A spectacular season of racing in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare RX ended Sunday with Jay Payne winning the final event of the 2009 season at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The event, the 10th of 10 on the 2009 NHRA Pro Mod calendar, put the finishing touches on a record-setting season that saw the all-time Pro Mod record book undergo a complete re-write.

Payne ended the season, the ninth year of NHRA Pro Mod competition, with a final-round win over Brad Personett, who red-lighted after a lengthy burn-down. It was Payne's second straight win in the series, coming three weeks after his  victory at the super-quick Richmond event.

What began as an exhibition in 2001 has become a full-fledged series for 2010, it was announced today by NHRA.  Made possible by funding from Pro Care Rx and its current Get Screened America initiative, the 2010 NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series will compete at 10 NHRA Full Throttle Series events and be televised on a tape-delay basis on ESPN2.

“We have been conducting Pro Mod exhibitions for quite some time,” said Tom Compton, president, NHRA.  “Clearly they bring entertainment value to our fans and we believe now is the time to highlight this popular form of drag racing.  Now, competitors can race for the coveted Wally trophy and an NHRA world championship title.”

Final round-by-round results from the Ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the 23rd of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Sunday's final results from the Ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the 23rd of 24 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Robert Hight raced to his third victory of the season Sunday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals and is on the verge of winning his first Funny Car world championship crown.

Spencer Massey, Larry Morgan and Andrew Hines also were winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the fifth of six events in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs.

Hight beat second place driver and teammate Ashley Force Hood in the first round of eliminations and then pulled out a very close final round victory over Jack Beckman to take a 105-point lead in the standings.

“It’s amazing what a win can do and get that confidence back,” said Hight, who powered his Auto Club Ford Mustang to a performance of 4.125 seconds at 304.46 to edge Beckman’s Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger at the finish line, which trailed with a 4.154 at 303.16. It was Hight's 14th career victory and his second at this track.

Ask any racer, and those that are honest will admit that while drag racing may be addictive, winning makes it even more so.  Guys like Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson, who has a house full of NHRA national event trophies interspersed with the occasional POWERade Series championship gold, know what it’s like to win.  With winning comes losing.  It’s just the natural order of things.  But, it’s how you handle those losses that will ultimately determine your reputation.  Throwing your helmet, for example, is not the way you ingratiate yourself to your fans and sponsors.

Anderson has had, by almost any standards, a very good season in 2009.  He’s won some races – and that’s more than a lot of other drivers can say – but he’s lost some, too.

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the Ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the 23rd of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series -

Talented motorsports photographer Chris Simmons captured the violence of Brad Brand's broken windshield during Sunday's first round action at the World Street Nationals in Orlando, Fla.

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The top two ranked Funny Cars will meet in the first round of eliminations and the championship could be on the line. Thanksgiving dinner at the Force home could be as well.
 
Sunday’s first round of eliminations at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals will pit in-laws Robert Hight and Ashley Force Hood against each other.
 
Hight rates the edge the epic battle on Sunday by virtue of qualifying performance and if not for a last ditch 4.197 elapsed time during the final session Force Hood wouldn’t have qualified for the field. Hight qualified third with a 4.065, 308.71.
 
“You never want to wait until the last session to get in but for some reason this weekend, our car has found a reason to not make a run each session,” Force Hood said. “You can see the frustration on my crew chiefs. We knew that if you DNQ, you are pretty much out of the Countdown unless you’re doing really good.”

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.