Sat, 30 Oct 2004, 10:07 PM Castellana Leads First Day Qualifying for the Nitrous Fraternity

By Bobby Bennett, Jr., www.competitionplus.com Sixteen-car Field Produces More Excitement

LAS VEGAS -- Mike Castellana scored a huge moral victory for his camp during first day qualifying for the ACDelco NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, the final stop on the ten-race 2004 AMS NHRA Pro Modified Challenge schedule. Castellana, of Westbury, NY., scored the huge feat for the nitrous camp as he blasted out a 6.234, 225.75 during the cool second session. “This is great and I’m very happy for our team,” Castellana said. “This gives us an excellent amount of momentum for the rest of the weekend. I have to thank my crew, sponsors and Speedtech nitrous. This is great for us, but this battle is far from over.”

Slipping into second was points leader Mike Ashley, who remains entangled in a battle for the championship with AMS Shootout winner Al Billes. Ashley’s Unique Performance/InfiNet Insurance/Torco Race Fuels-sponsored entry improved as Castellana did during the second session. The New York mortgage banker produced a mark of 6.249, 225.45.

Castellana teammate Shannon Jenkins claimed the third spot with a 6.259, 223.39, just .01 ahead of Richie Stevens, Jr., who pushed his Valspar-sponsored Mustang to 6.269, 228.27.

Series sponsor AMS Staff Leasing was smiling broadly as their flagship ’41 Willys, driven by Troy Critchley and tuned by Darren Mayer, produced the fifth quickest elapsed time of the day. His best run came during the quick second session with a 6.274, 224.32.

Von Smith, Running in his first NHRA AMS Pro Modified Challenge since undergoing quintuple bypass surgery, impressed the competition as his first day effort netted a 6.285, 227.00.

Billes lost a few points in his bid to overtake Ashley’s lead, ending up seventh with a 6.297, 226.13. The Canadian fell six points behind after first day tallies.

Rounding out the top half of the field was Danny Rowe, the second half of the Unique Performance/InfiNet Insurance/Torco Race Fuels-sponsored Gotham City Racing team. Rowe’s 6.299, 225.41 rounded out a quick top half of the field.

Sitting on the bubble was Harold Martin, whose 6.420, 221.34 rounded out the show on a quick note.

FRIDAY NOTES – Billes pockets the AMS Shootout loot, Jenkins scores a close victory and Torco Race Fuels announces new NHRA Pro Modified alliance

Billes is the one – When it was all said and done, Al Billes was the one driver that pocketed $10,000 for winning the AMS Pro Modified Challenge. The Barrie, Ontario-based driver continued a winning streak that began last week in Rockingham, NC., and for the second time in as many weeks, a member of the Awesome Motorsports team was his victim in the final round.

Billes used a 6.233, 226.96 to eliminate Shannon Jenkins, who recorded a stout 6.253, 224.02 to settle for runner-up. With a .02 starting line advantage in the favor of Jenkins, Billes bridged the gap and pulled out the victory by .003.

To get to the final round, Billes took out Mike Castellena in a rematch of the Rockingham final and then edged Ashley in a close one during the semi-finals.

For his part, Jenkins scored a first round bye run when Zach Barklage broke. Jenkins then recorded a close victory over Mike Ashley.

That’s close man – In winning his semi-final battle, Jenkins won by what was the closest margin of his career. The four-time world champion snagged a .01 holeshot and fought tooth and nail to the finish line opposite of Ashley. When his 6.259, 223.29 edged the New York mortgage banker’s 6.249, 225.45, it accounted for a true-win margin of .0001.

Be like Mike – Was it ironic that the top two qualifiers were both named Mike? Late is not always great – With all the talk of special restrictions being put on the late-model cars and ’63 Corvettes for next season, it was interesting to note that four of the seven top qualifiers featured classic non-Stingray rides. The quickest current body style was fourth on the list, while the best Stingray was eighth.

Torco Bucks – With the major announcements surrounding the introduction of Torco Race Fuels on the IHRA side as the Pro Modified class sponsor, the good news out of the DeCatur, MI.-based company continued with the announcement of a major associate sponsorship for Ashley and his Gotham City Racing Pro Modified team.

The decision to add Ashley to a vastly growing marketing approach aimed at developing brand awareness for Torco Race Fuels was one made easy by the pioneering Pro Modified driver’s professionalism.

“When you think of first-class, Mike Ashley comes to mind,” Evan Knoll, President of Torco Race Fuels said. “We wanted to build a strong presence on the NHRA AMS Challenge and Mike was our overwhelming first choice. He’s not only a good racer, he’s a good person.

“He’s the kind of drag racer that we feel honored to have on our team. He’s a team player and has proven that he’s more than willing to invest what it takes to win. That’s the same approach we take at Torco Race Fuels.”

Yes, it’s got a Hemi – Thomas Patterson considered himself one of the last of the wedge-head diehards to make the switch over to the Hemi. Patterson, of Houston, TX, actually debuted the new engine combination last weekend in Rockingham, NC. The driver, who pilots a 1941 Willys bearing the nickname ‘Headhunter,’ failed to qualify in that event. He made sure that wasn’t the case in the first session of qualifying as he belted out a 6.332, 226.16. The interesting thing is that Patterson is very confident that he has much more left in the engine.

Déjà vu – It was just a year ago in the final round that Patterson’s Willys met up with Von Smith, with everything to lose for the former and nothing for the latter. As fate would have it, the two matched up in the first qualifying session. The opening stanza of qualifications also served as the first round for the AMS Pro Modified Shootout. The storyline was a classic one as Patterson entered last year’s event with a remote chance to win the championship. Patterson fulfilled every demand except the one that could have been the icing on the cake. He needed to win the race, and by finishing runner-up, Patterson lost the title by just 5 points. By the way, Patterson lost that race opposite of Smith.

M.I.A – The AMS Pro Modified Shootout, a special eight-car event showcasing the eight-best points earners in qualifying for the season, was missing a few contestants when it came time for the first round of competition. The no-shows included Fred Hahn and Mike Janis. When Ed Hoover, Mitch Stott, Jim Halsey and Tommy Gray, Jr. (who was away rumored to be testing for a new driving gig) all failed to make the trip out west with alternate status, it enabled Shannon Jenkins and Patterson to gain berths in the big show.

Then there was the plight of Barklage, who broke in the first round and couldn’t make the call opposite of Jenkins. Sweet Sixteen – For the first time in the history of the AMS Pro Modified Challenge, the event will carry a sixteen-car field. Nineteen cars made trip to Vegas with fifteen spinning a supercharger and four choosing nitrous injection. Uncle Roy, the animal – After a flirtatious Hill made a disparaging flirt toward an attractive woman, she promptly turned to her husband and uttered, “Don’t worry about him. He’s like an old, toothless dog sitting on the porch. He’s not going to bite anyone. He just wants them to hear him bark.”