2012 NHRA SUMMIT NATS - GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD NOTEBOOK
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
SUNDAY FINAL - WALSH SCORES NHRA PM WIN IN NORWALK
Don Walsh raced to his first career victory in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
Walsh held off event No. 1 qualifier and Ohio native Troy Coughlin in the final round after defeating David Roemer, Mike Janis, and Kevin McCurdy in earlier rounds. In the final round at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, Walsh powered his 2011 Ford Mustang past Coughlin with a performance of 5.893 seconds at 251.95 mph. Walsh posted the second-quickest and fastest pass of the event to take the win.
Coughlin had the starting line advantage, but slowed near midtrack when his Chevy Camaro with lost traction and finished with a performance of 11.771 at 92.65.
With the victory, Walsh moves to fourth in the series points standing.
The NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx continues Aug. 29 – Sept. 3 at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis with the 58th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.
Final round-by-round results from the Sixth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the sixth of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx
ROUND ONE -- Donald Martin, Chevy Camaro, 6.148, 240.81 def. Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang, 6.328, 240.55; David Roemer, Chevy Cavalier, 6.098, 236.88 def. Jay Payne, Camaro, 6.157, 238.34; Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 6.180, 223.32 def. Mike Knowles, Camaro, broke; Donald Walsh, ford Mustang, 5.955, 252.14 def. Kevin McCurdy, Camaro, 14.159, 59.81; Mike Janis, Mustang, 7.010, 174.01 def. Danny Rowe, Camaro, foul; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 6.182, 212.63 def. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.782, 209.79; Roger Burgess, Chevy Corvette, 6.159, 219.69 def. Clint Satterfield, Camaro, 6.395, 214.93; Rickie Smith, Camaro, 6.060, 239.53 def. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 10.591, 85.47;
QUARTERFINALS -- Coughlin, 5.909, 250.83 def. Martin, 6.024, 243.59; Burgess, 6.024, 249.26 def. Castellana, 6.631, 175.11; Walsh, 5.896, 246.21 def. Janis, 9.254, 98.55; Roemer, 6.492, 196.16 def. Smith, 9.738, 88.88;
SEMIFINALS -- Coughlin, 5.973, 250.74 def. Burgess, 10.521, 110.24; Walsh, 5.887, 253.85 def. Roemer, foul;
FINAL -- Walsh, 5.893, 251.95 def. Coughlin, 11.771, 92.65.
Point standings (top 10) following the Sixth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the sixth of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx -
1. Rickie Smith, 422; 2. Danny Rowe, 419; 3. Mike Castellana, 413; 4. Donald Walsh, 379; 5. Troy Coughlin, 359; 6. Leah Pruett, 326; 7. Donald Martin, 304; 8. Kenny Lang, 293; 9. Pete Farber, 280; 10. Mike Knowles, 248.
SATURDAY - COUGHLIN SECURES NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITION; WINS FIRST ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS IN NHRA PRO MOD SERIES COMPETITION
Ohio native Troy Coughlin secured the No. 1 qualifying position and then raced to a first round victory Saturday in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx portion of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
Coughlin, who is sixth in the season long points standings, posted a run of 5.949 seconds at 250.64 mph in his turbocharged JEGS.com '68 Chevy Camaro to take the No. 1 qualifying position on a hot and humid day at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
"We felt as if we had a competitive car coming into this race," Coughlin said. "We started off in qualifying by losing traction a little bit, so we had some work to do. This morning we read the track and made a couple adjustments to it, and ended up with a great run that put us on the pole. We were the second car out, so we had to sit and wait all session to see what happened. But it stuck and stayed No. 1 by four-hundredths, which was nice."
In the first round of eliminations, Coughlin posted a winning pass of 6.180 at 223.32, while Mike Knowles' Camaro broke during the burnout.
"We rolled into first round on a little bit greasier race track, which we adjusted for," Coughlin said. "The JEGS car was hustling but it started picking up the front end so I cut it back a little bit. I decided not to take a chance at hurting the engine and just kind of let off. We still ran a 6.18, which is pretty quick. We'll tune this run for tomorrow. The weather's supposed to be a little cooler, so that's going to bring the track and the atmosphere to this thing to make it faster."
Other first round winners included Donald Martin, Rickie Smith, David Roemer, Roger Burgess, Donald Walsh, Mike Janis and Mike Castellana. In the quarterfinals, which will continue on Sunday at approximately 2:30 p.m., Coughlin will face Martin, Burgess will meet Castellana, Smith will battle Roemer and Walsh will face Janis.
