Sat. at 66 a local bracket racer told me IHRA held early version of Pro Mod at Gateway in 1989. And he said they called it another name. And not Top Sportsman, Quick 8/16 or Pro Slammers. He said the name used transformed into Pro Modified. That is news to me.
I was at the Atco event Oct 89. (the one Walter Henry got killed) That was an IHRA Div race and featured a 16 car qualified eliminator as an example of what the class "Pro Mod" not yet officially named would be like in March at Darlington.
If I recall correctly we were still voting on a name when the Atco 89 Oct event took place.
I cannot recall what They called us on the ads for that event. I have a poster of it somewhere in my archives.