NHRA SOUTHERN NATIONALS 5TH MAY 2019 - After a short hiatus, the E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod teams returned to Atlanta and Pro Line Racing and FuelTech USA were excited to host family and friends again at our home track.
The Q80 Racing Team / EGR 2017 Camaro started the race in the number 14 qualifying spot with a 5.879 at 255.19 mph. The team faced number 3 qualifier. Alex Laughlin, who suffered tire shake giving Gonzalez the first-round win with a 5.84. He would then have to face PLR-powered driver, Sidnei Frigo in E2. Frigo unfortunately had issues staging the car went through the beams, Gonzalez aborted the run and coasted to the Semis. When Doug Winters couldn’t make the call, the Q80/EGR team a bye run to the finals where they faced Mike Castellana. In the final, an unfortunate red light start gave Castellana the early win in what would have been a very close race. The Q80/EGR team had a great outing and gained valuable championship points along the way.
Sidnei Grandao, driver of the of Artivinco Racing 69 Camaro had a very strong qualifying session in Atlanta, going a 5.835 at 254.71 mph to hold the number 6 spot. In the first round of eliminations, Frigo had trouble getting the car to fire, but was able to get it lit in time to make a very short burnout, while Erica Enders waited patiently in the opposing lane. Frigo cut an impressive .012 light and ran a 5.853 at 254.47 mph to take the win. Parts failure led to Frigo’s car not staging properly in E2, but he and the Artivinco team are excited with the potential of the car and look to continue making progress going to Virginia.
The Bahrain 1 entries of Rickie Smith Racing and Khalid Al Balooshi qualified #10 and #13 respectively. Both endured first round losses but made great progress with their setups. Al Balooshi’s new Camaro made some nice runs and PLR-tuner, Brad Personette was happy with their first event and hopes to carry the momentum to Virginia.
Michael Biehle II and the Biehle Motorsports team missed the bump spot by less than 2 hundredths with a 5.90 after Q4 got rained out. Expect Biehle and PLR-tuner Jamie Miller to come out swinging next race, the new car has been very fast and they have worked very hard to get it going consistently down the race track.
Roderjan Busato captured the Pro Mod victory at the FT BR SPORT CUP in Brazil, while Aristeu da Veiga set a new Pro Mod class record with a 3.670-second pass at 336 km/h. It was another successful weekend for Proline-powered teams on one of Brazil's biggest drag racing stages.
Jason Harris picked up the IHRA Triple Crown Pro Mod win in Hebron, Ohio, after qualifying No. 1 and driving his Proline-powered "Party Time" Camaro to victory in the final round.
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.