After four years away from the track, Jason Stares is ready to return to the driver’s seat, with a heavily rebuilt Pro Mod Corvette and an ambitious national campaign ahead with Quinto Motorsports.
Stares has spent the past four years away from competition, with two years spent overseas before the focus turned to a comprehensive two-year update of the Corvette.
The team is owned by Elio and Cheryl Quintieri, who have overseen the massive project alongside Stares and a long list of suppliers, businesses and crew who have helped bring the car back to life.
Elio is no stranger to the drag strip himself, campaigning a Top Sportsman car from his hometown of Mareeba in Far North Queensland.
The Pro Mod Corvette also has plenty of history, being the original Wally Stroupe Pro Mod chassis that Stares purchased around 15 years ago. Elio then bought the car from Stares seven years ago, and it has now undergone an extensive transformation ahead of its return to competition.
Virtually everything has been updated, with the combination now featuring a new ProLine 481X engine, F4-136 ProCharger, carbon brakes, new MSR Racing suspension, ProTrans lock-up Turbo 400 transmission, Newby-built billet rear end and a complete FuelTech system.
The aim is to campaign the Corvette in Pro Mod at the majority of events, while retaining the flexibility to drop back into Top Sportsman when Pro Mod isn’t on the program.
The team has also just completed construction of a new trailer, with plans to hit the road and travel the country in pursuit of racing.
After such a major rebuild, Stares and the Quintieris have a long list of people to thank for helping turn the project from an idea into a race-ready package.
“After a massive rebuild there are lots of people to thank,” Stares said.
“Cheryl Quintieri for allowing all of Elio’s crazy ideas to come to life, Michael Jolly and Jason Stares for the endless hours put into updating the car, and Adam Hunter for all the hours machining parts.”
The build also involved Brett Schmidlin from Wicked Industries, Walt Sipp from ProCharger, Fred Soleimen from ProTrans, Marc Smith from MSR Suspension, and Mark and Shane from Motorsport Connections for supplying and building the Speedflow hoses.
Doug from Resolution Smash Repairs handled the paint, Todd Lewis from Mainline Dynos provided dyno support, while Natheniel Arden from FuelTech handled the tuning.
Roy Romeo from InTouch Automotive, Adam Fairburn from ACE for the seat pour and helmet pads, Scott from Guana Graffix for printing and applying the signage, Matt Czerny from Vinyl Wraps and Graphics for the design work, Rod Bourke from Bourke Designs for the renders and Daniel Stojanovic from Daniel’s Quality Upholstery for getting the buggy sorted also played important roles in the rebuild.
The team has also assembled a strong group of supporters.
Lucas Oil Products Australia has backed the Corvette for more than 10 years, providing the products that keep the car running, while Paul and Julie from Specialized Tools and Equipment helped outfit the new trailer with everything required to work on the car while travelling.
The team also acknowledges Marcel from Ideal Sprayers, Quinto Ag Supplies, EMA Legal, MLJ Constructions, MSR Suspension, ProTrans and MSCN.
After four years away, Stares is now ready to get back behind the wheel — with a completely refreshed Corvette, the backing of Elio and Cheryl Quintieri, and a new trailer built with one goal in mind: getting Quinto Motorsports out on the road and racing around Australia.
