Fri, 30 Apr 2010, 03:58 PM Pro Modified Qualifying Notes, Session #1 |
By Dan Bennett |
MADISON, Ill. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Pro Modified at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 14th annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:
Left Lane: Brad Personett Runs 5.994/250.27, Now #1
Right Lane: Scott Ray Runs 6.037/235.51, Now #2
2:24 p.m.
It's a very grey, very cool and windy day here at Gateway. The Pro Mods will be the first of the top classes to see what the track will hold, but I suspect at this point it's not going super tacky out there. The track temp is at 84 degrees, mostly from the infrared coming through the clouds and all the Stockers and Super Stockers making their passes.
Well, that just goes to show that maybe I ought to keep my mouth shut.
Both cars run hard, and are pretty much planted in Pro Mod terms.
Brad Personett's incremental times: 60ft-1.010 sec., 330ft-2.712, 660ft-4.008/192.88 mph, 1,000ft-5.090.
Scott Ray's incremental times: 60ft-1.000 sec., 330ft-2.642, 660ft-3.961/187.18 mph, 1,000ft-5.085.
Left Lane: Mike Janis Runs 6.071/236.42, Now #4
Right Lane: Ed Hoover Runs 6.025/239.10, Now #2
Two blown cars in this pair, and both have a bit too much aggression for the conditions. I hear both sides pedal at least once but both make it across the finish line in good form.
Mike Janis' incremental times: 60ft-1.027 sec., 330ft-2.687, 660ft-4.011/187.78 mph, 1,000ft-5.128.
Ed Hoover's incremental times: 60ft-1.012 sec., 330ft-2.660, 660ft-3.972/188.44 mph, 1,000ft-5.088.
Left Lane: Rick Stivers Runs 9.805/94.07, Now #6
Right Lane: Raymond Commisso Runs 6.114/238.93, Now #5
Stivers is wheeling Jay Payne's brand new Trane Stratus. Commisso is looking to put some of that big horsepower to the ground.
Stivers gets wacky about 300 feet, and Commisso has to step completely off the throttle at about 700 feet.
Left Lane: Dennis Radford Runs 6.020/235.64, Now #2
Right Lane: Mike Castellana Runs 6.626/155.38, Now #7
Castellana had both his hands full as the Camaro began to fishtail slightly at halftrack. The swings got wider and wider the further he went and by 1000 feet he got very close to the wall.
Radford had a uneventful run though with some flashes out of the headers as he crossed the line.
Left Lane: Roger Burgess Runs 6.028/243.11, Now #4
Right Lane: Khalid Balooshi Runs 6.198/192.06, Now #8
Big speed for Burgess but the turbo car of Personett still leads the field by a bunch. Balooshi's car never settled down from the launch and the chutes are out early.
Left Lane: Von Smith Runs 7.163/159.16, Now #10
Right Lane: Chip King Runs 7.526/129.54, Now #11
Not the best performances of the session, but a straight "10" for style points in both lanes.
Smith fought the Camaro from one end to another. King's Daytona lofted the front end as much as I've ever seen on a Pro Mod and the car began to bounce when it landed. It was Pogo city all the way to the finish line as King kept trying to calm the car down with no success.
Left Lane: Rickie Smith Runs 7.089/144.41, Now #10
Right Lane: Troy Coughlin Runs 8.370/104.05, Now #13
Same story here, and thankfully Rickie waited just a touch before he left the line.
Coughlin got VERY loose but kept pedalling all the way to 700 feet or so, tiptoeing along the center line. Smith's car made a hard move to the wall at about 600 feet and was on two wheels at one point. Rickie gets the car settled down and back on all fours, touching but not crossing the center line -- a point that Coughlin had just passed by.
Like I said, timing is everything.
Left Lane: Tony Pontieri Runs 6.008/240.04, Now #2
Right Lane: Tim Tindle Runs 6.044/234.86, Now #7
Pontieri struts his stuff on this pair, one of the better of the session.
Tony Pontieri's incremental times: 60ft-1.011 sec., 330ft-2.651, 660ft-3.963/189.02 mph, 1,000ft-5.074.
Tim Tindle's incremental times: 60ft-0.989 sec., 330ft-2.630, 660ft-3.956/185.54 mph, 1,000ft-5.088.
Left Lane: Mike Knowles Runs 6.114/238.60, Now #11
Right Lane: Jay Payne Runs 5.957/240.68, Now #1
Rick Stivers is on our new bump spot at 9.805.
Payne shows the turbo guys he knows how to get to the other end. That was about as straight and true as it gets for a Pro Mod.
Jay Payne's incremental times: 60ft-1.005 sec., 330ft-2.626, 660ft-3.922/190.73 mph, 1,000ft-5.025.
Left Lane: Kenny Lang Runs 6.051/240.17, Now #10
Right Lane: Danny Rowe Runs 5.955/244.69, Now #1
These guys are getting serious! Rowe is straight down the middle and takes over the top spot with a very pretty run. Lang's very nice .05 is only good enough for the tenth spot.
Rickie Smith is on the bump spot at 7.089.
2:50 p.m. and for some reason the tractor's making a couple of passes in the right lane.
Left Lane: Joe Baker Runs 6.067/237.42, Now #11
Right Lane: Melanie Troxel Runs 6.217/232.35, Now #16
This will be the final pair in a surprising good session.
Both cars made decent passes, but Melanie appeared to lift on the top end as the car kept drifting left towards the center line.
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