Pro Mod

Saturday

Sunday

Saturday Results for Qualifying Round 1

MADISON, Ill. - ST. LOUIS - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Pro Modified at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run: Right Lane: Kirk Wilmes Runs 6.298/230.61, Now #1 Weather conditions: air temperature 68 degrees, relative humidity 40 percent, barometer 29.59 inches, adjusted altitude 1,400 feet, track temperature 90 degrees. Wilmes is in a very slick black Firebird. It's hard enough to keep any race car looking good considering what they go through on the track, in the pits, and during transport so this team gets my admiration for a job well done. Wilmes does a good job of going from start to finish. The car didn't seem to be set on kill, but he cards a very respectable pass and has data to tune from. Left Lane: Andy McCoy Runs 7.797/129.45, Now #3 Right Lane: Billy Gibson Runs 6.087/233.44, Now #1 McCoy impresses the hometown crowd with a classic Pro Mod pass. He's shaking the tires with the right front wheel in the air but sashays towards the center line and has to lift. Nice pass for Gibson. Left Lane: Raymond Commisso Runs 6.085/238.22, Now #2 Right Lane: Mike Knowles Runs 6.078/236.46, Now #1 Left Lane: Kenny Lang Runs 13.740/76.72, Now #7 Right Lane: Tim Tindle Runs 5.995/237.17, Now #1 Both cars shook, but Tindle was able to drive through it and go to the top spot. It's a classic Pro Mod show. Violent, noisy, and who knows exactly where the cars will go. The fans are still in the stand and loving every minute. Left Lane: Jay Payne Runs 5.903/230.88, Now #1 Right Lane: Roger Burgess Runs 6.840/147.10, Now #7 Both cars are straight and true for once and the performance shows. Burgess loses some pistons heading for the finish line and noses over, while Payne runs considerably out the back door until we hear his blower pop as he finally alets off. Big, big numbers for Payne! Left Lane: Taylor Lastor Runs 6.101/234.66, Now #6 Right Lane: Brad Personett Runs 6.122/244.29, Now #7 Personett's turbo car sounds like the end of the world as it sits on the line with the limiter trying to keep the turboed horsepower under control. Lastor makes a nice pass and the Camaros are welded together. Left Lane: Harold Laird Runs 6.244/234.37, Now #8 Right Lane: Joe Baker Runs 9.655/100.07, Now #12 Baker spins and shakes hard, Laird shakes but manages to get through it. Left Lane: Burton Auxier Runs 7.926/130.10, Now #13 Right Lane: Danny Rowe Runs 6.022/240.55, Now #3 Two more Camaros and once again, the left lane has problems. Rowe climbs to the third spot. Left Lane: Rick Stivers Runs 6.252/231.91, Now #11 Right Lane: Mike Castellana Runs 5.969/236.59, Now #2

Saturday Order for Qualifying Round 1

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Order after one round of qualifying in Pro Modified at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: Psn Driver Vehicle ET Speed 1. Jay Payne Valvoline/BAE *'68 Camaro 5.903 230.88 2. Mike Castellana Al-Anabi '68 Firebird 5.969 236.59 3. Tim Tindle *'67 Mustang 5.995 237.17 4. Danny Rowe *'67 Camaro 6.022 240.55 5. Mike Knowles *'63 Corvette 6.078 236.46 6. Raymond Commisso *'67 Camaro 6.085 238.22 7. Taylor Lastor *'67 Camaro 6.101 234.66 8. Brad Personett Big Stuff '68 Camaro 6.122 244.29 9. Harold Laird *'63 Corvette 6.244 234.37 10. Rick Stivers Trane *'06 Stratus 6.252 231.91 11. Kirk Wilmes '68 Firebird 6.298 230.61 12. Roger Burgess ProCare RX *'67 Camaro 6.840 147.10 13. Andy McCoy *'53 Corvete 7.797 129.45 14. Burton Auxier Al-Anabi '67 Camaro 7.926 130.10 15. Joe Baker Mike Ashley *'68 Camaro 9.655 100.07 16. Kenny Lang *'53 Corvette 13.740 76.72 --------- Not Qualified --------- 17. Billy Gibson '69 Daytona DQ * = Supercharged Engine

