Saturday, March 10, 2012

NHRA PRO MOD DRAG RACING SERIES KICKS OFF AT AUTO-PLUS RACEWAY AT GAINESVILLE

NHRA PRO MOD DRAG RACING SERIES KICKS OFF AT AUTO-PLUS RACEWAY AT GAINESVILLE

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx kicked off their season at the 43rd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals presented by NAPAFilters.com at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville. Mike Castellana’s Camaro lead the 16-car field when eliminations got underway Saturday afternoon and took out veteran Jay Payne in the opening round at the historic track.

Leah Pruett started from the seventh qualifying position and advanced to the quarterfinals with her quickest pass of the weekend, 5.916 seconds at 250.83 mph, outrunning Steve Matusek’s Mustang in the process.  Raymond Commisso, Mike Knowles, Kenny Lang, Donald Martin, Rickie Smith and Danny Rowe also advanced to the quarterfinals.

Eliminations for the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series will continue Sunday afternoon, following the opening round of eliminations of the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series categories.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- First round-by-round results from the 43rd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals presented by NAPAFilters.com at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville, the first of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx.

PRO MODIFIED:

ROUND ONE -- Mike Knowles, Chevy Camaro, 5.919, 241.63 def. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, foul; Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang, 5.916, 251.34 def. Steve Matusek, Mustang, 12.231, 71.16; Raymond Commisso, Camaro, 6.338, 183.44 def. Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 8.056, 111.09; Kenny Lang, Camaro, 5.892, 244.34 def. Roger Burgess, Pontiac Firebird, 6.009, 246.48; Donald Martin, Camaro, 5.936, 245.23 def. Donald Walsh, Mustang, 6.044, 236.96; Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.927, 238.72 def. Adam Flamholc, Camaro, 6.064, 234.21; Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.890, 244.96 def. Ike Maier, Chevy Corvette, 6.271, 230.25; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.904, 243.55 def. Jay Payne, Camaro, 13.146, 76.48.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Saturday's first-round pairings for NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx for the 43rd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals presented by NAPAFilters.com at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

DNQs listed below pairings.

Pro Modified -- 1. Mike Castellana, Chevy Camaro, 5.862, 245.72  vs. 16. Jay Payne, Camaro, 6.955, 214.89; 2. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.892, 246.48  vs. 15. Ike Maier, Chevy Corvette, 6.761, 189.95; 3. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.911, 240.42  vs. 14. Adam Flamholc, Camaro, 6.146, 231.04; 4. Donald Martin, Camaro, 5.919, 245.09  vs. 13. Donald Walsh, Ford Mustang, 6.019, 239.57; 5. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 5.942, 243.06  vs. 12. Roger Burgess, Pontiac Firebird, 6.017, 244.25; 6. Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 5.946, 256.26  vs. 11. Raymond Commisso, Camaro, 6.014, 246.26; 7. Leah Pruett, Mustang, 5.952, 250.83  vs. 10. Steve Matusek, Mustang, 5.984, 248.34; 8. Mike Knowles, Camaro, 5.964, 240.08  vs. 9. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 5.976, 242.19.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Scott Ray, 8.278, 151.68; 18. Mike Janis, 13.308, 68.31.