Take 5 With JON KAASE
Jon Kaase is an engine builder of a different sort. He bucks convention on a daily basis, motivated only by results, innovation, and pushing the limits of internal combustion. He’s the sort of guy who will stick his finger in an intake port at 7,000 rpm just to feel what the engine feels and garner a tactile take on a phenomenon previously intangible.
He cut his teeth on drag racing in the 1960s, rubbed shoulders with the greats in the early days of Pro Stock, and his engines have competed in just about every form of motorsports available. From NASCAR to Mountain Motor Pro Stock and, most recently, offshore boat racing, he’s built it all. However, for all of his motorsports conquests, if you’ve heard his name, there’s a good chance it was surrounding an AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge competition, where he is the winningest competitor to date. From a modular Ford motor with 16 exhaust tubes to a Mercury Edsel Lincoln (MEL) platform with an inch-thick head gasket and extended “valve seats,” Kaase’s wild builds and epically creative interpretation of the rulebook have earned him quite the following.
When he pushes an engine-laden cart into the dyno cell at AMSOIL Engine Masters competition, the rest of the
