LAURITA JR. TOPS QUALIFYING BUT FALLS AT FIRST HURDLE IN NHRA PRO MOD DRAG RACING SERIES ACTION
BAYTOWN, Texas. – Jim Laurita Jr. raced to the qualifying lead but fell in the first round of eliminations in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway.
Laurita Jr. raced his Switzer Dynamics ‘68 Mustang to a top performance of 5.847 seconds at 247.38 mph in Friday’s qualifying and the run held up during Saturday’s final qualifying session to secure the No. 1 qualifying position and faced Don Walsh in the first round of eliminations. Walsh didn’t secure his qualifying spot until his last attempt on Saturday, making a 5.998 pass at 247.52 in his Walsh, Precision Turbo, Galot 68’ Camaro.
A winning run for Walsh of 5.941 at 250.51 brings the Wixom, Mich., native to the second round of eliminations for the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series race in Houston, presented by J&A Service at this event. Walsh will face No. 8 qualifier Steve Matusek in the second round.
Defending NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series world champion Rickie Smith qualified second with a 5.881 pass at 244.69. Smith’s 5.868 at 247.88 beat Steven Whiteley’s 6.046 at 242.93 to advance to the next round. He will face No. 10 qualifier Danny Rowe.
Other second round matchups include No. 4 qualifier Ron Muenks against No. 5 qualifier Mike Janis and No. 3 qualifier Kevin Fiscus against No. 11 qualifier Mike Castellana.
Pro Mod Series eliminations continue on Sunday.
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BAYTOWN, Texas — First round results from the 27th annual O’Reilly NHRA SpringNationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway, the second of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service.
ROUND ONE — Danny Rowe, Chevy Camaro, 5.896, 246.03 def. Von Smith, Camaro, 5.919, 242.71; Steve Matusek, Ford Mustang, 5.915, 245.14 def. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 5.948, 245.40; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.933, 242.71 def. Mike Knowles, Camaro, 6.015, 244.65; Mike Janis, Camaro, 5.905, 246.17 def. Dan Stevenson, Camaro, 5.953, 243.77; Ron Muenks, Camaro, 6.485, 226.85 def. Harold Martin, Chevy Corvette, broke; Kevin Fiscus, Mustang, 5.918, 246.98 def. Troy Coughlin, Corvette, 5.947, 246.21; Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.868, 247.88 def. Steven Whiteley, Camaro, 6.046, 242.93; Don Walsh, Mustang, 5.941, 250.51 def. Jim Laurita, Camaro, 5.909, 245.67.
Final order after 3 rounds of qualifying in Pro Modified presented by J&A Service at the 27th annual O’Reilly NHRA SpringNationals presented by Super Start Batteries.
Psn—Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type
1 1087 Jim Laurita, Morgantown WV, ’68 Camaro 5.847 247.38 247.38
2 1 Rickie Smith, King NC, ’13 Camaro 5.881 244.69 246.80
3 220F Kevin Fiscus, Jacksonville FL, ’12 Mustang 5.893 248.66 248.66
4 501 Ron Muenks, Springfield MO, ’68 Camaro 5.895 240.08 240.08
5 1456 Mike Janis, Lancaster NY, ’12 Camaro 5.896 246.48 246.80
6 5011 Mike Knowles, Grand Junction CO, ’68 Camaro 5.913 245.85 245.85
7 2377 Von Smith, Oak Ridge TN, ’69 Camaro 5.914 242.50 242.50
8 5450 Steve Matusek, Olathe KS, ’12 Mustang 5.923 246.17 246.17
9 8 Pete Farber, Baldwinville MA, ’69 Daytona 5.926 244.96 244.96
10 6 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, ’68 Camaro 5.930 246.53 246.53
11 3 Mike Castellana, Muttontown NY, ’69 Camaro 5.942 242.67 242.67
12 303 Dan Stevenson, Bolingbrook IL, ’13 Camaro 5.955 243.85 243.85
13 377 Harold Martin, New Hudson MI, ’14 Corvette 5.964 240.68 240.68
14 2 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, ’14 Corvette 5.972 245.81 245.81
15 5200 Steven Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, ’68 Camaro 5.984 245.23 245.23
16 3382 Don Walsh, Wixom MI, ’11 Mustang 5.998 247.52 248.52
———— Not Qualified ————
17 1090 Raymond Commisso, Toronto ON, ’68 Camaro 6.040 245.23 245.23
18 5087 Jim Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, ’53 Corvette 6.049 235.64 235.64
19 701 Clint Satterfield, Albuquerque NM, ’68 Firebi 6.116 236.42 236.42
20 7 Kenny Lang, Grande Pointe MB, ’69 Camaro 6.146 234.29 234.29
21 9 Chip King, Semora NC, ’69 Daytona 6.147 245.72 245.72
22 367J Jason Hamstra, Demotte IN, ’10 Mustang 6.160 239.27 239.27
23 567 Chris Juliano, Iberia MO, ’67 Mustang 6.160 230.88 230.88
24 262 Robert Patrick Jr., Fredricksburg VA, ’12 Must 6.169 206.04 206.04
25 324 Bill Glidden, Whiteland IN, ’10 Mustang 6.279 190.32 228.27
26 205 Kevin Rivenbark, Wallace NC, ’67 Mustang 6.343 233.96 233.96
27 202 Todd Tutterow, Yadkinville NC, ’67 Mustang 6.367 234.66 234.66
