2012 NHRA CHARLOTTE-2 NATIONALS - PRO MOD NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY: PRUETT WINS BIG TO WRAP UP BIG NEWS WEEK
After a week chock full of headlines regarding her future racing plans, NHRA Pro Modified racer Leah Pruett decided to take the stories in a different direction.
Pruett raced to her first victory of the season Sunday in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx portion of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries. The victory marked her second victory in three final round appearances at zMAX Dragway, as well as her third career victory by outrunning Mike Knowles in the final round. With the victory she moves to fourth in the points standings.
"It feels phenomenal,” Pruett said. “To think that the three times I've been here in this car, I've reached the finals all three times and won twice. At the beginning of this race, I had a good feeling about getting to the final round and back in the winner's circle.”
Pruett, who qualified ninth in her ProCare Rx Ford Mustang, raced to early round wins over team owner Roger Burgess, top qualifier Don Walsh and Kevin McCurdy. In the final she powered her Mustang to a winning performance of 5.936 seconds at 246.44, while Knowles shut off his ’68 Camaro near mid-track.
“That final round was one of the edgiest passes I've had in this car in a long time,” Pruett said. “If it would have been anything but a final round, there would have been a little bit of lifting going on. It was pretty gnarly. All I knew was that I didn't see him, which means I was in front of him. All that meant I had to keep going. That would have been the worst feeling in the world to see someone go flying by you.”
Mike Castellana advanced to the semifinals and maintained his series points lead over second place Rickie Smith, who lost in the first round.
The penultimate race in the 10-event NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by ProCare Rx will be held Sept. 28-30 with the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at the Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis.
Final round-by-round results from the Fifth annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at zMax Dragway, the eighth of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx:
PRO MODIFIED:
ROUND ONE -- Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang, 5.993, 249.49 def. Roger Burgess, Chevy Corvette, 6.048, 251.34; Kevin McCurdy, Chevy Camaro, 6.093, 235.51 def. Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 11.168, 80.46; Donald Martin, Camaro, 5.889, 247.25 def. Steve Matusek, Mustang, 6.062, 249.63; Mike Knowles, Camaro, 6.073, 237.92 def. Shannon Jenkins, Camaro, foul; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 9.953, 90.86 def. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, broke; Todd Tutterow, Plymouth Duster, 5.912, 250.69 def. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.969, 244.21; Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.904, 246.66 def. Rick Stivers, Camaro, 6.025, 236.63; Don Walsh, Mustang, 5.884, 254.81 def. Doug Winters, Chevy Bel Air, 6.499, 178.26;
QUARTERFINALS -- Knowles, 5.888, 245.14 def. Martin, 8.428, 112.55; McCurdy, 6.866, 165.36 def. Tutterow, foul; Castellana, 5.931, 241.07 def. Rowe, 5.909, 246.98; Pruett, 6.010, 242.23 def. Walsh, 7.044, 155.69;
SEMIFINALS -- Knowles, 9.991, 89.33 def. Castellana, foul; Pruett, 5.883, 248.61 def. McCurdy, 8.285, 114.54;
FINAL -- Pruett, 5.936, 246.44 def. Knowles, 9.088, 102.78.
SATURDAY NOTEBOOK:
Don Walsh raced to the No. 1 qualifying position and then defeated first-round opponent Doug Winters Saturday at the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx portion of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries.
Walsh, who took his second consecutive No. 1 qualifying position with a performance of 5.868 seconds at 254.52 mph in a late model Ford Mustang, outran Doug Winters’ ’57 Chevy Bel-Air in the first round. Walsh powered his Mustang to a 5.884 at 254.81 to take the win over Winters, whose Bel-Air slowed to a 6.499 at 178.26.
In other first round races at zMAX Dragway, Leah Pruett defeated Roger Burgess, Todd Tutterow beat two-time season winner Rickie Smith, points leader Mike Castellana defeated Pete Farber, Danny Rowe outran Rick Stivers and Kevin McCurdy beat Troy Coughlin.
In Sunday’s second round, Walsh will meet Pruett, McCurdy will face Tutterow, Don Martin will race Mike Knowles and Rowe will face Castellana.
First round Pro Mod Series results from the Fifth annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at zMax Dragway. The race is the eighth of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx:
ROUND ONE -- Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang, 5.993, 249.49 def. Roger Burgess, Chevy Corvette, 6.048, 251.34; Kevin McCurdy, Chevy Camaro, 6.093, 235.51 def. Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 11.168, 80.46; Donald Martin, Camaro, 5.889, 247.25 def. Steve Matusek, Mustang, 6.062, 249.63; Mike Knowles, Camaro, 6.073, 237.92 def. Shannon Jenkins, Camaro, foul; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 9.953, 90.86 def. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, broke; Todd Tutterow, Plymouth Duster, 5.912, 250.69 def. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.969, 244.21; Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.904, 246.66 def. Rick Stivers, Camaro, 6.025, 236.63; Don Walsh, Mustang, 5.884, 254.81 def. Doug Winters, Chevy Bel Air, 6.499, 178.26;
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK:
WALSH TOPS THE FIELD AGAIN - Don Walsh raced to the qualifying lead in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx portion of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries.
