Mon, 21 Sep 2009, 11:00 PM Knowles Blasts to Quarterfinals in Charlotte

Courtesy of Matthew Brammer

CONCORD, N.C. -- Mike Knowles, driver of the Knowles Enterprises/B&J Transmissions 63 Corvette Pro Mod, qualified No. 2 and advanced to the quarterfinals in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals. He was eliminated by Burton Auxier after his Corvette apparently had "too much power" to grab the track.

Knowles 5.938 at 240.81 mph lap in the final round of qualifying Saturday afternoon put him in second position and set up a pairing against his friend at No. 15, Tim Tindle. When the two faced off, Knowles blasted straight down the quarter-mile at zMAX Dragway with a 5.962 at 240.94 to Tindle's tire-shaking 7.725 at 132.32.

In the quarterfinals, Knowles was matched up against series points leader Burton Auxier, who ha d struggled somewhat in qualifying but laid down an impressive 5.972 in his first round victory over former world champion Jay Payne. On paper, Knowles and Auxier had a deadly even matchup, with Knowles gaining the slight advantage and lane choice for the round.

At the hit of the throttles, Auxier shot straight down the track, while Knowles' car immediately smoked the tires, forcing him to lift and pedal to try and regain traction, but by then Auxier was long gone. At the line, Auxier ran the quickest-ever nitrous run in a Challenge-legal car at 5.934 while Knowles coasted across the line.

"We're not really sure what happened, because we had been running so well up until that lap. We had caught a couple of things bud hadn't made any major changes, so we should have been able to get down the track easily. Ultimately, I think we just had a lot more power than we thought," Knowles said.

"That track has such a great bite, it holds everything you can give it, and we have to see what was going on because I've never seen a car do that. It didn't even move a foot.

"My first instinct was to pedal it, but I looked over and saw he was way in front of me so I let out of it. He had a great run, so we'll just take our lumps and head on to Virginia and try again," Knowles said.

"I have to say a big thank-you though, to my team, my family, B&J Transmissions, and of course Roger Burgess and Get Screened America for putting the whole series together. The competition over here is fierce, and it just keeps getting better. This is the place to be for Pro Mod racing," Knowles added.

Next on the calendar for the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge is the Virginia NHRA Nationals in Richmond, Va., October 9-11.

Press Releases: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]

Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Alexis DeJoria Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Ron Capps Motorsports Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - John Force Racing Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Tony Stewart Racing Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Spencer Hyde Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Elite Motorsports Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Kalitta Motorsports Preview
Oct 27- LAS VEGAS - Mopar Dodge Preview
Oct 27- LAS VEGAS - Terry Haddock Preview
Oct 27- LAS VEGAS - Jeff Arend Preview