the driver’s seat of the car, which put Blankenship’s name on the naturally aspirated map, one raucous rpm at a time.

The fast Floridian is ready to see what he can do at the second Small Tire Pro Stock race, which is part of Sick on the Green, May 30-31 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. (Photo Credit: Scott Sparrow)