NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

He has been racing for decades, but John DeFlorian’s 2025 campaign in Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock was all-time for the St. Louis racer. After finishing No. 3 in the series last season, the driver of the Total Seal Piston Rings Chevrolet Camaro was met with a pair of disappointing races to start the new year. With the help of friends, his destiny soon began to shine with brilliant clarity, and DeFlorian made remarkable strides in great succession, ultimately inking four wins on the way to his first NHRA world championship.

“I’m still on cloud nine,” said an exuberant DeFlorian. “I’ve been racing since I was 16 years old, and all those years ago, I never even remotely considered competing at a level like this. It’s just over the top; I’m still beside myself.”

DeFlorian was part of the 2018 debut of the class as an exhibition at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, and his mark on its early history included the quickest and fastest pass of that first event: a 6.351-second journey down the quarter-mile at 221.52 mph. The class was a four-race exhibition series for 2019, and DeFlorian won two of the events. He won the St. Louis race in 2021 and continued to log final rounds en route to a fall victory in Charlotte in 2023. Although last season fell short of expectations, it was foundational in his successful run at the 2025 championship.

“Last year, I really felt like we let one get away,” said DeFlorian. “I was disappointed, but it ignited the fire for this season.”

DeFlorian qualified respectably in the first two races of 2025 in Charlotte (No. 3) and Epping (No. 4), but mechanical issues in the first round at both events left him high and dry. Charlotte was particularly devastating.

“We ran OK, but something was just not right,” he said. “Then we broke a crankshaft first round in fifth gear. That’s devastating for anyone and nearly destroyed the engine — the only one I had. I had barely scraped up the funds to even get to that race, so at that point, I thought I was done for the year.”

In stepped respected engine builder Jon Kaase, who ended up taking the engine to his shop for repair. Kaase made magic, and the engine made it back to St. Louis with enough time for DeFlorian to head out for the next race, the NHRA New England Nationals. With an elevated spirt, he loaded the race trailer. But just as he was preparing to leave, his motorhome broke down. He lost valuable time but was able to make the race.

“It felt like everything was against us, and I started to question what the heck was going on,” admitted DeFlorian. “We ran pretty well in Epping, but we broke the clutch — the only clutch I had left. Epping and Bristol were back-to-back, but we had another big break with someone coming through for us when Pat [Norcia] from RAM Clutches helped us get a clutch together. That’s when our season turned around.”

The mechanical catastrophes were behind him, and DeFlorian dove in. Not only did he clock low elapsed time every run, but his Jerry Haas-built Total Seal Camaro was also the only car to go quicker than 6.40 throughout the Bristol weekend. Every round of eliminations netted a 6.3-second pass, and his 6.377, 220.73 held as low e.t. and top speed of the meet.

The trophy he hoisted there was but a preview, and in Norwalk three weeks later, he was again victorious. Starting second, DeFlorian picked off his competitors and kept momentum rolling, again with low e.t. and top speed (6.343, 222.25).

“The first two races had been a disaster, but the second two, you couldn’t have asked for anything more,” said DeFlorian emphatically. “We went from the basement to being in the hunt for points and trying to get the lead. For the first time in about two years, we had some racing luck. We had made some changes and the car was fast in Brainerd, but it wasn’t responding, and the reaction times were terrible. If Mike Coughlin hadn’t turned it -.001 red in the final, he would have won.”

A pair of semifinal performances followed at Maple Grove Raceway, where he was No. 2 qualifier, and in Charlotte, where he was No. 1 qualifier and set top speed of the event (223.14).

“Then it got really interesting. The last race of the year is at St. Louis, where I started racing in 1977,” said DeFlorian. “The pressure was immense. I knew I would have to qualify well and win the first round to control my destiny – if I didn’t and Johnny Pluchino went on to win the race, he would win the championship. I didn’t sleep at all; I was ate up with the whole thing.”

Friday qualifying was a transcript of the anxiety playing in his mind, and neither session produced a clean pass. DeFlorian was first out for the final qualifier on Saturday, without any data to build on, but a satisfying and stellar 6.269 – his quickest run of the season – locked down the pole.

“It looked like the wheels were about to come off in front of my hometown crowd, but we knocked the scoreboard down on Saturday, and it changed the tone of the whole weekend,” said DeFlorian, who earned the right to choose run-order position. He opted to go last and put the pressure on Pluchino.

“I was sitting under the tower, and there were so many people around – but I could see the top of the scoreboard in the right lane, and Johnny was in the left,” said DeFlorian. “I heard them do their burnouts and stage, and I was a wreck. But the top of the scoreboard in the right lane came on, and I knew we’d won. People were going crazy and pounding on the top of the car. I had tears in my eyes, and Matt Hartford opened the door and was yelling, then he said, ‘Get your [stuff] together and win this round.’ I was so happy we did, because I wanted to earn the championship, not get it because Johnny got beat.

“After that, making the turnoff at the top end where they were waiting with the championship trophy, the medallion, the white hats, the cameras, I thought about all the years I’d raced there. It was overwhelming, and to have accomplished that at my home track was just super special. People might say this was a dream come true, but it’s not. I would never have dreamed this bold. It was an incredible season, and one I’ll never, ever forget.”

DeFlorian thanked God as well as his wife, Liann; Jason Petzold; Jeff Graber; Tony Strobl; Brian “Lump” Self; Total Seal and Matt and Amber Hartford; Graber Concrete; Amsoil; Kevin and Karen Bealko; Eric Latino and G-Sport; Moneta; Jon Kaase Racing Engines; Pat Norcia and RAM Clutches; and Jerry Haas and Jerry Haas Racecars.