Defending world champion Rickie Smith claimed the No. 1 qualifying position but then lost his first round matchup to Troy Coughlin Saturday during the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing is presented by The Real Pro Mod Association.
 
Coughlin used a holeshot start in his JEGS.com Corvette to hold off the quicker IDG Chevy Camaro at the finish line at Summit Motorsports Park. Coughlin finished in 5.859 seconds at 250.18 mph to pass Smith’s machine, which finished in a quicker but losing 5.856 at 247.88 at the finish line.
 
“It was awesome just to get qualified and then to take out Rickie in the first round,” Coughlin said.  “I mean, he’s a five-star racer, I mean he is a true gem. It was a great win for the JEGS team and Rickie is fast, there’s no doubt about it, but we had a little more luck go our way.”
 
Coughlin’s victory was one of six upsets in the first round of Pro Mod racing. Others to win from the bottom of the ladder included No. 14 qualifier Mike Castellana defeating Pete Farber, No. 12 Troy Coughlin Jr. defeating Jim Whiteley, No. 11 Dan Stevenson outran Kevin Fiscus, No. 10 Robert Patrick beat Mike Knowles and No. 9 Khalid alBalooshi powered by Danny Rowe.
 
The only two favored seeds to win were No. 2 qualifier Mike Janis who beat Clint Satterfield and No. 4 Bob Rahaim, who knocked off Billy Glidden.
 
Sunday’s second round pairings include Janis vs. Patrick; Rahaim vs. Coughlin Jr.; Castellana vs. Stevenson; and Coughlin vs. alBalooshi.
 
First round results from the ninth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park, the sixth of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
 
ROUND ONE -- Khalid alBalooshi, Chevy Camaro, 5.907, 247.57 def. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.947, 247.11; Robert Patrick Jr., Ford Mustang, 5.948, 241.15 def. Mike Knowles, Mustang, 11.810, 69.58; Dan Stevenson, Camaro, 5.969, 241.11 def. Kevin Fiscus, Mustang, 5.931, 247.57; Troy Coughlin Jr., Chevy Corvette, 5.901, 250.18 def. Jim Whiteley, Chevy Chevelle, 5.866, 244.03; Bob Rahaim, Corvette, 5.824, 246.66 def. Bill Glidden, Mustang, 5.909, 223.32; Mike Castellana, Corvette, 5.922, 243.41 def. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 5.910, 247.79; Mike Janis, Camaro, 5.867, 246.80 def. Clint Satterfield, Pontiac Firebird, 7.362, 136.69; Troy Coughlin, Corvette, 5.859, 250.27 def. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.856, 247.88.
 
Final order after 3 rounds of qualifying in Pro Modified at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Ninth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals:
 
Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd
 
  1    1 Rickie Smith, King NC, '15 Camaro              5.838  246.98  246.98
  2    4 Mike Janis, Lancaster NY, '13 Camaro           5.861  246.35  250.92
  3    8 Pete Farber, Baldwinville MA, '69 Daytona      5.868  247.93  247.93
  4  360 Bob Rahaim, Grosse Pointe MI, '15 Corvette     5.900  244.92  244.92
  5 5087 Jim Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, '69 Chevelle  5.903  244.52  244.52
  6    7 Kevin Fiscus, Jacksonville FL, '12 Mustang     5.910  247.52  247.52
  7 5011 Mike Knowles, Grand Junction CO, '67 Mustang   5.913  242.50  244.21
  8    5 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, '68 Camaro        5.918  248.61  248.61
  9  327 Khalid alBalooshi, Doha QA, '69 Camaro         5.923  244.69  244.69
10  262 Robert Patrick Jr., Fredricksburg VA, '12 Must 5.929  246.26  246.26
11  303 Dan Stevenson, Bolingbrook IL, '13 Camaro      5.953  239.82  239.82
12  394 Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, '13 Corvette   5.963  247.84  247.88
13  324 Bill Glidden, Whiteland IN, '10 Mustang        5.964  241.76  241.93
14    9 Mike Castellana, Muttontown NY, '15 Corvette   5.966  243.63  243.63
15  701 Clint Satterfield, Albuquerque NM, '68 Firebi  5.979  248.84  248.84
16    2 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, '15 Corvette       5.996  247.84  247.84
 
       ------------ Not Qualified ------------
 
17 5200 Steven Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, '14 CTS    6.004  242.76  242.76
18 1109 Gerry Capano, Greenville DE, '63 Corvette      6.007  237.59  237.59
19    6 Steve Matusek, Olathe KS, '68 Camaro           6.014  244.21  244.60
20 3681 Mike Yedgarian, Toronto ON, '68 Firebird       6.015  244.65  251.02
21 1938 Eric Latino, Port Perry ON, '69 Camaro         6.017  239.36  239.36
22 3382 Don Walsh, Wixom MI, '14 Camaro                6.030  248.75  248.75
23 5012 Kenny Lang, Grande Pointe MB, '69 Camaro       6.051  241.97  241.97
24  377 Harold Martin, New Hudson MI, '15 Corvette     6.094  235.97  235.97
25  318 Michael Biehle, North Vernon IN, '13 Mustang   6.099  245.72  245.72
26 6967 Jim Bell, Edmonton AB, '69 Camaro              6.599  210.21  210.21
27 2105 Doug Winters, Pleasant Garden NC, '69 Chevelle 7.184  136.95  136.95
28  213 Chip King, Semora NC, '70 Charger              8.616  102.81  102.81