Round one results from the Sixth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the fifth of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx:
ROUND ONE -- Donald Martin, Chevy Camaro, 6.148, 240.81 def. Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang, 6.328, 240.55; David Roemer, Chevy Cavalier, 6.098, 236.88 def. Jay Payne, Camaro, 6.157, 238.34; Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 6.180, 223.32 def. Mike Knowles, Camaro, broke; Donald Walsh, ford Mustang,5.955, 252.14 def. Kevin McCurdy, Camaro, 14.159, 59.81; Mike Janis, Mustang, 7.010, 174.01 def.Danny Rowe, Camaro, foul; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 6.182, 212.63 def. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.782, 209.79; Roger Burgess, Chevy Corvette, 6.159, 219.69 def. Clint Satterfield, Camaro, 6.395, 214.93; Rickie Smith, Camaro, 6.060, 239.53 def. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 10.591, 85.47;
Final order after 3 rounds of qualifying in Pro Modified at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Sixth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals:
Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd
1 24 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, t'68 Camaro 5.949 250.64 250.64
2 43 Rickie Smith, King NC, '12 Camaro 5.951 241.50 241.50
3 3382 Donald Walsh, Wixom MI, t'11 Mustang 5.983 248.71 250.74
4 272 Roger Burgess, Duluth GA, '53 Corvette 6.001 249.90 249.90
5 1794 Mike Castellana, Muttontown NY, '12 Camaro 6.049 237.75 237.75
6 1456 Mike Janis, Lancaster NY, '10 Mustang 6.080 239.48 239.65
7 300 David Roemer, Avon OH, '06 Cavalier 6.097 236.84 236.84
8 777 Leah Pruett, Cherry Valley CA, t'12 Mustang 6.098 248.25 248.25
9 770 Donald Martin, Lake Forest CA, *'68 Camaro 6.126 240.59 240.59
10 9 Jay Payne, Ontario CA, '12 Camaro 6.138 236.42 236.42
11 2 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, *'68 Camaro 6.179 238.47 238.47
12 4 Kenny Lang, Grande Pointe MB, '69 Camaro 6.181 235.89 235.89
13 321 Scott Ray, Greenville OH, *'53 Corvette 6.184 230.96 230.96
14 191 Kevin McCurdy, Hamburg PA, '68 Camaro 6.211 218.87 218.87
15 1518 Pete Farber, Baldwinville MA, *'69 Daytona 6.233 235.64 235.64
16 5011 Mike Knowles, Grand Junction CO, *'68 Camaro 6.233 235.27 235.27
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 4720 Clint Satterfield, Albuquerque NM, '68 Camaro 6.389 230.72 230.72
18 5450 Steve Matusek, Olathe KS, t'12 Mustang 6.415 233.16 234.09
19 2072 Shannon Jenkins, Tuscaloosa AL, '69 Camaro 7.522 152.19 152.19
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - NHRA PRO MOD ENTERS SECOND HALF OF SEASON
The second half of the NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by ProCare Rx officially begins at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, July 5-8, and the battle for the championship will come more into focus as the season heads down the stretch run.
So far, victory lane has been dominated by three racers in the first five events. Rickie Smith raced to victory in the opening race in Gainesville as well as the most recent event in Bristol. Mike Castellana won the second race of the year and Danny Rowe secured back-to-back wins at Houston and Englishtown. Both Smith and Rowe are proud of what their teams have accomplished and are thrilled with the results.
“I would say the first part of the year has been real good,” Smith stated. “You can’t win them all, so we got off to a pretty good start. Winning two of the first five isn't too shabby.”
“This has been our best to start of the season since our team has been together,” Rowe said. “I’m very proud of all the hard work that [crew chief] Jimmy Rector and the whole crew put in over the winter months to give us the great start to the season. I think every racer feels that they have a chance to win at any event, but we realize how many things that have to come together to make that happen. You need a little luck and a lot of hard work.”
When the competitors in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx roll to the starting line in qualifying or eliminations the teams and racers know the smallest issue can make the biggest difference. An extra pound of air pressure can make a car rocket to the No. 1 qualifying position and a loose bolt can cause tire shake at the hit of the throttle. Each of the season winners are aware of this and can point to differing factors for their success.
“It takes a whole team to be doing things right," Rowe explained. "Jimmy and the crew have given me and (teammate) Donnie Martin great race cars. We need to keep focused on each round whether it is in qualifying or in eliminations.”
Said Smith: “The engine is more consistent and we have just been paying more attention to detail.”
Rowe has raced in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx since its inception in 2010 and has twice finished second in the championship standings. He has played the role of the hunter but in the back half of 2012 he will be the one the racers are gunning for.
“This is the first time we have been in the lead of the points," Rowe said. "I know how hard it is to be chasing someone for the points. I think as the hunted we have to keep doing our jobs and looking to do well at each race and the points will take care of themselves.”
Rowe, Smith and Castellana are bunched at the top of the points standing with Leah Pruett lurking in fourth. As the season moves toward the final race in Las Vegas, Rowe and Smith are keeping a close eye on the rest of the field in the ultra-competitive category.
“There are a lot of great teams out there and you cannot count anybody out,” Rowe said. “Last year you saw the turbo cars make a late chase and I think this year it is going to be the same. That being said, Rickie and Mike are not going to make this easy. They are both great racers. I think it is going to be a great race to the finals. There is going to be a lot of close racing, which will make this one of the most exciting years in the category.”
“Everything is going to be closer," Smith said. "The terrible cars are starting to figure their stuff out and run better; Troy Coughlin is an example of that. Rowe is starting to run better. It will be tighter between the whole field.”
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|