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NHRA AMS Pro Modified Challenge NHRA Nationals Event #8 - Memphis, Tenn. |
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The
latest results from the #8 stop on the AMS Pro Modified Challenge |
by Bobby Bennett, Jr. Photos by Allen Cook, www.1320webservices.com |
FINAL - Jenkins maintains winning edge with NHRA O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals victory
(9-22-2003) – Shannon Jenkins was as fired up before final eliminations for the NHRA O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals as he has ever been in his extensive racing career. Then it began to rain, and then it rained and rained enough to cancel Sunday’s final eliminations. For the four-time Pro Modified World Champion from Tuscaloosa, Ala., the inclement weather just prolonged the inevitable – it was his day to win. Jenkins didn’t let falling short of gaining a berth in the eight-car AMS Pro Modified Shootout in Dallas deter him from running roughshod over the field for his first win on the tour in 2003. The veteran driver needed to qualify third or better to gain a spot in the elite show. Jenkins may not have been the quickest car in eliminations, but he was certainly on the gun when he needed to. Jenkins was smiling proudly as he crossed the finish line en route to beating Von Smith in the final round. “It feels really good to be back in the winner’s circle again,” explained Jenkins, who won six out of ten events last year. “I really have to thank Mike Castellana for giving me a great team to drive for and Brandon Switzer at Nitrous Pro-Flow systems. The weather made tuning for this race a challenge. We were confident headed into the event after winning at Epping last week. I think we have two cars on this team that are very capable of winning on any given day.”
Smith appeared to be the man to beat despite missing the final qualifying session on Saturday with a cracked rear-end and various other parts ailments on the Roy Hill Mustang. The extra day enabled the crew to go through everything in the rear suspension on the supercharged entry. Even though Jenkins had his number in the final round, Smith’s record has been proven incredible. In his first three races since switching over to a Pro Modified from Alcohol Funny Car, the former World Champion has two runner-ups and a semi-final to his credit. But, as hard as Smith may have tried this was Jenkins’ day to win. Coming off of an impressive victory one weekend earlier in Epping, NH, Jenkins entered Memphis as the fourth quickest qualifier and the top nitrous entry in the field. Last year Jenkins was the quickest car on the grounds and was the last man standing when the battle was complete on Sunday. In the first round of eliminations, Jenkins provided an example of why he is the winningest driver on the AMS Pro Modified Challenge tour by strapping a .006 reaction on Scott Ray and complimenting it with a 6.276, 222.58.
The semi-final proved to be an entertaining venue for the race fans as Jenkins and Thomas Patterson staged a memorable staging battle that lasted for nearly a full minute. Neither driver budged on the starting line and starter Rick Stewart threw up his hands in frustration and took a seat on the wall. Only when Patterson realized through a message from his crewchief Brandon Pesz that his car wasn’t carry the usual compliment of fuel did he roll into stage with Jenkins following. Patterson later admitted that he burned nearly four gallons in the duel. Just one round earlier, Patterson eliminated low qualifier Tim McAmis on a holeshot following a shorter staging battle. Patterson got off of the line first, but drifted out of the groove and enabled Jenkins to win with his quickest run of the day, a 6.247, 222.99 For his part, Smith was quicker than Jenkins in every round and outqualified him as well. Smith entered eliminations with a 6.210 qualifying best, which he says could have easily been a 6.16. He then used a 6.233, 228.92 to send Rickie Smith packing in the first round. In the semi-finals, he gained the final round advantage with a 6.236, 228.11 that was more than enough to take out Mitch Stott. Smith may have been favored but Jenkins was not intimidated in
the least. Despite losing the starting line battle, Jenkins tracked
down the out-of-the-groove Smith and passed him with a 6.260, 221.71.
Smith absorbed the loss with a 7.072, 140.33. 
