Mason Wright couldn’t have had a better scenario to pick up his first NHRA Pro Modified national event victory during the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, NH.
Unqualified heading into the final session, he jumped to the fourth spot. That was a harbinger of things to come as Wright, starting from No. 4, worked his way to the final round, where he made the most of his first final round appearance, beating Jordan Lazic on a holeshot. The win comes in just his twelfth Pro Mod start.
“Coming into the final qualifying session we were way down at No. 17 and we were able to move ourselves up to No. 5. That’s a direct result of the program the team has been working on. They’ve been working hard and it paid off,” Wright said. “It’s tough in the Pro Mod class, it really is. It’s definitely a team effort and they’ve all pulled together to give us a great race car. Getting to double up for Elite with Troy, that’s pretty exciting. I’m not going to lie, my first win, I’m still in shock. These fans have been awesome, I love it. We’ll take a couple days to rest, celebrate with the family and then head straight to Bristol and try to carry on the momentum.”
Wright used a .047 reaction time and 5.740-second pass at 249.72 mph to beat a quicker and faster Lazic, who turned in a 5.733, 254.47.
Wright reached the finals after picking up wins against Mike Thielen (5.795 at 247.02 def. 5.898 at 249.26), Kevin Rivenbark (5.771 at 248.02 def. 5.798 at 246.80) and former class champion Kris Throne (5.752 at 249.07 def. 5.775 at 249.53).
“The fans are awesome here and I love it,” Wright said. “The team has been working on the program and it’s paid off. It’s tough out there, it really is. It’s a real team effort and I’m still in shock. This whole group is awesome and it’s a dream come true. The team has been doing a lot of testing and it’s paid off.”
The Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+ returns to action June 7-9 with the 23rd annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn.
