New teams, new cars for PMRA season opener at Cayuga Dragway

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New teams, new cars for PMRA season opener at Cayuga Dragway

PMRA Pro Modifieds joined by Quick 32 Sportsman Series for Victoria Day Challenge

CAYUGA, ONTARIO ( May 5, 2009) – The Pro Modified Racing Association will begin its fifth season when it headlines the Victoria Day Weekend Challenge at Toronto Motorsports Park’s Cayuga Dragway May 16 and 17.

Several new Pro Modified teams will be ready to do battle on the Cayuga quarter-mile for the first of seven events on this season’s tour. This popular drag racing series features some of the best Pro Modified teams in Ontario, New York, and Michigan, and provide lots of excitement with wild body styles and close to 3000-horsepower engines propelling the cars down the drag strip at speeds up to 240 mph.

And the PMRA will be joined by the new Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts, which will pit a doorslammer car against a dragster in the championship round. This is the inaugural event for this new series.

“We’re looking forward to the PMRA opener, and running with the Quick 32 Sportsman Series, the TNT Hot Rod Super Series, as well as a round in the Can-Am Stock/Super Stock Series,” commented PMRA Director of Operations Bruce Mehlenbacher. “This should be a great weekend of racing. Between the four groups we will represent over 100 teams to kick-off the 2009 season at Cayuga.”

He added that a number of PMRA competitors will be debuting new cars at Cayuga. “Several of the PMRA teams have new cars that they have built over the winter, and they’re just itching to get them on the track.”

The track will also host the TNT Hot Rod Super Series, as well as a round in the Can-Am Stock/Super Stock Series.

Last year’s PMRA champion, Bruce Boland, of Hamilton, Ontario, will be returning to defend his title, but in a new car, a 1967 Chevy Nova Pro Modified. Winner of the Grand Bend Labor Day event, Ralph Andreacchi of Maple, Ontario, also has a new car, a 1963 Corvette, for the season opener.

Several new teams will be competing for 2009, including Dave Kulik and Billy Leverentz of Elma, New York, Pete Farber of Otter River, Mass, with his 1969 Dodge Charger, both G-Force Race Cars built entries, and Luis Custodio of Ajax, Ontario, with this nitrous-powered 1969 Camaro.

Returning PMRA teams include Sam Andreacchi from Toronto, Joe Boniferro from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Joe Caruso and Mike Cusimano's "Midlife Crisis" from Rochester, New York, the Grainy Brothers from North Tonawanda, New York, Gary Irving driving Al Hind’s entry from Waterloo, Ontario, Jason Kalso from Clarkston, Michigan, Eric Latino from Scarborough, Ontario, Ike Maier from Schomberg, Ontario, Mark Nielsen from Brantford, Ontario, and Jeff Roth from Kitchener, Ontario.

Qualifying for the two-day event gets underway for the Pro Modified Racing Association Saturday, May 16, at 2:00 pm, with other sessions at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m. Elimination rounds start Sunday May 17 at 1:00 p.m.

The PMRA, www.PMRA.ca, will compete at several drag strips in 2009, including dates at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario, starting with the season opener on May 16 and 17, June 13 and 14 and the season-closer on September 19 and 20, at St. Thomas Dragway in Sparta, Ontario on July 11 and 12, and the South-western Ontario track of the Grand Bend Motorplex at the 10th Annual MOPAR Canadian Nationals July 17 to 19, the Ideal Supply & NAPA Auto Parts presents Hot August Nationals August 8 and 9 and on September 5 and 6.

Several of the PMRA events will be run in conjunction with the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts, www.Quick32.ca, offering fans a great show of drag racing.

For more information, contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher Bruce@PMRA.ca

About the Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA):

The Pro Modified Racing Association, www.PMRA.ca, was organized late in 2004, started racing operations in 2005, and is entering its fifth year of operation in 2009. The PMRA is a self-governing organization with input from its teams, and adheres to the technical and safety rules as outlined by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). The series has event venues in Ontario, Quebec, and New York State.

Cars in the PMRA capture the true spirit of hot rodding, and the class is one of drag racing’s most exciting and colorful classes, offering a diverse group of race cars with different types of 2,500-horsepower supercharged, nitrous powered and turbocharged engines.

Combining classic body styles and modern equipment, constructors are permitted, within established rules and parameters, to modify and enhance the cars in both appearance and performance. The cars are fuelled by gasoline or methanol, propelling them down the quarter-mile in low six-second times at over 200 miles per hour. The PMRA provides drag race fans the opportunity to see, hear, and experience the popular Pro Modifieds, known as "the world's fastest door slammers".