In a season that has seen records fall as often as cars were raced, nitrous cars winning multiple
events, and the quickest and fastest fields in the history of Pro Modified racing, Al-Anabi Racing
is looking to add to the seemingly never-ending excitement by scoring the first world championship
for a nitrous-assisted Pro Modified since their own Shannon "The Iceman" Jenkins sealed the deal on
the Pro Mod Challenge crown in 2002.
Leading the charge for the nitrous Pro Mod powerhouse is Burton Auxier who has used unbridled
consistency and top-tier performance to earn the No. 1 spot in the Get Screened America NHRA Pro
Mod Challenge points standings, albeit by a somewhat narrow margin (32 points) over Roger Burgess
and Danny Rowe. Scoring a win earlier this season in Bristol at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals,
Auxier has proven his Speedtech Nitrous/Reher-Morrison engine program has what it takes to run with
his supercharged and alcohol burning counterparts, but is well aware of the challenge that lies
ahead - especially in Sin City.
"Like I've said, there is a lot of pressure that comes with leading the points," said Auxier via
cell phone will traveling to Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier in the week. "I'm proud that we've
been able to hold the lead, but I know there are a lot of fast hot rods nipping at our heels. We've
got our work cut out for us, but we've made big strides this year in terms of performance, and I'm
confident that we've got a team that can hold 'em off long enough to win this championship."
Auxier continued, "More so than anything, I'm appreciative of this opportunity to run with Al-Anabi
Racing, and it'd be a great way to cap an incredible season if we could win a championship for
Sheikh Khalid."
Despite the city's slogan, "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," one can rest assured that the
eyes and ears of the fast door slammer racing world will be indefinitely affixed to the
quarter-mile version of "the Strip" this weekend as the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals will crown a
first-time champion in Pro Modified, no matter which of the top three contenders pull it off.
Mike Castellana, a perennial front-runner in the Pro Modified ranks who will also be competing this
weekend, felt the performance and success seen this season by Al-Anabi Racing was a testament to
the team effort put forth by the entire camp.
"We're all going to do our part to ensure we leave Las Vegas with the Get Screened America NHRA Pro
Mod Challenge title for Al-Anabi," said Castellana. "Burton has done a great job this year driving
and the performance of these Speedtech Nitrous/Reher-Morrison Racing engines speak for themselves;
we're proud of the position we're in and it's going to take a continued team effort to make it
happen this weekend."
To follow Mike Castellana, Burton Auxier and the Al-Anabi Racing Pro Mods this weekend, log onto
http://www.dragracecentral.com
for round-by-round results.
Qualifying rounds are scheduled for 12:00 and 6:00 p.m. on Friday, October 30th, with a final
session at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, October 31st. Elimination rounds will be completed in their entirety
on Sunday afternoon.
Information regarding Al-Anabi Racing can be found at http://www.qrczone.com