Saturday Results for Qualifying Round 2

MADISON, Ill. - ST. LOUIS - Notes from final, round 2 qualifying in Pro Modified at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol listing lane, driver name, elapsed time/top speed this round, position in order following run, best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run: Left Lane: Billy Gibson No Time, Now #17 No Prior Run Gibson has fire in his eyes as he stages. The car's loose at the hit but he's real busy steering. He pedals once, then twice. The car seems to be settled down but when Gibson hits the throttle the last time it darts to the left with the entire side of the Daytona unloaded. All four tires get back on the ground but by now it's too late as he's right against the wall. The rear of the car swerves left and slaps the wall as the Daytona is beginning to point downtrack again. The chutes come out right about the time of impact and Gibson slows with no further problems. He didn't appear to hit the wall all that hard but no doubt there will be quarter panel work to be done on the big Charger. We're down for a few minutes to sweep up a bit of debris. Left Lane: Joe Baker Runs 5.957/242.45, Now #2 Best prior run: 9.655/100.07, Was #15 Right Lane: Kenny Lang Runs 5.993/241.76, Now #4 Best prior run: 13.740/76.72, Was #16 That's one of the best side by side races I've seen in a while. Both teams got really close on the setup as each car accelerated hard off the line and both lacked any significant wheelspin or shake. Both dip into the 5's and both run over 240. Nice! Left Lane: Roger Burgess Runs 5.931/244.96, Now #2 Best prior run: 6.840/147.10, Was #14 Right Lane: Burton Auxier Runs 6.016/235.31, Now #7 Best prior run: 7.926/130.10, Was #16 Strong hit for Burgess as he shoves into the top of the order. Auxier's slicks were on the edge of control for the first 500 feet and it cost him. Left Lane: Kirk Wilmes Runs 6.177/233.72, Now #13 Best prior run: 6.298/230.61, Was #15 Right Lane: Andy McCoy Runs 9.523/99.93, Now #16 Best prior run: 7.797/129.45, Was #16 McCoy actually smokes the tires at the hit, and it doesn't get much better as he pedals all along the track trying to get some sort of traction. It just doesn't happen and McCoy stays on the bump. Wilmes picks up a couple of tenths and two spots. Left Lane: Brad Personett Runs 5.954/250.88, Now #3 Best prior run: 6.122/244.29, Was #12 Right Lane: Rick Stivers No Time, Now #15 Best prior run: 6.252/231.91, Was #15 It was a scary show, but it appears we're OK. Personett made a very good pass to move into the third position but everyone was watching the car in the right lane. Stivers was on a good pass but just about 400 feet something went wrong - very wrong. I'm not sure if a wheel, axle, or wheelie bar broke but the car rocked up, turned directly 90 degrees left and drove almost straight into the left side guard wall. It bounced off the wall hard enough to tip onto its right side and roll once. It stopped in the center of the track right side up. Within a few seconds Stivers was out of the car under his own power and being walked away by the medical crew. We get the word Stivers is fine. We're told that there was a problem with the left rear wheel or tire and that when it detached from the chassis, the car rode up on it and was launched into the series just described. We're down for a cleanup in the left lane as some fluids were spilled when the car nosed into the wall. 4:42 p.m. Left Lane: Mike Knowles Runs 8.045/116.03, Now #10 Best prior run: 6.078/236.46, Was #10 Right Lane: Harold Laird Runs 7.005/141.34, Now #14 Best prior run: 6.244/234.37, Was #14 5:18 p.m. and we fire the next pair. When Stivers' car went over, the fuel tank emptied on the track and it took quite a while to get things dry and new traction compound applied. Both cars make it a couple of hundred feet before they begin to spin the tires. Neither changes their qualifying position. Left Lane: Danny Rowe Runs 6.507/164.89, Now #9 Best prior run: 6.022/240.55, Was #9 Right Lane: Taylor Lastor Runs 11.411/74.65, Now #12 Best prior run: 6.101/234.66, Was #12 Rowe gets to 800 feet before traction becomes a problem; Lastor found the problem very early in his run. Left Lane: Tim Tindle Runs 10.093/87.02, Now #7 Best prior run: 5.995/237.17, Was #7 Right Lane: Raymond Commisso Runs 6.104/237.84, Now #11 Best prior run: 6.085/238.22, Was #11 A lot of eyes are on the blue Camaro on this pass since Commisso hasn't shown the overpowering performance he's known for. Raymond does a remarkable job of driving as the car is very loose at half track but after a quick left/right excursion he brings it back into the groove. Tindle has the same problem as the others in the left lane and runs into shake at 250 feet. Left Lane: Mike Castellana Runs 7.832/118.72, Now #5 Best prior run: 5.969/236.59, Was #5 Right Lane: Jay Payne Runs 9.585/91.88, Now #1 Best prior run: 5.903/230.88, Was #1 Payne's very strong 5.903 is still the class of the field though Castellana is going to do his best to take that spot from him. Payne gets sideways at 200 feet and lifts. Castellana pedals once but is coasting by 500 feet. That's it for qualifying. Andy McCoy anchors the field and Payne gets the honors for the top spot.