SATURDAY - McAmis still remains on top after three sessions(9-20-2003) - Tim McAmis continued to be the driver to beat as qualifying continued on Saturday. The chassis builder from Moscow Mills, Mo., made good on his promise to step up from Friday’s 6.23 and in doing so, retained the top spot headed into the final session in Pro Modified qualifying during the NHRA O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals. McAmis became the first driver to dip into the six-teens during the weekend with a 6.192, 226.06. McAmis’ incredible run overshadowed another tremendous effort. Former Alcohol Funny Car racer turned Pro Modified standout Von Smith jumped to the lead early in the session with a 6.210, 229.87 behind the wheel of Roy Hill’s Mustang. Mitch Stott landed in the third spot thanks to a .001 improvement. The Radiac-sponsored driver produced a 6.244, 226.89. Shannon Jenkins joined the ranks of the provisionally qualified as a 6.250, 224.10 was enough to round out the top half of the field. Scott Ray continued a barrage of personal bests as he climbed into the fifth spot with a 6.250, 224.10. Mike Castellana had a wild ride on Saturday’s first hit and rested on his Friday laurels with a 6.253, 223.99. He was the sixth quickest and .002 ahead of recent Indy winner Rickie Smith. Thomas Patterson rounded out the eight-car field with a 6.259, 213.33.
McAmis finds his groove after first day Memphis qualifying
(9-19-2003) – Tim McAmis proved on the first day of qualifying at the NHRA O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Tenn., that if at first you don’t succeed, try…try again. The chassis builder from Hawk Point, Mo., didn’t let the shortcomings of his first qualifying attempt deter him from climbing to the top of the qualifying list when the day concluded. McAmis improved off of a 6.254 with a 6.232, 225.33 during the evening session. “We really didn’t change a lot on the car even though the first qualifying attempt wasn’t all that good,” explained McAmis. “We left everything alone and let the track get better and it ran what it should have on the first run. I feel good about our effort tonight because some good cars didn’t get down the track and we did. “I don’t think our run will stand, but I also feel that we have a 6.21 or a 6.22 left in it. We have a good baseline and I think that we have enough that we can step on it.” Mitch Stott held onto the second spot with a 6.245, 227.73 that was achieved during the first session. His second attempt netted a 6.27. Von Smith followed the same path as Stott by getting in on his first attempt. The former Funny Car driver piloted Roy Hill’s Mustang to a 6.249, 226.48. He failed to improve when the car got out of shape and he was forced to abort the run. The nitrous contingent had Mike Castellana as their quickest representative with his Western Beef-sponsored entry. Driving the same car that won last year’s event, Castellana rounded out the top half of the field with a 6.253, 223.99. Recent Indy winner Rickie Smith was .002 off as his 6.255, 224.25 put him in the fifth spot. His run came during the second session. New York Mortgage Banker Mike Ashley gained a place in the field as his 6.263 was enough to edge out a personal best 6.271 from Scott Ray. Billy Harper anchored the field with a 6.273, 224.73. Pro Modified qualifying concludes tomorrow with sessions scheduled for 12:30 and 2:30. The past national event winners unqualified include Shannon Jenkins (6.280), Thomas Patterson (6.302) and Fred Hahn. Friday Notes – Qualifying has value for nitrous racers, Stivers towing ordeal and Rowe Rowe your boat to Russia
(9-19-2003) - Qualifying is important - Sometimes drag racing requires its combatants to make some pretty tough decisions. Defending NHRA O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals AMS Pro Modified Challenge champion Shannon Jenkins and team owner Mike Castellana found that out the hard way. After putting Jenkins’ car in the top half of the show and Castellana at the top of the second half of the program, both were forced to withdraw from competition at Indy and head to Epping, NH. for an IHRA event. Two weeks later that decision looms over their heads, but their decision was supported by a national event victory for Jenkins and a quarter-final finish for Castellana. Desperately needing high qualifying positions to earn a berth in the prestigious AMS Pro Modified Shootout, the nitrous running duo are pulling out all of the punches to score all the points they can to participate in the eight-car special shootout in Dallas, Texas. Jenkins ranks 11th and Castellana ranks 12th. To get in Jenkins will need to qualify third or better, while Castellana has to hope for second or the pole position. They also need for the drivers ahead of them to not qualify, which will be a tall order any way you slice it. “It’s going to be a challenge,” Castellana explained. ”We really wanted to stick with things in Indy because we felt we had a good chance. Sometimes you have to make decisions that make the most business sense and that’s exactly what we did with Indy. I think we have good consistency working in our favor headed into Memphis. The car I’m driving qualified number one and won here last year.”