Walsh powered his late model Ford Mustang to a 5.868 second run at 254.52 mph to lead the 16-car field after two qualifying sessions. If his run holds through tomorrow’s final qualifying session it will be his second consecutive No. 1 of the season.
Donald Martin was second with a 5.878 at 247.84 in a ’68 Camaro and Danny Rowe was third overall in his ’68 Camaro with a 5.885 at 247.66.
Series points leader Mike Castellana was sixth in his Al-Anabi Racing Chevy Camaro with a 5.984 at 240.08.
Qualifying continues for the NHRA Pro Mod Series Saturday with the final session at 2 p.m. followed by the first round of eliminations at 4:30 p.m.
THE PROVISIONAL FIELD - Friday's results after the first two of three rounds of qualifying for the Fifth annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at zMax Dragway, eighth of 10 events in the NNHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Saturday's final eliminations.
1. Don Walsh, Ford Mustang, 5.868, 254.52; 2. Donald Martin, Chevy Camaro, 5.878, 247.84; 3. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.885, 247.66; 4. Todd Tutterow, Plymouth Duster, 5.954, 249.76; 5. Shannon Jenkins, Camaro, 5.969, 241.45; 6. Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.984, 240.08; 7. Leah Pruett, Mustang, 5.987, 249.76; 8. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 6.009, 245.63; 9. Mike Knowles, Camaro, 6.038, 226.13; 10. Kevin McCurdy, Camaro, 6.062, 237.88; 11. Rick Stivers, Camaro, 6.072, 235.43; 12. Roger Burgess, Chevy Corvette, 6.134, 248.16; 13. Steve Matusek, Mustang, 6.308, 237.75; 14. Doug Winters, Chevy Bel Air, 6.434, 214.01; 15. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.776, 215.13; 16. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 7.260, 158.61. Not Qualified: 17. Troy Coughlin, 9.104, 100.28.
Mike Castellana was the most recent winner at zMAX Dragway when he drove his Al-Anabi Racing ’12 Chevy Camaro to his third NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series career victory at the race in April.SECOND SHOT WANTED - As the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx returns to zMAX Dragway on Sept. 14-16, Mike Castellana and Leah Pruett will be looking for continued success at a track that has treated them well during the course of their careers. This state-of-the-art facility rewards those that are focused on racing and a win in a city that is known for motorsports is one that shines bright on any racer’s resume.
Castellana was the most recent winner at zMAX Dragway when he drove his Al-Anabi Racing ’12 Chevy Camaro to his third NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series career victory at the race in April. He and his team are anxious to return to the Queen City and a track that is very familiar to them.
“We won there at the first race of the season and have a pretty good handle on the track over there,” Castellana said. “Hopefully the conditions are pretty similar when we go back and we can set the car up similar to that. We have a pretty good baseline to start with when we enter the track.”
Leah Pruett was to face Castellana in the finals during that race but was unable to make it to the starting line after her car suffered extreme engine damage during the semifinals. The loss stung, but it was also a learning experience for her and the R2B2 Racing team.
“It was super hard and I didn’t know what to think,” Pruett said. “Are you a good sport if you show up and watch the race or are you a good sport if you don’t? I finally said I would like to see what Castellana was going to run and what I would have been up against. I went up and stood up in my lane and watched the run and it was very hard. We’ve learned from it. We have the extra parts now that are needed and I hope that doesn’t happen again.”
zMAX Dragway was the sight of Pruett’s first career win in the Pro Mod category in 2011 and even with the disappointment of the race in April she still ranks it as one of her favorite tracks.
“I feel like that track has been very, very good to us and we have done very well so I can’t wait to get back there,” she said. “We will definitely have a shot at winning the race. Right now everything is very tight in the points and I’m still in the mix. The very beginning of this year you’re really thinking points and getting a good head start, but now it is all about getting a good finish. I can’t wait until Charlotte.”
Leah Pruett was to face Castellana in the finals during that race but was unable to make it to the starting line after her car suffered extreme engine damage during the semifinals.The NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx teams will be coming off a short week as they finished the rain-delayed Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus on Sunday. The tight turnaround will be challenging for the drivers and the teams, but they are looking forward to the intense racing.
“We’ve got a good routine going and once you get the momentum going you are fine with that,” Castellana said. “When you get to a track and you have a good idea on how to set the car up it really takes a lot of guess work out of it.”
“If we have turbo issues, or converter issues, or transmission issues, we send those out like any other team to get fixed, as well as all the other Pro Mod teams,” Pruett explained. “So the manufacturers might have a bit of a work overload and maybe products won’t be finished in time and that is something that is kinda on my mind.”
With only three races remaining in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx 2012 season, the series battle has tightened with Castellana now leading the points by only four over Rickie Smith. Troy Coughlin sits in fourth, Don Walsh holds down fifth with Danny Rowe in sixth. The series will next race at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis and will conclude the season in Las Vegas at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals on Oct. 25-28.
Other top drivers expected to compete in the event will be Roger Burgess, Jay Payne, Shannon Jenkins, Steve Matusek and Ken Lang.
Featuring the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars with an extremely diverse collection of vehicles, including ’63 Corvettes, ’68 Camaros, ’67 Mustangs and ’68 Firebirds as well as late-model cars, the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx offers something for every kind of hot-rodding enthusiast.
