Rodger Brogdon returns to Pro Stock with Kent Services and Trucking
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/R_brogdon.jpg" alt="R_brogdon" align="right"vorders="0"/>
When Comp Eliminator standout Rodger Brogdon entered the NHRA Pro Stock wars at the start of the 2007 season, many were surprised at his immediate success in arguably the most competitive class in drag racing. Achieving a top-10 standing early in the season led to many a raised eyebrow as many wondered “just who did this newcomer think he was?”
While the 2007 campaign ultimately proved to be short lived, it only fueled the fire within Brogdon when his early success showed this competitive Texan that he was capable of becoming a force within the Pro Stock world. For Rodger, the return to Pro Stock wasn’t a question of when, but became a matter of when the right circumstances would come together.
Enter fellow Comp racer Steve Kent, owner of Kent Services and Trucking, a south central US, multi-faceted corporation, that primarily specializes in service and support for the petroleum industry. When the conversation late last year between Kent and Brogdon turned to a discussion of Rodger’s Pro Stock endeavor, a plan began to develop that has since blossomed into a commitment that will put Brogdon back on track, beginning with the final third of the 2008 season.
Brogdon’s return to the driver’s seat in Pro Stock competition is now scheduled for this year’s Mac Tools US Nationals, driving a 2008 Jerry Haas Pontiac GXP. Team owner Steve Kent has spent the better portion of 2008 quietly laying the foundation for the new team, and plans to use the balance of the season for testing in preparation for a full on assault in 2009 and beyond.
The Kent Services and Trucking Pontiac will be supported by a full time engine development program as Scott Benham and Brian Self of Race Engine Development have entered into a long term agreement to work exclusively on Kent’s Pro Stock engine program, which will allow them to do whatever it takes to produce a competitive NHRA Pro Stock engine. That development has been underway for several months and the first 500 inch engine is scheduled for dyno time in the very near future.
Kent has also acquired land adjacent to No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana and construction is nearing completion of a team headquarters that will allow the 24/7 dedication necessary in today’s highly competitive Pro Stock world. With No Problem Raceways track just outside the back door, the Kent Services and Trucking team will have a record setting quarter mile at their beck and call for any and all on track testing.
As Rodger puts it “Steve Kent has committed to building a first rate Pro Stock team, and we are all anxious to begin the building process. The entire team is dedicated to producing a successful program and feel that by being out testing for the last of the 2008 season, we will be able to fine tune and focus on those items that need the strongest support to begin our 2009 campaign.”
“The goal for us in 2009 is a top 10 finish” said Brogdon “and while some may question that lofty of a goal, everyone on this teams knows that it is well within the realm of possibility.” Added Brogdon, “(Mike) Edwards took control of his own engine program and is seeing the fruits of his labor pay off, (Victor) Cagnazzi recognized the need to be able to control the entire operation of his two car team, and that seems to be working out for them as well. This Kent Services and Trucking team might have a misstep or two along the way, but just like every other team out there, that’s how you learn. And for this team, our time in the classroom begins when we hit the track this fall.”
For Steve Kent, this will be yet another chapter in a business career that has spawned a multitude of successful spin-off companies from his well established trucking operation. “In this day and age, Pro Stock requires a full time commitment, just like any other business” said Kent “And we are going to give this team 110% support in every aspect of the operation. We will have every level of the race program under our development and control. The team headquarters will also have living quarters, so if we have to burn the midnight oil till the sun comes up the next morning, we’ll be able to do just that.”
The team will debut with sponsorship from Kent Services and Trucking, but negotiations are already ongoing with potential sponsors, negotiation that include plans to add a second car in the future. As Brogdon put it so succinctly, “Steve Kent is committed to building a winning team, those that know him understand just how serious that commitment is.”
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/R_brogdon.jpg" alt="R_brogdon" align="right"vorders="0"/>
When Comp Eliminator standout Rodger Brogdon entered the NHRA Pro Stock wars at the start of the 2007 season, many were surprised at his immediate success in arguably the most competitive class in drag racing. Achieving a top-10 standing early in the season led to many a raised eyebrow as many wondered “just who did this newcomer think he was?”
While the 2007 campaign ultimately proved to be short lived, it only fueled the fire within Brogdon when his early success showed this competitive Texan that he was capable of becoming a force within the Pro Stock world. For Rodger, the return to Pro Stock wasn’t a question of when, but became a matter of when the right circumstances would come together.
Enter fellow Comp racer Steve Kent, owner of Kent Services and Trucking, a south central US, multi-faceted corporation, that primarily specializes in service and support for the petroleum industry. When the conversation late last year between Kent and Brogdon turned to a discussion of Rodger’s Pro Stock endeavor, a plan began to develop that has since blossomed into a commitment that will put Brogdon back on track, beginning with the final third of the 2008 season.
Brogdon’s return to the driver’s seat in Pro Stock competition is now scheduled for this year’s Mac Tools US Nationals, driving a 2008 Jerry Haas Pontiac GXP. Team owner Steve Kent has spent the better portion of 2008 quietly laying the foundation for the new team, and plans to use the balance of the season for testing in preparation for a full on assault in 2009 and beyond.
The Kent Services and Trucking Pontiac will be supported by a full time engine development program as Scott Benham and Brian Self of Race Engine Development have entered into a long term agreement to work exclusively on Kent’s Pro Stock engine program, which will allow them to do whatever it takes to produce a competitive NHRA Pro Stock engine. That development has been underway for several months and the first 500 inch engine is scheduled for dyno time in the very near future.
Kent has also acquired land adjacent to No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana and construction is nearing completion of a team headquarters that will allow the 24/7 dedication necessary in today’s highly competitive Pro Stock world. With No Problem Raceways track just outside the back door, the Kent Services and Trucking team will have a record setting quarter mile at their beck and call for any and all on track testing.
As Rodger puts it “Steve Kent has committed to building a first rate Pro Stock team, and we are all anxious to begin the building process. The entire team is dedicated to producing a successful program and feel that by being out testing for the last of the 2008 season, we will be able to fine tune and focus on those items that need the strongest support to begin our 2009 campaign.”
“The goal for us in 2009 is a top 10 finish” said Brogdon “and while some may question that lofty of a goal, everyone on this teams knows that it is well within the realm of possibility.” Added Brogdon, “(Mike) Edwards took control of his own engine program and is seeing the fruits of his labor pay off, (Victor) Cagnazzi recognized the need to be able to control the entire operation of his two car team, and that seems to be working out for them as well. This Kent Services and Trucking team might have a misstep or two along the way, but just like every other team out there, that’s how you learn. And for this team, our time in the classroom begins when we hit the track this fall.”
For Steve Kent, this will be yet another chapter in a business career that has spawned a multitude of successful spin-off companies from his well established trucking operation. “In this day and age, Pro Stock requires a full time commitment, just like any other business” said Kent “And we are going to give this team 110% support in every aspect of the operation. We will have every level of the race program under our development and control. The team headquarters will also have living quarters, so if we have to burn the midnight oil till the sun comes up the next morning, we’ll be able to do just that.”
The team will debut with sponsorship from Kent Services and Trucking, but negotiations are already ongoing with potential sponsors, negotiation that include plans to add a second car in the future. As Brogdon put it so succinctly, “Steve Kent is committed to building a winning team, those that know him understand just how serious that commitment is.”
