GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 14) -- Pro Mod racer Roger Burgess emerged unscathed from a brush with the retaining wall of Gainesville Raceway Sunday in the second round of the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. The accident eliminated Burgess from competition as, by rule, the wall is considered out of bounds.
"That's the first time I've been that far out of shape," Burgess said. "But you know how it is -- you always press a little too hard trying to win the round. If I had it to do over again, I would have done the same thing. Sometimes you think you can drive through it and you try. That time I couldn't.
Burgess' R2B2 Racing teammate Michael Gullqvist of Hasselby, Sweden, benefitted the most from his disqualification as he advanced to the semifinal round. It's already been a memorable weekend for Gullqvist as he became the first European in history to record a run of more than 400 kph when he went 248.84 mph in Round 1.
"We tuned Michael's car the same as mine and let the driver win or lose it," Burgess said. "One side of the track held it, ours didn't. It was our decision because we had lane choice.
"We weren't trying to run a world record or anything, but we were trying to run an 5.81 or 5.82, which we ran the other night.
"We've got about a month before we run in Houston. The competition is going to be like this all year long. This is the best group of Pro Mods ever assembled. You have to bring your A game every single time, and consistency counts. Right now the most consistent guys are winning rounds."
Burgess was the qualifying leader after a 5.856 at 248.39 mph.
Hampered by the rain-shortened qualifying sessions, which were trimmed from three rounds to two after nearly a full day of rain showers on Friday, R2B2 Racing driver Ray Commisso failed to qualify for the event. The Toronto native's best pass was an off-pace 8.096 at 117.09 mph in his '68 Camaro.
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