Ed Hoover was as angry as he’d ever been in his eighteen years of running Pro Modified.

The veteran driver from Gilbert, S.C., had driven a flawless race during the $50,000-to-win Torco Pro Modified Shootout, and in the final, he felt he’d messed up.

 

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Ed Hoover was as angry as he’d ever been in his eighteen years of running Pro Modified.

The veteran driver from Gilbert, S.C., had driven a flawless race during the $50,000-to-win Torco Pro Modified Shootout, and in the final, he felt he’d messed up.

 

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Hoover was the beneficiary of a foul start from opponent Mike Castellana in the special race-within-a-race which awards the largest payday for a single Pro Modified race in sanctioned drag racing.

“I got out kicking myself,” Hoover said. “I thought I had lost until Jim Halsey came over and told me that I had won. I couldn’t believe it.”

Hoover ran his quickest elapsed time of the event with a 6.073 elapsed time at 233.96 miles per hour, and for the bean counters, his winning lap measured $8233.16 per second.

Castellana pulled a miniscule -.002 foul that overshadowed the quickest nitrous doorslammer run in drag racing history with a 6.009, 238.05 run.

Such a miscue for Castellana, the 2005 World Champion, is a rare occurrence.

“Mike doesn’t usually make mistakes like that,” Hoover admitted. “We needed this boost for the season. Two weeks ago when we won in Grand Bend it helped our team and tonight’s victory just adds to that. This one was for Paul Trussell and his family, they have supported me more than I could ever repay.”

Hoover is credited with winning the first sanctioned Pro Modified national event dating back to 1990. On this evening, it was fitting he won his first career Torco Pro Modified Shootout with the largest payday on the line.

“I’m glad I got to where the money was right to win this thing,” Hoover added. “I’ve never won a race that paid this much money before. I think it was our time today. You gotta have a little bit of luck on your side and I didn’t see his red-light.

“Plus, we’ve got a car that is working well for us, and the equipment is working the way it should. This G-Force Race Cars is performing great. We’ve got a window now and we can still miss a little and still hit it good. It took us a few races to get a handle but it is working the way we knew it could. When the track changes you have to have a car that changes with it.”

Team owner Paul Trussell was more than overjoyed with his driver’s performance.

He’s gonna get a bonus tonight,” Trussell admitted. “This is a highlight and while every win is great, this was really special.”

Hoover's victory marked his second major victory in the last three IHRA nationals events and he defeated Jim Halsey and Scott Cannon Jr. to reach the finals. Castellana defeated defending event champion Kenny Lang and Chip King.

For his part, Castellana earned $20,000 for finishing runner-up.