ROWE SECURES NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITION FOR NHRA PRO MOD DRAG RACING SERIES ACTION IN GAINESVILLE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After leading qualifying following the first day of action, Danny Rowe improved his performance and showed that he will be a major threat to win the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville on Sunday.
Rowe’s Agave Underground Tequila ’68 Chevy powered to a leading performance of 5.862 seconds at 250.55 mph on Friday to claim his ninth career No. 1 qualifying position and first ever at Gainesville. The Laguna Hills, Calif. native was also the quickest on Saturday as well. On his first run of the day he posted his best time of the two qualifying sessions with a 5.858 at 249.49, the only 5.85 run in qualifying. He will open eliminations against Dan Stevenson.
Mike Janis, who tied Rowe’s elapsed time in his late-model Valvoline Camaro on Friday but lost the top spot due to Rowe’s faster speed, will start the race in the No. 2 spot and he will face Jim Bell.
Mike Castellana found his groove on Saturday, posting a 5.863 at 244.56 in his late model Chevy Camaro. Sitting 11th following the first two qualifying sessions, the New York driver gained the most ground during the day and will begin eliminations in third against Todd Tutterow.
Series newcomer Jason Hamstra qualified fourth with a 5.866 at 246.30 in his turbocharged 2010 Ford Mustang and will face past world champ Troy Coughlin in the opening round. Defending NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series world champ Rickie Smith qualified fifth with a 5.889 at 245.09 in his ’12 Camaro and he will open the new season against Kevin Fiscus.
The Pro Mod Series eliminations are scheduled for Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 45th annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville, the first of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Pro Modified — 1. Danny Rowe, Chevy Camaro, 5.858, 250.55 vs. 16. Dan Stevenson, Camaro, 5.959, 243.81; 2. Mike Janis, Camaro, 5.862, 247.93 vs. 15. Jim Bell, Ford Mustang, 5.958, 246.89; 3. Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.863, 244.56 vs. 14. Todd Tutterow, Mustang, 5.943, 240.42; 4. Jason Hamstra, Mustang, 5.866, 246.30 vs. 13. Troy Coughlin, Chevy Corvette, 5.936, 246.30; 5. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.887, 245.09 vs. 12. Kevin Fiscus, Mustang, 5.934, 248.48; 6. Steven Whiteley, Camaro, 5.900, 247.34 vs. 11. Mike Knowles, Camaro, 5.917, 246.80; 7. Eric Latino, Camaro, 5.902,248.16 vs. 10. Raymond Commisso, Camaro, 5.915, 245.40; 8. Steve Matusek, Mustang, 5.904, 246.26 vs. 9. Jim Laurita, Camaro, 5.912, 243.63.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Craig Cawte, 5.966, 241.89; 18. Pete Farber, 5.975, 243.81; 19. Kevin Rivenbark, 5.975, 239.06; 20. Don Walsh, 5.981, 251.16; 21. Kenny Lang, 6.023, 239.82; 22. Bill Glidden, 6.061, 233.96; 23. Chip King, 6.122, 242.36; 24. Harold Martin, 6.184, 198.44; 25. Chris Juliano, 6.209, 230.57; 26. Doug Winters, 6.321, 216.86; 27. Clint Satterfield, 6.572, 165.82.
