LANG LOOKING FOR MORE PRO MOD SUCCESS AT O’REILLY AUTO PARTS NHRA SPRING NATIONALS IN HOUSTON
BAYTOWN, Texas – Canadian Kenny Lang, a veteran Pro Mod racer who has won his share of races and series titles in other drag racing organizations, made history in March as the first Pro Mod racer to ever raise a Wally – NHRA’s highly-coveted national event winner’s trophy – in an NHRA winner’s circle.
Lang flew under the radar by qualifying sixth in his green ’53 Corvette, but he ultimately raced to victory over Sweden’s Michael Gullqvist in the Tire Kingdom Gatornationals final round to win the inaugural race in NHRA’s newest touring series – the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Now Lang’s focus is on race No. 2 in the 10-race series, when the tour visits Houston Raceway Park, April 9-11 for the 23rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil. The race will be televised on ESPN2 HD.
“Looking at the caliber of cars in this series, our goal was to just try and qualify and maybe win a round or two,” Lang said. “I’m super-honored to be the first winner.”
While category heavy-hitters like Ray Commisso, Jay Payne, Roger Burgess, Melanie Troxel, Burton Auxier, Mike Knowles, Von Smith and Danny Rowe will be eager to grab their first Wally in NHRA Pro Mod competition at the ultra-quick HRP quarter-mile, Lang feels confident in his team’s ability to stay in the championship hunt throughout the season.
“I’ve won two IHRA championships, so I have some experience, but I know it’s going to be tough over here in this series,” Lang said. “We know what we’re up against, but we do our best. We’re probably one of the lower-funded teams in this series, but we do this because we love it.”
Featuring the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars with an extremely diverse collection of vehicles, including ’63 Corvettes, ’68 Camaros, ’67 Mustangs, ’68 Firebirds as well as late model cars such as Burgess’ 2005 Corvette, the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series offers something for every kind of hot-rodding enthusiast.
“These cars are on the edge all the time, and they can move all over the racetrack, and that’s something the fans love,” Lang said. “(At Gainesville) a lot of fans came over and told us they love watching the Pro Mods. I think we put on a pretty good show.”
• SCHEDULE: Get Screened America qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on April 9 and 1:15 p.m. and 4 p.m. on April 10. Pro Mod eliminations are scheduled to begin at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 11.
• TICKETS: Tickets are available for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA or visit Extreme Tix at www.clicknprint.com.
• ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise 30-minutes of racing highlights from the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series portion of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals on Sunday, April 18 at 10:30 a.m. (ET).
• ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
NHRA GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD DRAG RACING SERIES POINT STANDINGS
UPDATED 3/14/2010 (Following the first of 10 races; victories in parentheses)
1. Kenny Lang, Manitoba, Canada, Kenny Lang Racing ’53 Corvette (1) 99
2. Michael Gullqvist, Hasselby, Sweden, ProCareRX ’63 Corvette 77
3. Burton Auxier, Dixie, W.Va., Al-Anabi Racing ’68 Camaro 68
4. Khalid Balooshi, Doha, Qatar, Al-Anabi Racing ’68 Camaro 66
5. Roger Burgess, Duluth, Ga., ProCareRX Corvette 60
6. Jay Payne, Ontario, Calif., FireIce ’68 Camaro 59
7. Melanie Troxel, Avon, Ind., In-N-Out Burger ’63 Corvette 58
8. Joe Baker, Milton, Fla., Baker Homes ’63 Corvette 54
9. Mike Knowles, Grand Junction, Colo., Knowles Racing ’63 Corvette 45
10t. Troy Coughlin, Delaware, Ohio, JEGS.com ’68 Camaro 43
10t. Tony Pontieri, Ontario, Canada, Quality Plus Compressors ’69 Camaro 43
10t. Tim Tindle, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., Tindle Racing ’67 Mustang 43
