Just as he did in his first Arabian Drag Racing League appearance, Alex Hossler (left) employed a holeshot in the Pro Extreme final to win Round 6 of the Arabian 2009-10 season over Sheikh Khalid Al Thani in the right lane at the Qatar Race Club.

Despite learning to drive the unpredictable, supercharged Pro Extreme cars just a few months ago, Al Thani already has earned a reputation as a great “leaver” and he posted another solid .036 reaction time against Hossler, but an unreal .004 reaction in the Illinois racer’s lane spelled victory 3.72 seconds later at 206.32 mph as he nipped the quicker and faster 3.70 at 209.30 put together by the Sheikh.

“Man did we ever earn that one,” an excited Hossler stated later. “I have the best bunch of people surrounding me on this team. It’s all about the perseverance. We tore up a lot of parts during the last race here, but to get it all back together and run like we did says everything.”

Just as he did in his first Arabian Drag Racing League appearance, Alex Hossler (left) employed a holeshot in the Pro Extreme final to win Round 6 of the Arabian 2009-10 season over Sheikh Khalid Al Thani in the right lane at the Qatar Race Club.

Despite learning to drive the unpredictable, supercharged Pro Extreme cars just a few months ago, Al Thani already has earned a reputation as a great “leaver” and he posted another solid .036 reaction time against Hossler, but an unreal .004 reaction in the Illinois racer’s lane spelled victory 3.72 seconds later at 206.32 mph as he nipped the quicker and faster 3.70 at 209.30 put together by the Sheikh.

“Man did we ever earn that one,” an excited Hossler stated later. “I have the best bunch of people surrounding me on this team. It’s all about the perseverance. We tore up a lot of parts during the last race here, but to get it all back together and run like we did says everything.”

Hossler then took care to thank everyone involved in helping him reach the winner’s circle.  

“Chris and Len Duncan, first of all, without these guys I’m just a guy with a dream. Mike Stawicki from MSR Performance for the horsepower, Jon Salemi from DMPE for the tune-up advice and supercharger work, and all of the employees at the Art Hossler Auto Group. All of these people are instrumental in our success,” he said.

After qualifying his Chris Duncan-built and -tuned ‘70 Camaro in second place behind Al Thani, Hossler made a nice, solo 3.74 pass at 205.41 mph in the opening round of eliminations and followed it up with another 3.74 at 205.63 to easily defeat defending Arabian series champ Von Smith, who made a tire-shaking 6.31 run at just over 72 mph in his Barwa-backed ‘68 Camaro.

“I just kept picking away at the tune up today,” Duncan (far right behind car) said. “It is a happy race car and Alex really drives the wheels off of this thing. I’m looking forward to coming back in two weeks to try to make it three wins over here in Doha.”

The Sheikh also enjoyed a bye to begin eliminations and ran 3.97 at just 189.02 mph in his ‘68 Camaro, but in round two he and crew chief Frank Manzo stepped up against Bader Ali, going 3.66 at 209.46 mph to set a new Arabian elapsed time record and a new worldwide speed record for door cars in the eighth mile.

“I guess Alex and I are even now,” Sheikh Khalid laughed after the final. “You’re bound to be on the losing end of a hole shot every now and then if you’re racing at this level, and we’re just happy to have an Al-Anabi Racing hot rod in the final round again for all the fans here in Qatar.”

Now locked into a three-way battle for the Arabian Drag Racing League Pro Extreme world championship, Sheikh Khalid heads into the seventh and final event just one round win behind teammate Von Smith, with Hossler only two rounds behind him.

“Even in our debut season, I was confident that we would be in the thick of the championship battle with Frank [Manzo, crew chief] and Tim McAmis calling the shots,” Al Thani said. “It’s going to come down to the wire, though, with Von, Alex and myself in the hunt, and I’m excited—I don’t know that I’d want it any other way.”

Al Thani’s Al-Anabi Racing teammate Mike Castellana went up against Khalil Al Ansari in an off-the-pace Pro Nitrous final, with the local taking the win in 4.38 seconds at 164.19 mph over Castellana’s early shutdown 4.41/126.55 run.

The Arabian Drag Racing League’s 2009-10 season will resume for the final time Feb. 25-26, again at the Qatar Race Club.