Joe Baker drove the Matco Tools/Lend America '68 Camaro Pro Mod to a quarterfinal finish Sunday in
the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge at the United Association NHRA SuperNationals after
qualifying second with a personal best ET of 5.911 at 244.83 mph.
Baker won his opening round by default when Pennsylvania-resident Frank Patille left the line early
and handed Baker the win. In round two, Baker faced off against nitrous-powered Rickie Smith, and
his 6.065 at 242.76 mph was no match for Smith's blistering mark of 5.978 at 235.27 mph.
"It was disappointing," Baker said. "We made a great pass in qualifying, and I know Chuck [Ford,
crew chief] and the rest of the team thought we had a lot more in the bank with this Matco Tools
Camaro, but we just couldn't put it all together.
"Rickie Smith was really on fire today, and he got a hold of the track that second round when we
needed to run like the rest of the field was. There were records dropping all around us, but we
just weren't able to get it all onto the track.
"We're definitely making steps in the right direction, and I'm sure we'll keep moving forward from
here. We'll just have to take the summer now and work on fine tuning our program so we can hit
things hard at Indy and move up in the points chase," Baker said.
Next up on the schedule in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge is the Mac Tools US Nationals
September 2-7 in Indianapolis, Ind.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., Mike Ashley Racing fields the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster
driven by Antron Brown as well as the Matco Tools/Lend America Pro Mod '68 Camaro driven by Joe
Baker. MAR proudly represents racing partners Matco Tools, Lend America, DirecTV, BeepBeep.com,
Toyota, DataDot USA, Ringer's Gloves, Go Fast Sports, Goodyear, FRAM, Autolite, Suzuki, Connexions
Sports and Entertainment, and Forward Sports Marketing.
Mike Ashley Racing supports Autism Awareness through their support of the Hyperbaric Therapy
Center. A 2007 Centers for Disease Control report found that 1 in 150 children in America today
have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and an estimated 1.5 million Americans and their families
are now affected. Autism is a national health crisis, and Mike Ashley Racing is working to help
educate the public about ways they can get involved. Visit the Heal Autism Now website for more
information about how you can get involved at http://www.healautismnow.org.
