Gallen wraps up season with two wins, championship and astonishing 5.557 lap
MARTIN, Mich. (August 17, 2011) – Peter Gallen is a man on a mission.
After returning to racing in 2009 following a 20-year hiatus, Gallen has blasted back onto the scene with national records, wins and more piling up at every stop. And following the recently completed Northern Nitro Jam at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Gallen can add another title to his long list of accomplishments – the fastest nostalgia racer in the country.
With the 2011 Nitro Jam Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car championship already wrapped up entering the final race of the season, Gallen set out to end the year on a high note and did just that by besting his own mark and resetting the elapsed time record in the class at 5.709 seconds.
But he wasn't done just yet. With the new record already in his grasp, Gallen continued to work at his goal of breaking into the 60s and with his last pass of the 2011 season with the IHRA Nitro Jam series, Gallen blasted down the track with an unthinkable 5.557 lap at 251.67 mph to sweep the Prostalgia category and send his competitors into the offseason with a lot of work to do if they hope to keep up with the "Poverty Stricken" team next year.
"We came here to set the record and break into the 60s. We had the championship already locked up before we ever loaded this car on the trailer and coming here we just wanted to put the icing on the cake with a statement run this weekend," Gallen said following his second win of the weekend. "We left a lot on the track on Friday and knew we could better those numbers which was our goal today. Even I was blown away when I saw what we ran. That thing carried the front end nearly half the track and was really getting after it. What a way to end the season."
In just his second full year back on the scene, Gallen has reset the record books multiple times, driven to dozens of wins and made a name for himself across the racing landscape as one of the top drivers in the game today. Gallen's season has included eight Nitro Jam wins, an impressive 24-4 round record and two new records, the other of which was set back in April in San Antonio.
To end the year, Gallen posted laps of 5.557, 5.710, 5.709 and 5.746, all light-years ahead of the competition.
In addition to his usual dominance of the east, Gallen also traveled to a few events out west – a first for the Broomall, Pa. native – and came away with very positive results during a stretch of races in Bakersfield, Tucson and San Antonio.
The incredible season culminated with Gallen's first nitro championship as he bested the likes of Mike McIntire, Tim Boychuk, Mark Sanders and more to claim the title.
