A bright red light immediately signaled that Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani of Qatar had won both the battle and the high-speed war that was the 2009-10 Arabian Drag Racing League season, as he beat American Alex Hossler in the Pro Extreme final of Round 7 at the Qatar Race Club (QRC). Joining him as an Arabian League champion was Al-Thani’s Al-Anabi Racing teammate, Khalid Al-Balooshi, who backed up his 2009 American Drag Racing League Pro Nitrous championship with a win in the QRC Pro Nitrous final over New Yorker Mike Castellana.

“This has been a tremendous season for the Arabian Drag Racing League, one that stands out for its record-setting performances and growth as a series,” said Kenny Nowling, president and CEO for both the American and Arabian Drag Racing Leagues. “I congratulate all the race winners and champions and thank them for providing us with memories to last a lifetime.”

A bright red light immediately signaled that Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani of Qatar had won both the battle and the high-speed war that was the 2009-10 Arabian Drag Racing League season, as he beat American Alex Hossler in the Pro Extreme final of Round 7 at the Qatar Race Club (QRC). Joining him as an Arabian League champion was Al-Thani’s Al-Anabi Racing teammate, Khalid Al-Balooshi, who backed up his 2009 American Drag Racing League Pro Nitrous championship with a win in the QRC Pro Nitrous final over New Yorker Mike Castellana.

“This has been a tremendous season for the Arabian Drag Racing League, one that stands out for its record-setting performances and growth as a series,” said Kenny Nowling, president and CEO for both the American and Arabian Drag Racing Leagues. “I congratulate all the race winners and champions and thank them for providing us with memories to last a lifetime.”   

After starting from the number-one qualifying position for the fourth time in seven races, Sheikh Khalid had a bye run in the quarter-finals, then beat Bader Ali with the quickest and fastest pass of the event, going 3.71 at 207.27 mph to easily outdistance the United Arab Emirates driver. Second-place qualifier Hossler made his way to the final through his own quarter-final bye before defeating last year’s Pro Extreme champion Von Smith with a 3.77-seconds effort at 203.22 mph in the semis.

Smith’s loss in the semis clinched the championship for Al-Thani, as Hossler was a little too far back in the points to prevail. Still, with the race on the line, Hossler, from Canton, Illinois, pushed the tree and left .195 too soon in his Chris Duncan-built and -tuned 1970 Camaro, throwing away a 3.74-seconds run at 203.71 mph. The Sheikh, meanwhile, posted one of his typically good reaction times (.024), but soon ran into traction problems and coasted to a 5.18-seconds win at just under 95 miles per hour.

In Pro Nitrous, Al-Balooshi also started from the top qualifying slot. He had a free pass from the semi-finals into the final round, but made it count with a strong 3.91-seconds run at 194.18 mph. On the opposite side of the ladder, Westbury, New York’s Castellana ran 3.95 at 189.36 to get past local racer Khalil Al-Ansari in the semis.

Castellana got away with a .036 holeshot in the all-Al-Anabi final with his ‘70 Camaro, but Al-Balooshi’s ‘69 Firebird quickly reeled him in and took the win and the season title with another 3.91 at 193.40 mph.

Also featured in the Arabian Drag Racing League is the Extreme 10.5 class, named for the relatively narrow rear slicks mandated for the cars, in which Dan Millen (right, near lane) of Dearborn, Michigan, qualified number one and advanced to face championship rival Mahana Al-Naimi in the final round.

With the race win and the championship still in play, Millen left nothing on the table, leaving with a stellar .005 reaction time, then steering his turbocharged 2004 Mustang past the finish line in 4.27 seconds at 177.72 mph. Al-Naimi also posted a good run at 4.37 and 171.51 mph in his late-model Corvette, but it was no match for Millen.