Number 1 qualifier Mike Casteallana was upset by No. 16 qualifier Danny Rowe in the first round of eliminations at the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by JEGS.com, is the ninth of 12 events on the 2017 schedule.

Castellana’s Friday night track elapsed-time record 5.709-second pass at 252.52 mph in his Al Anabi Racing Chevrolet Camaro secured him his third No. 1 qualifier of the season. Rowe raced to a 5.851 pass at 247.88 in his Agave Underground Tequila 1968 Chevrolet Camaro to defeat Castellana’s 6.177 pass at 183.62 in the first round.

"It was awesome. It was a great run,” Rowe said. “Mike (Castellana) and the whole crew over there did an unbelievable job; they should be really proud. But this is racing. We don't race on paper; we all go out there and do our best. We didn't know if we could go out there and run with him, but we were going to go down the best we could and that's what we did. The car went down and we were able to get around him. It's exciting - the entire team is excited. It's been a long time since we started going rounds and a great place to start turning around your program is Indy, so I'm excited."
 
Rowe will take on Richie Stevens, husband to Pro Stock champion Erica Enders, in the second round on Monday. Troy Coughlin, who set the track speed record in qualifying, defeated Jim Whiteley in the first round and will face Johnny Gray, uncle of rookie standout Pro Stock racer Tanner Gray, in round two.
 
Eliminations in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series continues Monday at approximately noon.

First round results from the 63rd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, the ninth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

PRO MODIFIED:

ROUND ONE -- Richie Stevens, Chevy Camaro, 5.829, 248.39 def. Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, 5.877, 248.29; Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 5.837, 249.07 def. Harry Hruska, Camaro, 7.035, 188.75; Troy Coughlin, Chevy Corvette, 5.808, 257.24 def. Jim Whiteley, Camaro, 5.842, 249.44; Shane Molinari, Pontiac Firebird, 5.778, 257.78 def. Dan Stevenson, Camaro, 7.503, 131.97; Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.847, 248.43 def. Steve Matusek, Camaro, 5.836, 247.20; Steven Whiteley, Cadillac CTS-V, 10.812, 92.13 def. Shannon Jenkins, Ford Mustang, Foul - Red Light; Sidnei Frigo, Corvette, 5.807, 253.99 def. Steve Jackson, Camaro, 5.812, 248.39; Danny Rowe, Corvette, 5.851, 247.88 def. Mike Castellana, Camaro, 6.177, 183.62

Final order after 4 rounds of qualifying in Pro Modified at the 63rd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, the ninth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd

 1 44 Mike Castellana, Oyster Bay NY, '17 Camaro  5.709 252.52
 2  2 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, '15 Corvette   5.743 258.76
 3 6718 Shane Molinari, Battle Ground WA, '68 Firebird 5.750 257.63
 4 280 Steve Jackson, Evans GA, '17 Camaro      5.779 249.63
 5 5200 Steven Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, '14 CTS-V 5.785 249.03
 6  1 Rickie Smith, King NC, '17 Camaro       5.794 250.00
 7 325 Harry Hruska, Hebron IN, '14 Camaro      5.795 253.37
 8  7 Khalid alBalooshi, Dubai UA, '17 Camaro    5.805 249.63
 9 4504 Richie Stevens, New Orleans LA, '15 Camaro  5.805 247.70
 10 13 Jonathan Gray, Artesia NM, '17 Camaro     5.807 249.86
 11  5 Steve Matusek, Olathe KS, '68 Camaro     5.815 249.58
 12 77 Shannon Jenkins, Tuscaloosa AL, '16 Mustang  5.820 246.12
 13 288 Sidnei Frigo, Sao Paulo BZ, '16 Corvette   5.829 253.04
 14 303 Dan Stevenson, Bolingbrook IL, '16 Camaro   5.836 254.86
 15 5087 Jim Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, '69 Camaro  5.841 249.67
 16  8 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, '16 Corvette   5.846 247.38

    ------------ Not Qualified ------------

 17  4 Michael Biehle, North Vernon IN, '67 Mustang 5.870 253.23
 18 1456 Mike Janis, Lancaster NY, '16 Camaro     5.875 244.29
 19 1262 Chuck Little, Atkinson NH, '63 Corvette    5.876 243.85
 20 2105 Doug Winters, Pleasant Garden NC, '69 Chevelle 5.880 243.72
 21 7094 Michael Bowman, Oak Hills CA, '69 Chevelle  5.882 258.37
 22 324 Bill Glidden, Whiteland IN, '68 Camaro    6.038 225.75
 23 206 Rick Hord, Belle Isle FL, '16 Corvette    6.223 220.15
 24 275T Ruben Tetsoshvili, Wesley Chapel FL, '17 Camam 6.357 195.31
 25 701 Clint Satterfield, Albuquerque NM, '68 Firebir 6.503 201.58
 26  3 Bob Rahaim, Grosse Pointe MI, '14 Camaro   6.692 159.59