It was a busy weekend for Team Pro Line racers with three national level drag races and a half mile shootout, spread out all over the USA. The competition was very tough, yet one team managed to find victory with a brand new car and another team set a world record.
BOWLING GREEN, KY (MAY 20, 2017) – Several Pro Line Racing-powered teams competed in the NMCA Bluegrass Nationals at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Daniel Pharris of Sikeston, Missouri, brought out his new PLR Hemi-powered, Josh “Squatch” Ledford-tuned, 2016 Ford Mustang on the hunt for an Xtreme Pro Mod victory. Dicey weather only allowed for two rounds of qualifying and the Pharris Motorsports team managed to secure the fourth spot with a 3.88 at 205 MPH pass. Consistency prevailed as Pharris rode a string of 3.90-second passes right to a final round appearance against Billy Harper. Even though the PLR-power proved to be a little too much for the track, Pharris coasted to the finish for the win due to Harper going red. A win is a win, even if it’s not pretty. Congratulations to the Pharris Motorsports team on their first win with the new car!
Meanwhile, the PLR Hemi-powered Fiscus/Klugger Racing ’93 Mustang was tuned up and Josh Klugger qualified at the top of Radial Wars with a 4.06 at 193 MPH run. Eliminations started off well for the team with a first round win. Unfortunately, Klugger suffered a second round loss to Marty Stinnett who went on to win the race.
Kallee Mills drove her PLR LSX-powered" “Golden Panda” Camaro to fifth qualifier spot in Street Outlaw with a 4.68 at 156 MPH hit, yet she lost a close race to expert wheelman, Kevin “Flash” Fiscus, in round one of eliminations.
HARTSVILLE, SC (MAY 21, 2017) – The PLR Hemi-powered EGR/Q80 Racing ’67 Mustang was looking to defend a series points lead at the PDRA Spring Nationals held at Darlington Dragway in Hartsville, South Carolina. The EGR/Q80 Racing team was off to a good start by securing the second qualifying position with a 3.744 at 213 MPH. The EGR/Q80 Racing Mustang ran a quick 3.78 at 211 MPH to take the first round win against Don Tolley and they earned lane choice for round two. The team ran into problems after the burnout in round two and had to forfeit to race winner, Melanie Salemi. It was not ideal, , but enough for the EGR/Q80 Racing team to stay on top in the race for the championship.
TOPEKA, KS (MAY 21, 2017) – NHRA Pro Mod has proven to be one of the most competitive and exciting drag racing classes in the world. NHRA took notice and added Pro Mod to the national event schedule, for the first time in history, at the Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals in Topeka, Kansas. It’s great to see all of the top door car teams getting the respect that they have worked so hard to earn. Four PLR-powered teams managed to qualify for this historic race: Shane Molinari qualified third, Sidnei Frigo qualified fourth, Troy Coughlin qualified 13th and Michael Biehle was the 14th qualifier. Due to the unfortunate qualifying order, all four PLR-powered teams squared off in the first round of eliminations. Molinari defeated Biehle with a 5.79 at 244 MPH blast, yet he did not make the call for round two. Frigo delivered a .018-second holeshot combined with a 5.773-second ET to overcome Couglin’s quicker 5.764-second ET. Going into the second round of eliminations, Frigo had his work cut out for him with Harry Hruska, who had just set the turbo ET record in the previous round, in the other lane. Hruska made a move to center and had to get out of it, yet Frigo ran a solid 5.79 at 254 for the win. Frigo’s luck ran out in the semi-finals and he lost to the class winner, Steve Jackson. Congratulations to Sidnei Frigo and the Artivinco Racing team for making it to the semis and to the other three teams for qualifying.
NEW LONDON, NC (May 20, 2017) –The dominance of Pro Line Racing-built engines extends beyond the 660 and 1320, all the way out to the ½ mile mark. Wanna Go Fast held the North Carolina ½ Mile Shootout at Stanley County Airport in New London, North Carolina this weekend and a world record was broken. Gidi Chamdi piloted the, PLR-powered, Underground Racing Lamborghini Huracan to a new standing ½ mile top speed World Record of 250.27 MPH. Congratulations to the Underground Racing crew for breaking the standing half mile 250 MPH barrier!