Needing help to jump into the show, their efforts have been made easier since three of the drivers ahead of them aren’t participating. After the first day, Castellana ranks as the quickest nitrous car on the grounds and is fourth. Jenkins is ninth headed into the final day. This guy needs the hook up – At least that’s how Rick Stivers felt after he had traveled about 300 miles outside of his Lexington, Ky. Home base. Apparently the trailer separated from the rig and crashed into the back of the motorhome. A stunned Stivers was too scared to get on the brakes since all air lines and two safety chains were intact and the tongue was dragging the road. Somehow or another, Stivers brought the runaway trailer under control with some crafty wrangling. The only damage to the trailer was cosmetic and as for Stivers, a change of underwear was certainly needed. Back in the U.S.S.R. – Danny Rowe was disappointed two weeks ago when he couldn’t return for the rescheduled completion of the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Business commitments for the importing business owner from Laguna Beach, Ca.-based sent him to the other side of the world into Moscow, Russia. Rowe wrapped up the trip with a set of meetings and the first thing he did upon returning was loading up his racecar and headed to Dallas for testing before making the trek to Memphis, Tenn. Traveling Troubles – Summit-sponsored team owner Jim Oddy has experienced better road trips than the one he encountered on the way to Memphis. The team was forced to spend the better part of late-Thursday and early-Friday morning in a Kroger parking lot in Lexington, Ky., trying to rig up a solution to repair a broken hydraulic line on their motorhome. The team finally arrived at the track just a few minutes prior to the first qualifying session. On their one shot at qualifying driver Fred Hahn shook the tires and aborted the first attempt. But, Chip King wasn’t as lucky. King’s Semora, NC, hometown was in the path of Hurricane Isabel. Memories - Last year’s final round appearance at the O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals is a distant memory for Mike Ashley. Ashley will admit to being a bit frustrated in finishing runner-up to eventual World Champion Shannon Jenkins in that event. The aggravation was short-lived as he posted his first national event victory in Dallas, Texas, one race later. One year later, Ashley is cautiously optimistic despite being in better control of his destiny. The team’s primary sponsor InfiNet has just renewed the team’s sponsorship through the 2004 season, the car is responding well to major recent chassis and clutch changes and Ashley is currently ranked fourth in the championship points chase. Better yet, he remains in contention for the #1 spot in the AMS Pro Modified Challenge. That’s the optimistic part. The cautious part in Ashley's own words admits, “We need to make up ground on the 25% over rule change. “We are still .04 to .05 off of the top qualifying position and that is where we expect to be. In today’s eight-car NHRA AMS Pro Modified Challenge field you can’t be off even .02 and expect winning results. We are well aware of this and working hard to get a handle on the rule change.” On the plus side, the pesky tire shake bug that seemed to plague the team so many times seems gone. That is a welcomed departure according to Ashley. He continued, “We spent our time this summer testing clutch and four-link combinations. In that department we are now consistent. I have always felt that consistent cars will always win races. Now we are committed to getting a handle on the overdrive and this team will emerge as front running. It won't be long I have unwavering faith in my crew chief Chuck Ford”.
Thursday - Last chance to qualify for the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Shootout
(9-18-2003) - The NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil, being contested this weekend at Memphis Motorsports Park, will be the last opportunity for Pro Mod drivers to qualify for the First annual AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Shootout, a special race-within-a-race, that will be held during the 18th annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex, Saturday, Oct. 11. Drivers competing in the NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge, an NHRA exhibition class, earn points based on how they qualify at the first eight of ten events at which the Pro Mods compete. At each of the eight events, drivers earn between eight and one point -- eight points for qualifying No. 1, seven points for qualifying No. 2, down to one point for qualifying eighth. Points are awarded on qualifying performance; therefore, no points are awarded for DNQs (not qualifying). The eight Pro Mod drivers accumulating the most points during the
season-long qualifying earn a position in the AMS Staff Leasing
Pro Mod Shootout. Currently, entering the NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South
Nationals, the point standings for the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod
Shootout are as follows: Fred Hahn, driver of the Jim Oddy-owned Summit Racing Corvette, and Tim McAmis, driver of the Sanders Motorsports Corvette, have a lock on the first and second qualifying positions for the Shootout, with Hahn holding the upper hand. If Hahn qualifies No. 5 or better, he will become the No. 1 seed for the Shootout no matter where McAmis qualifies. Additionally, if Hahn qualifies six , McAmis must qualify first to assume the top spot from Hahn. If Hahn is seventh, McAmis must be the No. 1 or No. 2 qualifier, and if Hahn is the final qualifier in the field of eight, McAmis must be in one of the top three qualifying position. Finally, if Hahn should fail to qualify, McAmis must be one of the top four qualifiers. Mathematically, all drivers with seven points or better have a
chance at making the field for this year's AMS Staff Leasing Pro
Mod Shootout. |
