Mike Castellana set the national elapsed time record Saturday afternoon in front of a sold out crowd to clinch the No. 1 qualifying position at the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service portion of the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by Real Pro Mod Association, is the ninth of 12 races this season.

Castellana powered his ‘17 Camaro to a 5.676-second pass at 255.39 mph to set the record. This is his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 12th of his career as he chases his first victory of the season. He will face Shane Molinari in the first round of eliminations on Sunday.
 
“Well I knew we ran good the run before," Castellana stated. "It felt like it was on a better run and I had a good feeling it was going to be better and it was. Consistency will be needed for tomorrow. Whoever gets down the track with good runs I think will win this thing."

Mike Janis moved to the second position with his run of 5.725 at 248.02 and will take on Brandon Snider Sunday morning. Steve Jackson is third following his pass of 5.727 at 252.05.

E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series eliminations begins Sunday at 12:20 p.m.

Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the seventh annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park, the ninth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Pro Modified -- 1. Mike Castellana, Chevy Camaro, 5.676, 255.39 vs. 16. Shane Molinari, Pontiac Firebird, 5.777, 255.58; 2. Mike Janis, Camaro, 5.725, 248.02 vs. 15. Brandon Snider, Chevy Corvette, 5.774, 247.34; 3. Steve Jackson, Camaro, 5.727, 252.05 vs. 14. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.764, 251.91; 4. Rick Hord, Corvette, 5.728, 255.48 vs. 13. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.764, 252.66; 5. Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, 5.729, 251.06 vs. 12. Chad Green, Corvette, 5.756, 248.80; 6. Jim Whiteley, Camaro, 5.729, 250.55 vs. 11. Jason Scruggs, Camaro, 5.756, 248.98; 7. Marc Caruso, Camaro, 5.743, 244.43 vs. 10. Michael Biehle, Ford Mustang, 5.754, 255.97; 8. Jeremy Ray, Corvette, 5.745, 249.67 vs. 9. Erica Enders, Camaro, 5.752, 254.38.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Steven Whiteley, 5.779, 252.19; 18. Todd Tutterow, 5.798, 247.75; 19. Pete Farber, 5.803, 248.29; 20. Dan Stevenson, 5.808, 255.63; 21. Steve Matusek, 5.824, 249.81; 22. Doug Winters, 5.861, 242.54; 23. Chip King, 5.885, 246.71; 24. Michael Bowman, 5.894, 255.24; 25. Clint Satterfield, 6.336, 244.52; 26. Keith Haney, 7.527, 126.01; 27. Harry Hruska, 7.573, 200.89; 28. Bob Rahaim, 8.134, 138.19.