In an exciting day of Pro Mod action at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Brad Personett blasted his turbo-powered '68 Camaro to the number one qualifying position Saturday in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals and Mike Castellana won the Matco Tools Pro Mod Clash and took home the $25,000 grand prize by beating his teammate Burton Auxier in the finals.
 
The day's lone qualifying session saw Brad Personett blast to a track record ET of 5.965 seconds at 245.45 mph and Jay Payne follow closely with a 5.971 at 240.38 to take No. 2. In all, six drivers were in the five-second zone and rookie Kirk Wilmes took the No. 16 spot with a 6.125 at 231.52 - the quickest ever field and bump spot for the Las Vegas track.

In an exciting day of Pro Mod action at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Brad Personett blasted his turbo-powered '68 Camaro to the number one qualifying position Saturday in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals and Mike Castellana won the Matco Tools Pro Mod Clash and took home the $25,000 grand prize by beating his teammate Burton Auxier in the finals.
 
The day's lone qualifying session saw Brad Personett blast to a track record ET of 5.965 seconds at 245.45 mph and Jay Payne follow closely with a 5.971 at 240.38 to take No. 2. In all, six drivers were in the five-second zone and rookie Kirk Wilmes took the No. 16 spot with a 6.125 at 231.52 - the quickest ever field and bump spot for the Las Vegas track.
 
The eight competitors in the Matco Tools $35,000 clash were reduced to one, with Mike Castellana dispatching his Al-Anabi teammate Burton Auxier in the final to take the prize. Coincidentally, Castellana, the No. 6 qualifier in the event, will face Auxier, the No. 11 qualifier, again in the first round of eliminations Sunday morning. Auxier's path to the finals included victories over Raymond Commisso and Jay Payne, and Castellana's path took him through Tim Tindle and Roger Burgess.
 
When receiving the check from Matco Tools Top Fuel driver Antron Brown, Castellana said, "It really is a privilege to win this, because these cars were the very best. The competition is fierce, and it really means a lot to us as a team to win this Clash."
 
Auxier will have a target on his back during eliminations, as both Danny Rowe and Roger Burgess are within two round-wins of passing him.  And, in an extremely long-shot, Joe Baker could upset them all with a victory in the event and first-round losses for all three.
 
Eliminations are scheduled to begin Sunday morning at 9:15 a.m. and conclude later in the day.

Advertisement