Fri, 3 Sep 2010, 03:18 PM Indiana Native Personett Seeking First Get Screened America Pro Mod Series Victory

Courtesy of NHRA Communications Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc. As Tour Heads to Indy

CLERMONT, Ind. --

Brad Personett

NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series teams have had a nine-week break since their last event in Norwalk, Ohio, and Brad Personett says he and his Personett Performance team has been spending the time busily getting ready for the world's most prestigious drag race.

After a slow start to the season, which was hampered by an untimely testing crash in Tulsa, Okla. which forced the team to miss the event in Houston, Personett says he and his crew have been working overtime to get back in the hunt during the inaugural season of the NHRA's newest national touring series.

After making repairs to his ultra-fast '68 Camaro following the crash, Personett raced to five consecutive top speeds and posted a runner-up finish at the Norwalk event. He says he feels the team is finally in position to try and win its first Get Screened America Pro Mod Series event at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, Sept. 1-6 at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

"We've made some updates on the car to try and get more consistent," Personett said. "We've tested a couple of times at Indy since Norwalk and we made some changes and feel like our program is coming around. It feels like we've been playing catch-up all year since our crash in testing."

While winning Indy is on every racer's bucket list, the Elkhart, Ind. native says winning at his home track would mean just a little bit more to him.

"It would be something special to win at Indy," Personett said. "Everybody tries to just a little harder to win that race, so it will be competitive. We've got a lot of friends and family coming out for the weekend, so it's going to be a hectic week for sure. We're looking forward to it."

Featuring the world's fastest and most unique doorslammer cars with an extremely diverse collection of vehicles, including '63 Corvettes, '68 Camaros, '67 Mustangs, '68 Firebirds as well as late model cars, the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series offers something for every kind of hot-rodding enthusiast.

While most of the competitors in the series choose either nitrous-injected or supercharged engine combinations, Personett is very comfortable with the little-used third combination available in the category.

"With our turbo-charged combination we don't have a lot of notes to go off of or a bunch of other cars to share information with, so it's kind of just us out there," Personett said. "The competition is very tough. There's a bunch of teams with big budgets out there who have all had success in other forms of racing over the years. They have a lot of experience, so we're just trying to hold our own out there."

In addition to Personett, other pre-race favorites in the category are series points leader Von Smith, who has earned three victories this season, Norwalk winner Pat Musi, Houston winner Danny Rowe, Gainesville winner Kenny Lang and several other veteran racers who have competed in multiple NHRA classes, including Jay Payne, Melanie Troxel and Troy Coughlin. Others to watch include Roger Burgess, Ray Commisso, Burton Auxier, Joe Baker, Mike Knowles and Ed Hoover.

SCHEDULE: Get Screened America qualifying sessions are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 3 and at 2:30 and 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 4. The final qualifying session will be held at 2 p.m. on Sept. 5, prior to the first round of eliminations, which starts at 5 p.m. Pro Mod eliminations will continue on Monday, Sept. 6, starting at approximately 2 p.m.

TICKETS: Tickets are available for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil. Please call NHRA at (800) 884-6472 or visit www.NHRATIX.com to purchase tickets online.

ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise 30-minutes of racing highlights from the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series portion of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil on Sunday, Sept. 19 at 10:30 a.m. (ET).

NHRA GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES POINT STANDINGS UPDATED 6/27/2010 (Following the seventh of 10 races; victories in parentheses)

1.  Von Smith, Oak Ridge, Tenn., Barwa / Al-Anabi Racing '68 Camaro (3)   483
2.  Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills, Calif., Sterling Bridge '68 Camaro (1)      398
3.  Kenny Lang, Manitoba, Canada, Kenny Lang Racing '53 Corvette (1)      368
4.  Jay Payne, Ontario, Calif., FireIce '68 Camaro                        349
5.  Troy Coughlin, Delaware, Ohio, JEGS.com '68 Camaro                    336
6.  Mike Castellana, Westbury, N.Y., Al-Anabi Racing '69 Camaro           312
7.  Ed Hoover, Gilbert, S.C., Trussell Construction '68 Camaro            293
8.  Scott Ray, Greenville, Ohio, Ohio Crankshaft '53 Corvette             289
9.  Joe Baker, Milton, Fla.,'68 Firebird                                  278
10. Raymond Commisso, Toronto, OntarioPro Care RX '68 Camaro              276            

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