R2B2 Racing Raymond Commisso too the No. 1 qualifying spot in the Get Screened America Pro Mod
Challenge at the United Association NHRA SuperNationals, delivering a mind-blowing 5.894 at 244.60
mph while his teammates Roger Burgess and Melanie Troxel both improved on their Friday qualifying
numbers, ending up No's 6 and 10 respectively.
Driving next to Joe Baker in the very last pair to take the track, the two delivered the
quickest-ever side-by-side run ever with Commisso obliterating the Raceway Park Pro Mod Challenge
track record and possibly setting the Challenge record if he is able to run a 5.953 or quicker
during eliminations. His mark is the second-quickest in Pro Mod Challenge history, the quickest
being when he ran 5.884 seconds at Houston Raceway Park earlier this season.
Commisso said, "As I watched all of the cars go down the track in front of me, I kept getting more
and more excited. I saw my teammate Melanie [Troxel] run a 6.03, and then Roger [Burgess] hit a
5.94, and I knew that we'd do great.
"I think the car hiked the front-end up until at least the eighth-mile, then I shifted and it
picked right back up again, and then again when I hit third. The track was there, the conditions
were there, and Al [Billes, crew chief] and the guys gave me a car that was anxious to make a run
like that. If the conditions are even close to what we had today, we should be able to back that
up for sure, if not go even lower."
Burgess ran a 5.945 at 242.84 mph to take 6th place, while Troxel blasted to a 6.034 at 240.47 mph
and landed No 10.
Burgess said, "What can I say - I ran a 5.94 and ended up number six? What an awesome field of
racecars! Raymond's blast was exactly what we knew that car could do, and Melanie had a great lap,
too.
"Now we've got to get her down into the fives also, so she won't feel like she's being neglected,"
he said with a laugh.
Troxel said, "We did exactly what we set out to do, improving from the 6.16 we ran yesterday.
"I think we took the logical step on the second pass and tuning it up a little bit. I know Al
[Billes, crew chief] thought there was a lot of room for improvement in the middle of the track,
and it was a big step in the right direction. Had we gotten a third qualifying pass in, we'd have
continued to tweak on it more and gotten into the fives.
"I completely expect us to step up and run quicker in the first round of eliminations. All the cars
were running great today - Roger getting a '94 and Raymond getting the number one spot with a
record-setting time - it's great for the team," she said.
In eliminations, Commisso will face Dave Hance, Burgess will meet Tim Tindle, and Troxel will face
off against Rickie Smith.
