Jess Tyree started his drag racing career in 1951 at the airport drags in Santa Ana, California with his ‘38 Chevy. While racing at that same track a few years later with his ‘57 Plymouth Fury Super, Jess impressed some of the Pontiac sponsored team members. Soon after, he was engaged as one of the few Pontiac “factory-sponsored” racers. For Jess and his loyal crew Mike Leiby, Ted Beck, Pete Bagnard, Dale Williams and the late Ron Swindle it was all Pontiacs from 1957 to 1973. Subsequently, Jess became the legendary “Mr. Pontiac”.

Throughout the 60’s, the Tyree A/Stock and A/FX Pontiac’s ruled the competition on the West Coast. Famed auto maker John DeLorean worked through Pontiac dealer Bill Barry to provide a factory ’63 Tempest to run along with the ’62 Catalina A/Stocker. Jess and his Catalina were the NHRA class record holders for speed and/or elapsed time well after Pontiac abandon factory support.

As a side venture during those infamous 60’s, Jess teamed up with Mickey Thompson to complete a project that most said couldn’t be done; Chrysler heads adapted to a 427 Ford block. History was made when the now-famous ‘64 Thunderbolt was created.

Later, racing went through more changes. Always the innovator, Jess was looking to “fuel” something new in drag racing; he found “funny cars”.

Now, some forty-odd years later, Jess has teamed with Performance Racing Warehouse. The PRW/Tyree combination of innovative ideas, technical knowledge, and old-fashioned racing know-how brings together applied engineering and practical application. PRW invites you to put our products to the test; the ultimate test – the racing test!