Mon, 19 May 2008, 08:10 AM Engel Scores First JEGS ProMod Win at Rain-plagued Bristol Race

Courtesy of Scott "Woody" Woodruff

BRISTOL, Tenn. --

Steve Engel

He had to wait until late Sunday evening to get the job done, but Steve Engel was more than happy to break curfew to claim his first JEGS ProMod Challenge victory. Driving his Diamond Heavy Haul '63 Corvette, Engel beat two-time champ Mike Ashley by nearly two-tenths of a second in the final, taking the stripe with a 6.051 at 238.17 mph to Ashley's 6.244 at 231.99 mph.

Engel becomes the fourth different winner of the first five races. His Thunder Valley victory lifts him into the JEGS top 10 for the first time this year. After beating Joe Baker Saturday night, Engel took out points leader Tony Pontieri and Kirk Kuhns before downing Ashley in the final.

For his part, Ashley got past Harold Laird, low qualifier Jay Payne, and Taylor Lastor to get his chance at Engel. He even got a nice jump on Engel in the final, leaving with a .027-second reaction time to Engel's .062-second start, but his Lend America/ProCare Rx Camaro faltered, which allowed Engel by for the win.

Pontieri padded his JEGS lead to 45 points over Joe Baker with his quarterfinal result. Eddie Ware is third, 46 back of the lead.

The next race on the 2008 JEGS ProMod Challenge schedule takes place June 19-22 at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J.