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HOUSTON, TX (APRIL 23, 2017) – Twenty-eight Pro Mod teams came out for the NHRA Spring Nationals with hopes of being quick enough to make the top sixteen in what could be considered the most competitive class in door slammer drag racing. By the end of round three of qualifying, the sixteen cars that made the show were only separated by a tenth and a half, and the bump was a 5.893 with a MPH tie breaker. Four Pro Line Racing-powered teams fought their way into eliminations: Shane Molinari qualified third, Troy Coughlin was seventh, Sidnei Frigo locked up the ninth spot, and Michael Biehle barely squeezed by Kevin Fiscus for the 16th spot. Both Fiscus and Biehle ran identical 5.893-second elapsed times, yet Biehle went faster.
Going into eliminations, Biehle ran a solid 5.845-second ET, but it was not enough to overcome Mike Castellana’s searing 5.722-second pass. Frigo had an unfortunate brush with potential disaster when Bob Rahaim’s C7 Corvette made move into the wall and bounced back across the center. Frigo also crossed the center and was disqualified as a result. Coughlin threw down an impressive 5.789-second ET to claim victory over Khalid Al Balooshi, and to conclude round one, Molinari ran a 5.815 to edge out Chuck Little who ran a 5.816.
Two PLR-powered teams moved on to race on Sunday, and the second round proved to be just as competitive. Coughlin had problems hooking up and coasted to a 10.018-second ET which was not enough to win. Molinari, on the other hand, rocketed to a 5.811-second ET for the win over Mike Janis.
Molinari’s consistency did not waiver in round three, and he ran a 5.843-second ET to beat the number two qualifier, Jonathon Gray, and earned an NHRA Pro Mod final round appearance. Unfortunately, Molinari had trouble staging for the final round and had to forfeit.
Congratulations to Shane Molinari and the Molinari-Bond Motorsports team for claiming runner-up honors against the best Pro Mods in the world, and to the other PLR-powered teams that qualified in a tough field of world class teams!
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.
