Sat, 19 Sep 2009, 12:00 PM Personett Blows Away the Field in Day One at Charlotte

Courtesy of Matthew Brammer

CONCORD, N.C. -- Brad Personett jumped to the provisional top of the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge field in the first day of qualifying at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at zMAX Dragway outside of Charlotte, N.C.

Personett's stellar 5.872-second pass at 246.89 mph was the quickest-ever for a turbo-charged car in Pro Mod Challenge history and the second-quickest run ever.

"Finally things are coming together for us," Personett said with a huge grin on his face. "We've got our tune-up really happy, and just really went to work on the car, testing in the other leagues to get things working out.

"We can definitely do it again. We've been working hard in the clutch department and also on the racecar itself, the chassis. It's a totally different car that what we started with at the beginning of the year. Everything is just starting to click and mesh together. We're not getting kicked in the face anymore - it's coming around."

When asked about the zMAX Dragway facility, he was effusive with his praise. "This track is phenomenal. You come to places like this, with the car running so well, and - hang on. It's unimaginable how a nice facility really has an affect on our performance. Everything lines up, and we can make a run like we did tonight," Personett said.

Danny Rowe was the closest to Personett with a 5.941. Mike Knowles, Rick Stivers, Roger Burgess and Jay Payne were also in the five-second zone; followed by Melanie Troxel and Burton Auxier to round out the provisional top eight.

One round of qualifying remains, scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by the first round of eliminations at 4:30 p.m., with the balance of eliminations scheduled to be run on Sunday.