CASTELLANA EARNS NO. 1 QUALIFIER, WINS FIRST ROUND AND SETS NATIONAL ELAPSED TIME RECORD DURING NHRA J&A SERVICE PRO MOD DRAG RACING SERIES EVENT AT NHRA SPRINGNATIONALS
BAYTOWN, Texas – Mike Castellana maintained the qualifying lead and ran the quickest elapsed time in NHRA Pro Mod history during eliminations Saturday at the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by Real Pro Mod Association, is the second of 12 events this season.
Castellana’s 5.759-second pass at 250.46 mph in his Al Anabi Racing ’17 Camaro during Friday’s qualifying sessions secured him the No. 1 qualifier. During eliminations, Castellana defeated Michael Biehle II with a national elapsed time record run of 5.722 at 251.77.
“It’s great,” Castellana said. “First I gotta thank Khalid Hamad for giving me the opportunity to drive this car this year. I gotta thank Frank Manzo and my crew. It’s unbelievable what they do. Right now, I feel like I’m in Wonderland or something right now.”
Jonathon Gray, who is racing Rickie Smith’s second car while Smith recovers from back surgery, qualified second and went on to defeat Shannon Jenkins in the first round. Gray ran a 5.815 at 223.17 to defeat Jenkins on a holeshot.
Shane Molinari, who qualified third, defeated Chuck Little and No. 4 qualifier Danny Rowe bettered Larry Morgan.
J&A Pro Mod Series eliminations continue Sunday at approximately 12:30 p.m. at Royal Purple Raceway.
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BAYTOWN, Texas — First round results from the 30th annual NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway, the race is the second of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
PRO MODIFIED:
ROUND ONE — Bob Rahaim, Chevy Corvette, DQ vs. Sidnei Frigo, Corvette, DQ; Troy Coughlin, Corvette, 5.789, 251.77 def. Khalid alBalooshi, Chevy Camaro, 10.699, 82.60; Steve Matusek, Camaro, 5.817, 250.18 def. Steven Whiteley, Cadillac CTS-V, 6.273, 175.11; Mike Janis, Camaro, 5.825, 246.53 def. Eric Latino, Camaro, 5.934, 224.06; Danny Rowe, Corvette, 5.811, 250.00 def. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.707, 161.83; Shane Molinari, Pontiac Firebird, 5.815, 254.76 def. Chuck Little, Corvette, 5.816, 247.34; Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 5.815, 223.17 def. Shannon Jenkins, Ford Mustang, 5.809, 240.68; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.722, 251.77 def. Michael Biehle, Mustang, 5.845, 254.66;
BAYTOWN, Texas – Final order after 3 rounds of qualifying in Pro Modified at the
30th annual NHRA SpringNationals. The race is the second of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Psn—Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type—————Qual-ET–Qual-Spd-Top Spd
1 44 Mike Castellana, Oyster Bay NY, ’17 Camaro 5.759@ 250.46 250.97
2 13 Jonathan Gray, Artesia NM, ’15 Camaro 5.788 250.97 250.97
3 6718 Shane Molinari, Battle Ground WA, ’68 Firebird 5.792 257.24 257.24
4 8 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, ’15 Corvette 5.800 250.00 250.00
5 5 Steve Matusek, Olathe KS, ’68 Camaro 5.813 252.28 252.28
6 1456 Mike Janis, Lancaster NY, ’16 Camaro 5.815 247.29 247.29
7 2 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, ’15 Corvette 5.820 253.90 253.90
8 3 Bob Rahaim, Grosse Pointe MI, ’15 Corvette 5.837 248.02 248.11
9 288 Sidnei Frigo, Sao Paulo BZ, ’16 Corvette 5.846 251.53 251.53
10 7 Khalid alBalooshi, Ajman UA, ’17 Camaro 5.847 249.44 249.53
11 1938 Eric Latino, Port Perry ON, ’69 Camaro 5.853 245.81 251.34
12 5200 Steven Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, ’14 CTS-V 5.859 247.20 247.20
13 357 Larry Morgan, Newark OH, ’17 Camaro 5.861 241.71 249.44
14 1262 Chuck Little, Atkinson NH, ’63 Corvette 5.864 246.12 246.12
15 77 Shannon Jenkins, Tuscaloosa AL, ’16 Mustang 5.868 247.02 247.02
16 4 Michael Biehle, North Vernon IN, ’67 Mustang 5.893 253.09 253.09
———— Not Qualified ————
17 220F Kevin Fiscus, Jacksonville FL, ’10 Mustang 5.893 249.95 249.95
18 213 Chip King, Roxboro NC, ’69 Daytona 5.895 245.49 245.49
19 280 Steve Jackson, Evans GA, ’17 Camaro 5.913 233.96 233.96
20 205 Kevin Rivenbark, Wallace NC, ’15 Corvette 5.916 241.32 241.54
21 2105 Doug Winters, Pleasant Garden NC, ’69 Chevelle 5.928 237.34 241.80
22 5087 Jim Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, ’69 Camaro 5.936 245.27 245.27
23 202 Todd Tutterow, Yadkinville NC, ’69 Camaro 5.946 243.94 244.16
24 325 Harry Hruska, Hebron IN, ’14 Camaro 5.971 249.81 249.81
25 1518 Pete Farber, Baldwinville MA, ’69 Daytona 5.986 244.29 244.29
26 275T Ruben Tetsoshvili, Wesley Chapel FL, ’17 Cama 6.323 188.17 188.17
27 5011 Mike Knowles, Grand Junction CO, ’67 Mustang 6.436 214.14 214.14
28 701 Clint Satterfield, Albuquerque NM, ’68 Firebi 7.067 228.31 228.31