Saturday Order for Qualifying Round 2

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Final order after 2 rounds of qualifying in Pro Modified at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: Psn Driver Vehicle ET Speed 1. Jay Payne Valvoline/BAE *'68 Camaro 5.903 230.88 2. Roger Burgess ProCare RX *'67 Camaro 5.931 244.96 3. Brad Personett Big Stuff '68 Camaro 5.954 250.88 4. Joe Baker Mike Ashley *'68 Camaro 5.957 242.45 5. Mike Castellana Al-Anabi '68 Firebird 5.969 236.59 6. Kenny Lang *'53 Corvette 5.993 241.76 7. Tim Tindle *'67 Mustang 5.995 237.17 8. Burton Auxier Al-Anabi '67 Camaro 6.016 235.31 9. Danny Rowe *'67 Camaro 6.022 240.55 10. Mike Knowles *'63 Corvette 6.078 236.46 11. Raymond Commisso *'67 Camaro 6.085 238.22 12. Taylor Lastor *'67 Camaro 6.101 234.66 13. Kirk Wilmes '68 Firebird 6.177 233.72 14. Harold Laird *'63 Corvette 6.244 234.37 15. Rick Stivers Trane *'06 Stratus 6.252 231.91 16. Andy McCoy *'53 Corvete 7.797 129.45 --------- Not Qualified --------- 17. Billy Gibson '69 Daytona DQ * = Supercharged Engine

Sunday Results for Elimination Round 1

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 1 eliminations in Pro Modified at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: W/L Driver R-Time E-Time Speed (W) Burton Auxier (Al-Anabi '67 Camaro) 0.040 6.051 234.78 (L) Danny Rowe (*'67 Camaro) 0.097 6.012 240.85 12:45 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 70 degrees, relative humidity 34 percent, barometer 29.47 inches, adjusted altitude 1,697 feet, track temperature 90 degrees. It's been an interesting first round so far with a lot more red lights than would have been expected. I doubt that red lights will be the story of this round of Pro Mods; it's absolutely critical for the set up to be correct in order to take advantage of a good track. Lost in the shuffle yesterday was the monumental pass by Brad Personett. While his opponent was busy wadding his car into a ball, Brad was quietly running the quickest turbo pass I've seen in the class. This pair puts on a good show as both cars go straight across the finish line. Auxier's Camaro was bouncing a bit around half track but didn't leave the groove to any significant extent. A big hole shot seals the victory for him. Burton Auxier's MOV: 0.0182 seconds (approximately 6 feet). (W) Mike Knowles (*'63 Corvette) 0.053 6.069 223.99 (L) Tim Tindle (*'67 Mustang) 0.060 11.098 76.29 Tindle's car displays probably the best graphics on the tour; there's a demonic figure piloting a excavating machine with lots of paint effects on the purple Shelby. He puts on even more of a show as the car gets loose and darts to the right about 350 feet. After rocking up on the two left side wheels, Tindle does a great job of getting the car settled down without hitting anything. Knowles runs a good number and will return. (W) Roger Burgess (ProCare RX *'67 Camaro) 0.064 8.124 116.24 (L) Rick Stivers (Trane *'06 Stratus) -9.999(R) NT-No Show Stivers isn't able to return after yesterday's crash so Burgess gets a single. Roger runs the Camaro out to near half track and lifts. (W) Harold Laird (*'63 Corvette) 0.039 6.011 237.84 (L) Brad Personett (Big Stuff '68 Camaro) 0.068 7.566 131.84 This was a good race for a couple of hundred feet. I'm not sure what happened, but Personett was coasting well before half track. I didn't see any obvious problems but did hear a muted "pop" from one of the cars. (W) Kenny Lang (*'53 Corvette) 0.322 9.006 100.41 (L) Raymond Commisso (*'67 Camaro) -9.999(R) NT-Broke Before Staging Commisso does his burnout and we see a large oil slick pouring out from under the engine as he's backing up. He quickly backs over by the wall and will watch Lang take a single. Lang's car is ripe for the taking as it moves left, then right, and just before it unloads enough to go up on two wheels Lang steps off the throttle. I can see the sky's reflection in the oil trail so this might take a while. 12:59 p.m. (W) Mike Castellana (Al-Anabi '68 Firebird) 0.025 7.344 204.51 (L) Taylor Lastor (*'67 Camaro) 0.086 7.536 163.26 1:17 p.m. and it was a pretty extensive cleanup. Castellana took the time to change sides in the meantime. That was different. Castellana headed for the center line on the leave, got very close but somehow missed it. We could hear him get back into the throttle at least five times and surprisingly enough he pulls off the win. I'm not sure what Lastor was up to but he may have just been watching Castellana and trying to stay away. (W) Joe Baker (Mike Ashley *'68 Camaro) 0.089 5.947 241.93 (L) Kirk Wilmes ('68 Firebird) 0.010 6.370 232.31 Wilmes has a great light but fights shake all the way to half track. He's never in the race and Baker takes the win with a stout pass. (W) Jay Payne (Valvoline/BAE *'68 Camaro) 0.111 6.154 236.51 (L) Andy McCoy (*'53 Corvete) 0.245 9.252 96.51 Payne also swaps lanes coming out from under the tower. McCoy sounded like he had problems shifting as the rpms rose and then started sputtering, apparently on the limiter. Payne was making a mostly straight pass that was a lot slower than it looked. Next round will see Auxier with lane choice over Payne, Baker over Castellana, Knowles over Burgess, and Laird over Lang. * = Supercharged Engine

