In the quickest and fastest side-by-side race ever staged by full-bodied door cars, Sheikh Khalid Al Thani prevailed with his second career Pro Extreme win in Round 5 of the Arabian Drag Racing League’s 2009/2010 race season.

Leaving with a stunning .005 reaction time, Sheikh Khalid got the jump on teammate Von Smith, who also cut an impressive .029 in the opposing lane, but managed to hold-off the hard-charging Barwa Camaro all the way down the eighth-mile, taking the win with an incredible 3.679-second, 207.59mph pass over Von Smith's own 3.684 at an other-worldly 209.43mph - the fastest speed ever recorded by a door car.

“We knew going into the final, based on the previous round, that Howard [Moon, Barwa Racing crew chief] had a 3.60 in his tune-up bag,” said Sheikh Khalid following the winner’s circle celebration. “So I knew I was going to have to be on my game at the starting line. Tim [McAmis] and I are always talking about being consistent with my driving; staging the car the same every time, doing the same length burnout, and so on. I staged as shallow as possible in the final and, like I said, we knew they’d be swinging for the fences, so I had to do my job as a driver and leave first. Beyond that, I just let the clutch out and let her eat.”

In the quickest and fastest side-by-side race ever staged by full-bodied door cars, Sheikh Khalid Al Thani prevailed with his second career Pro Extreme win in Round 5 of the Arabian Drag Racing League’s 2009/2010 race season.

Leaving with a stunning .005 reaction time, Sheikh Khalid got the jump on teammate Von Smith, who also cut an impressive .029 in the opposing lane, but managed to hold-off the hard-charging Barwa Camaro all the way down the eighth-mile, taking the win with an incredible 3.679-second, 207.59mph pass over Von Smith's own 3.684 at an other-worldly 209.43mph - the fastest speed ever recorded by a door car.

“We knew going into the final, based on the previous round, that Howard [Moon, Barwa Racing crew chief] had a 3.60 in his tune-up bag,” said Sheikh Khalid following the winner’s circle celebration. “So I knew I was going to have to be on my game at the starting line. Tim [McAmis] and I are always talking about being consistent with my driving; staging the car the same every time, doing the same length burnout, and so on. I staged as shallow as possible in the final and, like I said, we knew they’d be swinging for the fences, so I had to do my job as a driver and leave first. Beyond that, I just let the clutch out and let her eat.”

Al Thani continued, “I’ve never been one to get real excited, but it was hard not to be fired up after that final round. Even before we got in the cars I felt like we’d already won. Having both our team cars in the final and then with the way the cars performed, it was all that we could ask for.

Sheikh Khalid further encroached on Von Smith’s lead in the points with his win, remaining No. 2 in the world championship points standings, but moving within two rounds of the lead.

The Al-Anabi Racing Pro Extreme team will return to action during Round 6 of the Arabian Drag Racing League series at the Qatar Race Club this week. Qualifying for Round 6 will begin at 7:00 PM AST on Thursday, February 5th, with a second round scheduled for 9:00 PM. A final round of qualifying will take place at 5:00 PM AST on Friday the 6th, with eliminations getting underway at 7:00 PM AST.

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