Bruce Boland leads PMRA Pro Modifieds going into Grand Bend

Bruce Boland leads PMRA Pro Modifieds going into Grand Bend

Close battle looms for Fourth Annual Thunder by the Beach PMRA Challenge

GRAND BEND, ONTARIO (September 1, 2009) – The Labor Day PMRA event at the Grand Bend Motorplex has become an annual race for the Pro Modified Racing Association and the Pro Modifieds will compete this year in the Fourth Annual Thunder by the Beach PMRA Challenge September 4-6.

This will be the fifth stop on the 2009 PMRA tour, and a record number of race cars are expected to do battle.

Winning the inaugural Grand Bend race in 2006 was Joe Boniferro of Niagara Falls, Ontario, who won the final over Jerry Bowles of Gadshill, Ontario. Driving the Smokin’ Joe’s Dodge Avenger, Boniferro became the PMRA’s first two-time winner taking the Grand Bend race once again in 2007. He ran Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario, in the final, and although Boland lost that round, he acquired enough points to win the 2006 championship.

Always a strong competitor, Ralph Andreacchi of Maple, Ontario was at the top of his game for 2008, winning the event with his 1953 Studebaker Pro Modified. Veteran Jack Grainy of North Tonawanda, New York, was his final round opponent.

Going into this weekend, Boland, the 2008 PMRA champ, has the lead in the Championship Point Award Series standings with 1097 points. The B&B Racing 1967 Chevy Nova driver has won the last three events, but only has a slim lead over second-place Mark Nielsen of Brantford, Ontario, who has 1030 points with his 1967 Yenko Camaro.

Tied in third at present with 981 points is Dave Earhart of Strathroy, Ontario, with his 2002 Camaro, and Jason Kalso of Clarkston, Michigan, with his 1970 Barracuda. Fifth is Boniferro with 967 points.

Sixth through tenth are Jeff Roth, Eric Latino, Ike Maier, Jack Grainy and Tony Piselli.

The PMRA Pro Modifieds will highlight an exciting and busy weekend of drag racing. The event will also include the fourth round of the 2009 Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA, featuring the popular six-and-seven second Top Dragster and Top Sportsman cars, nitro Funny Car match racing, nostalgia Funny car match racing, a jet-powered Kenworth truck, and a full card of regular Grand Bend competitors, including the track’s Top Dragster/Top Sportsman Series, Junior Dragsters, and a full complement of Bracket racing.

The first of three qualifying sessions for the PMRA gets underway Saturday, September 5 at 3:30 p.m. Qualifying continues during Saturday, and the first round of eliminations are scheduled to take place Sunday, September 6 at 1:00 p.m.

The Teamsters Canada Thunder by the Beach Weekend presented by Rudy Held's Performance Centre will be featuring the "Night of Nitro" Nitro Funny car Match races between IHRA World Champion Dale Creasy Jr. and Canadian star Jason Duschene, plus Nostalgia Alcohol Funny cars and the Fourth Annual - PMRA Challenge, www.PMRA.ca. This high-profile event will take place Saturday and Sunday, September 5-6 at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario.

The weekend will also include the popular Quick 32 Sportsman Series, www.Quick32.ca, presented by NAPA Auto Parts, featuring Top Dragster and Top Sportsman action all weekend with exciting six and seven-second race cars. Highlights Saturday night will include the Nitro Funny Car Match Race, the 210-miles per hour Extreme Machine Jet Kenworth, and Geoff Pollard’s 230-miles per hour Top Fuel Drag Bike.

Also on tap will be the Grand Bend Motorplex Top Dragster and Top Sportsman Series and some great racing action in the Thunder series and Junior programs, all topped off by our biggest Fireworks show of the year on Saturday night.

There will be three qualifying sessions on Saturday, September 5 starting at 3:30 p.m. and the championship eliminations will begin Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

For information about the Grand Bend Motorplex, call (519) 238-7223 or visit www.grandbendmotorplex.com

For more information contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher at 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.

The PMRA 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, and the South-western Ontario track of the Grand Bend Motorplex at the 10th Annual MOPAR Canadian Nationals July 17 to 19, the Stratford Spectacular Hot August Nationals presented by Ideal Supply & NAPA Auto Parts August 8 and 9 and the Thunder by the Beach Weekend on September 5 and 6.

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".

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.