Sunday Results for Elimination Round 2

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 2 eliminations in Pro Modified at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: W/L Driver R-Time E-Time Speed (W) Roger Burgess (ProCare RX *'67 Camaro) 0.104 5.953 243.28 (L) Mike Knowles (*'63 Corvette) 0.118 6.217 228.65 No visible problem in either lane; Burgess simply runs away with the win. (W) Burton Auxier (Al-Anabi '67 Camaro) 0.020 6.015 236.38 (L) Jay Payne (Valvoline/BAE *'68 Camaro) 0.089 6.004 238.76 Auxier takes out the low qualifier in a very good race. (W) Joe Baker (Mike Ashley *'68 Camaro) 0.084 6.687 216.41 (L) Mike Castellana (Al-Anabi '68 Firebird) 0.171 14.870 64.65 The cars are just ready to bump in when Castellana's crew man dashes to the car, opens the passenger door and adjusts something. Whatever is was, it didn't help as Castellana is dead in the water and coasting just past the 60 foot clocks. Baker has to pedal about four or five times but takes the win with room to spare. (W) Kenny Lang (*'53 Corvette) 0.082 6.623 No Speed (L) Harold Laird (*'63 Corvette) 0.019 DQ-Centerline It's another ugly run. Lang left and immediately shut off. Laird continued under power but was in, then compeletely out, of the groove. He continued to get in and out of the throttle with the car moving sideways each time he hit it. The final step on the throttle turned the car completely sideways. When he corrected to bring the car back it rocked onto two wheels and went over. It hit the left side guard wall hard and continued to shed parts as it slid through the shutdown area. We have word from the safety crew that Laird is conscious and talking to them as they work on extricating him from the car. He's out and all right but we're told he hit the finish line cones and will be DQ'd for the pass. This is going to be a long one. 2:33 p.m. * = Supercharged Engine

Sunday Results for Elimination Round 3

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 3 eliminations in Pro Modified at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: W/L Driver R-Time E-Time Speed (W) Burton Auxier (Al-Anabi '67 Camaro) 0.038 6.009 236.30 (L) Joe Baker (Mike Ashley *'68 Camaro) 0.067 14.057 74.90 Baker hammers the tires and the race is over in the first 20 feet. (W) Roger Burgess (ProCare RX *'67 Camaro) 0.063 5.928 243.06 (L) Kenny Lang (*'53 Corvette) 0.052 14.000 59.73 This one is a replay of the previous pair other than Burgess runs quicker in the right lane. Lang made it 10 or 20 feet until his slicks lost control, but no amount of pedalling could save the run. In the final, Burgess has lane choice over Auxier and right now that's looking pretty significant. * = Supercharged Engine

Sunday Results for Final Round

MADISON, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of final, round 4 eliminations in Pro Modified at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 13th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol: W/L Driver R-Time E-Time Speed (W) Roger Burgess (ProCare RX *'67 Camaro) 0.018 6.002 240.08 (L) Burton Auxier (Al-Anabi '67 Camaro) 0.040 5.988 237.75 Weather conditions: air temperature 69 degrees, relative humidity 44 percent, barometer 29.47 inches, adjusted altitude 1,623 feet, track temperature 79 degrees. It's getting pretty cool out there and hopefully the crew chiefs have accounted for the fairly cool racing surface. Yes, they did. That's why they're the main men. In a really good race, Burgess comes out the winner. His car continued to drift left further and further as he went down the track. He managed one of the best tightrope acts I've seen in a while as he crossed the finish line just inches away but never committed the foul. Auxier was right there all the way, but the Al-Anabi car lost by just a hair. After all the wallbanging we've seen today this race made it all worth it. Roger Burgess' MOV: 0.0089 seconds (approximately 3 feet). Roger Burgess' incremental margins: 60ft(0.031), 330 ft(0.016), 660ft(0.003), 1,000ft(0.000). MOV: 0.0089 seconds (approximately 3 feet). * = Supercharged Engine

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