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COMMERCE, GA (May 7, 2017) – The NHRA Southern Nationals was held at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA over the weekend. Pro Line Racing and FuelTech rolled out the red carpet to their home track by co-sponsoring the J&A Pro Mod class, and showed a little southern hospitality in the form of good food for all of the Pro Mod teams.
Team Pro Line has been looking pretty strong in an extremely competitive Pro Mod series this year with almost all Pro Line Racing-powered teams making the show for each race. As luck would have it, the competition is getting tougher and two PLR-powered teams qualified for the Southern Nationals. Even though this is less than the typical numbers, NHRA Pro Mod is an ultra-competitive class with nearly twice as many cars as there are qualifying spots, and a runner-up of one race may not even qualify for the next. Of the 16 coveted qualifying positions, Shane Molinari locked up sixth with a 5.803 and Sidnei Frigo ran a 5.813 to qualify ninth.
In the first round of eliminations, Molinari went head to head with Steve Jackson in the closest race of the event. Both cars ran identical 5.808-second ETs, but Jackson beat Molinari at the tree and got the overall win. On the other hand, Frigo beat Danny Rowe in a pedal fest where both cars made a move toward the center, yet the PLR Hemi-powered C7 Corvette went straight longer.
Frigo had his work cut out for him in round two against series points leader, Mike Castellana. It was another pedal fest where both cars shook the tires, yet it was Castellana who came out on top this time. Congratulations to both teams for earning a spot in a crazy fast sub-5.89 field!
Pro Line Racing-power is not just for Pro Mods, though. Derek Menholt showcased the consistency of his PLR 481X-powered 1968 Camaro by earning number one qualifier honors in Top Sportsman with a 6.049 at 242.32 MPH. Menholt had a bye run the first round and he made the best of it by running a 6.021-second ET on 6.00 dial. Unfortunately, he was a little too quick and red lit in the second round. Congratulations to Menholt and his team for a solid performance.
Jason Collins earned his second NHRA Pro Mod victory of the season at the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol. After a wild second-round incident involving a detached steering wheel during his burnout, Collins and the Scott Tidwell Racing team battled back to claim the win and lock themselves into the NHRA Pro Mod Countdown to the Championship.
Scott Taylor earned a $10,000 payday after winning the Outlaw Syndicate Racing Series Small Tire event at Southside Dragway, while also setting a new track record.
Travis Harvey captured the $125,000 Pro Mod Mania title at Milan Dragway with a perfect .0000 reaction time in the final round. Harvey's 3.605-second pass at 208.24 mph held off Melanie Salemi's quicker 3.602-second run, proving once again that races are won at both ends of the track. The victory marked one of the most exciting finishes of the weekend at IHRA Pro Mod Mania.
