Alex Hossler finally got the job done. At all but the first ADRL race of the year (where he qualified second), the Canton, IL-based Pro Extreme star had started from the number-one position, but until the ADRL Summer Drags IX in Martin, MI, he hadn't been able to put a winning effort together on race day.

He met the challenge June 30, at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, where Hossler again qualified his Al-Anabi Racing '69 Camaro on top of the 16-car Pro Extreme field, then raced to the event win with a 3.596-seconds pass at 210.48 mph in the final round against Tommy D'Aprile, who left with a .024 holeshot before putting together a 3.657 effort at 207.06 mph.

Alex Hossler finally got the job done. At all but the first ADRL race of the year (where he qualified second), the Canton, IL-based Pro Extreme star had started from the number-one position, but until the ADRL Summer Drags IX in Martin, MI, he hadn't been able to put a winning effort together on race day.

He met the challenge June 30, at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, where Hossler again qualified his Al-Anabi Racing '69 Camaro on top of the 16-car Pro Extreme field, then raced to the event win with a 3.596-seconds pass at 210.48 mph in the final round against Tommy D'Aprile, who left with a .024 holeshot before putting together a 3.657 effort at 207.06 mph.

"I saw a little glimpse of red fender off the line and then it gradually went away," Hossler recalled in victory lane. "I never saw him again once we got to 150, maybe 200 feet, but I did glance up at his scoreboard just to make sure I didn't go red and I was pretty much fist pumping from there."

With noted crew chief Frank "Ace" Manzo calling the tune-up with assistance from Billy Stocklin, Hossler made the first-ever, eighth-mile pass in the 3.50s in Michigan, qualifying first with a 3.594 at 209.71 mph, with Brandon Snider going second at 3.612 and 208.53 mph, while D'Aprile started third after going 3.619 seconds at 209.06 mph.

Hossler opened eliminations with another 3.59 at 209.51 mph over Steve George in Larry Jeffers' special Pro Mod-style school bus, then ran 3.614 at 210.45 to defeat reigning class champ Mick Snyder in round two before going 3.602 at 209.78 against former two-time champ Jason Scruggs, who left just one-thousandth of a second too soon off the start.

"It feels like a million things have to go right, but it takes only one to go wrong for you to lose it all--and then there's always somebody like Tommy (D'Aprile) running right there beside you," Hossler said. "Heck, even the school bus made us work for it today when he laid down that 3.94 in the first round. All it would've taken would be a little bobble by me and I'm just not going to be able to run him down."

On the opposite side of the ladder in team owner Mel Bush's 2005 Corvette, D'Aprile opened with a 3.631 solo pass at 208.41 mph after Eric Dillard was unable to make the call, then survived some tire shake to get by 2006 champ Bubba Stanton, who also suffered traction trouble. In the semis, D'Aprile ran 3.695 at 206.02 to down Snider, who went red by -.004 off the start.

Knowing he had to take a shot at the tree to help compensate for the consistent ET disadvantage, D'Aprile cut an excellent .006 light to Hossler's .030, and though crew chief Al Billes gave him a 3.657 tune-up at 207.06, it was no match for Hossler's 3.596 at 210.48-mph blast in the final round.

Hossler was full of praise for his Al-Anabi teammates immediately following the win.

"Not to sound rude, but Helen Keller could've won in this car this weekend; that's how smooth and easy it was to drive. I mean, anybody could've won in this car, that's how good it was. I don't remember really working the steering wheel even once all through qualifying and all through eliminations, it was just a dream to drive," he said.

"Frank (Manzo) and Billy (Stocklin), Mike, John; these guys are so good, they're all flawless and I've said it many times before, I'm the only weak link in our deal. I know it's my name that gets mentioned when this race goes online or in the magazines, but really it should be their names that get all the credit. I'm just the guy that gets to have fun."

The win also came as a relief for Hossler, who blamed himself as much as anything for the team's early disappointments after looking so strong so often in qualification rounds.

"I don't know about deserving a win, but for the most part we've had the best car all year," he stated. "We just had some stupid, little things catch us and I haven't really done a very good job of driving and you know, it's just so hard to put everything together that it takes to win one of these races.

"And to be honest, I didn't know all that before running this series and anybody who hasn't run in something like this doesn't really have a clue of what it takes to compete here. I mean, I know people look at us setting low ET of every round and they think we have the best car, so we should just go out and wax everybody, but it doesn't work like that, it's not that easy. It's so, so hard to win one of these things, but I'm so glad we finally got it done."

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