An Inside Look at Quarter-Max Racing with Owner Clyde Scott

Recently, I had the privilege of going on a shop tour at Quarter-Max Racing with Joshua Dixon (QM Brand Management and Design) to see the latest cars and products coming out of the premier Pro Mod fabricating shop located in Galesburg, Illinois. Afterwards, I sat down for an hour-long interview with QM owner, and well-known drag racer, Clyde Scott. It was an eye-opening discussion, and while I can’t divulge everything he mentioned, Pro Mod fans can rest assured there are some incredibly exciting developments in the works.

Drag Racing: From BMX to Pro Mod Champion

Q: Starting off, can you give me a little bit of your own personal history in drag racing?

I started out racing BMX bicycles when I was 12 years old. That’s how I got my passion for racing. My dad has always had a passion for drag racing since I was a child. When I was 15, I drove my first real drag car—my dad’s big-block Chevelle.

I decided I wanted to do it on my own, so before I even had a driver’s license, I was street racing. I had a ‘77 Vega with a 355 and a shot of nitrous.

I went to Kennedale Raceway in Texas, and they always had the outlaw Pro Mods. I was 18 at the time, and I saw Gaylen Smith and Frankie Taylor there, and I said, “I’m going to do that one day.” So I focused on building a business—I’ve had a commercial excavating business most of my adult life—and I got a plan together. I got me a Pro Mod, an engine with a screw blower on it, and long story short:

- In 2003, I won Driver of the Year.

- In 2005, I won the championship in the Texas Outlaw Pro Mod Association.

Since the age of 18, I’ve only raced Pro Mods. I’m not a guy that went and ran index classes or dragsters. I’ve never run bracket cars. When I quit street racing as a teenager, I went into Pro Mod. I never raced another class.

Xtreme Raceway Park (XRP): Building It From Scratch

Q: You’re also the owner of Xtreme Raceway Park in Ferris, Texas. How did that come about?

I built that from scratch, starting in 2017. It was finished early 2018—and I built it all. I mean, I was on the machines myself, I welded the buildings up, I put the screws in, I pulled the wires for the electric. I did the whole thing. And I’m the sole owner. I don’t have any partners. It’s just me—and my family, of course.

It’s been a journey. If you ever go to Xtreme, there’s a 15,000 square-foot race shop at the back of the property. That’s my personal shop. I’ve got an apartment in there. I built that because I wanted to build race cars. I’ve always had a passion for that.

The Acquisition of Quarter-Max Racing

Q: When did you buy Quarter-Max Racing/RJ Race Cars, and what made you decide to jump into the business of building Pro Mods?

I bought it on November 15, 2024.

I needed a car at the time, so I called RJ Race Cars. They said it would be a two-and-a-half-year wait, and I said, “That’s not going to work for me. How about I just buy the company and I’ll build my own car?”

They laughed, and I said, “I’m not joking.” Well, Rick [Jones] called me a short time after that, and then (Rick’s son) Rickie calls me, and he says, “Okay, let’s talk.” They’re good guys and a good family. Long story short, we came up with the numbers, everybody agreed to it, and I wrote him a check.

Quarter-Max’s Core Focus

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about what Quarter-Max offers—from complete cars, to parts and upgrades?

I look at Quarter-Max Racing as a whole. Before, it was individualized with Quarter-Max and RJ Race Cars. I don’t view it that way.

The way I promote the company is this: I am focused on building the best Pro Mod cars on earth because I’m a Pro Mod fan.

I feel that if I build the baddest, championship-winning Pro Mods—the nicest, strongest, lightest, best of everything—that’s automatically going to drive my parts sales. My focus is building high-quality race cars that have appeal and the structural strength of longevity, and putting them in the hands of winners.

And the bracket guys, if they buy something from us, they know it’s going to be high quality because we’re Pro Mod builders. The people that aren’t buying it for a Pro Mod, but it’ll work on their car, they’re getting a higher-quality part because it’s what we use on our cars.

Notable Customers and Builds

Q: Who are some notable customers you’ve had recently?

- Sidnei Frigo is going to be driving one that just came out of the shop, running out of KTR camp (Stevie Fast [Jackson]).

- Keith Haney: We’re building a super lightweight Pro Extreme nitrous car for him.

- Pro Extreme racer John Sullivan.

- Roderjan Busato, who’s been running in Brazil.

- I re-did a Mustang for Nate Sayler.

- We’ve got some other top-secret stuff that we’ll display at PRI.

I just have so much pride and respect for the sport. I don’t just make money off my parts and my cars. This is my life—racing is my life.

The Quarter-Max Difference: Built for the Future

Q: Without giving away too many trade secrets, what makes your cars stand out from other builders?

I say this phrase all the time: “A bad car will go down a good track, but only a good car will go down a bad track.”

The direction of the tubing. Safety is number one, and then the direction that you put the tubing in the car is what moves the car forward.

My cars are built for the future. Right now, turbo cars are making 5,500 horsepower on the Dyno. I build my cars to handle 7,000 horsepower. How is that? There’s a little more tubing in different places, different heights of four-link brackets, different thickness on the four-link bars, different heim joints... there’s a lot that goes into play with making a car for the future.

And I’ll tell you, if you want to know the secret without telling people how to do it, the four-link area is what makes a Pro Mod go down a racetrack. That thing’s driving from the rear tires, not the front tires. The strongest section in the entire car is the four-link area, so it’s the most important part. If you don’t have a correct four-link and tubing in the right places, a car will not go down the track fast consistently. It’s impossible.

Employee Stability and Company Energy

Q: Employee turnover is common, especially when a business changes owners—yet you still have employees that have been with the company over 30 years. How important is it to maintain that stability?

I’m a straightforward kind of guy. I figured I was going to lose some people, because when I went in there, I sat back for eight or nine weeks, looking for things I didn’t like.

The people here are great employees, super talented fabricators... but they’d lost their mojo. There wasn’t anything exciting happening. It was just stale; there was no energy. If the energy dies within, then your company’s going to eventually die.

Now, the guys have energy again. They’re excited. I didn’t lose anybody. I’m hard on people in there, and you know what, they didn’t fight it. They didn’t push back. They embraced it, man. I couldn’t believe it. That’s what they wanted. They wanted to come in and have some change.

It’s me giving a shit about the business and spending my own money growing it. I’m spending my money on new products, tools, and equipment. And the guys... when I buy a new machine, it’s like I bought them a new car. That tells you the excitement they have for their company. Now, the sky’s the limit. I’m in this for the long game.

Personal Racing Goals and IHRA Support

Q: Finally, what are some of your personal goals moving forward? Will we see you driving again, especially in IHRA competition?

Yes, I’m going to be racing IHRA Pro Extreme. I’ll also be racing in XRP’s Xtreme Outlaw Ironman Pro Mod series, but I will be making all of IHRA’s Pro Extreme events as long as they have them.

The reason XRP is an IHRA track is because there’s so much politics in the NHRA. I don’t want to do that. It shouldn’t be just one organization. We’ve got to have another option. That’s how you keep people’s feet to the fire, and if Darryl [Cuttell] can keep it up and people support the IHRA, they will.

You all want to do Pro Extreme stuff, which I respect and support. That’s the racing I like because I don’t want rules. My life is already consumed by rules. I put on this big blower, this big old Hemi engine, and spend all this money for you to add 400 lbs. in my car? It doesn’t make sense. I want to go as fast as I can go.

So I’m specifically building a car to come and attack guys like Bubba Stanton and John Sullivan. Even though they’re my buddies, I’m going to crush them. I’m excited.