2010 NHRA GATORNATIONALS - GSA PRO MOD NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY - LANG WINS INTERNATIONAL PRO MODIFIED FINAL
Canadian flags waved in the grandstands at historic Gainesville Raceway Sunday as Manitoba’s Kenny Lang made drag racing history as the first to win a 
Wally in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series.
Lang became the first winner in NHRA’s newest national touring series as he drove his green 1953 Corvette to victory over Sweden’s Michael Gullqvist, who drove the ProCareRX 1968 Camaro owned by series supporter Roger Burgess.
“This is a great event and I am thrilled to win it,” said Lang who qualified sixth and defeated a tough group of drivers in earlier rounds including JEGS.com’s Troy Coughlin, In-N-Out Burger ’63 Corvette driver Melanie Troxel and Qatar’s Khalid Balooshi.
Lang powered his ’53 Corvette to a 5.908-second run at 243.68 mph to earn the victory in the final-round, but ultimately didn’t need the strong performance when Gullqvist fouled at the start.
“It definitely hasn’t all sunk in yet,” said Lang about being the first official Pro Mod winner in NHRA history. “We are one of the lesser-funded teams out here but we do a good job and we do it because we love it. I wasn’t surprised to see those flags out there because we get a lot of support wherever we go. We had a great car today.”
The NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series continues April 9-11 at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas.
Round-by-round results for the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series Sunday at Gainesville Raceway. It is the first of 10 events for the series in 2010.
ROUND ONE -- Michael Gullqvist, Chevy Camaro, 5.852, 248.84 def. Tim Tindle, Shelby Mustang, 6.030, 207.02; Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 5.916, 244.03 def. Tony Pontieri, Camaro, 5.877, 246.30; Kenny Lang, Chevy Corvette, 5.860, 244.92 def. Troy Coughlin, Camaro, foul; Burton Auxier, Camaro, 5.898, 240.12 def. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.937, 238.76; Joe Baker, Pontiac Firebird, 5.956, 232.35 def.
Mike Knowles, Corvette, 5.913, 246.80; Melanie Troxel, Corvette, 5.901, 247.70 def. Chip King, Dodge Daytona, 5.945, 241.41; Jay Payne, Camaro, 5.809, 244.87 def. Ed Hoover, Camaro, 5.893, 244.25; Roger Burgess, Corvette, 5.824, 246.80 def. Adam Flamholc, Camaro, broke;
QUARTERFINALS -- Auxier, 5.943, 237.71 def. Baker, 6.853, 160.54; Lang, 5.883, 244.43 def. Troxel, 8.028, 125.44; Gullqvist, 5.827, 248.52 def. Burgess, DQ; Balooshi, 5.877, 245.72 def. Payne, 5.913, 244.34;
SEMIFINALS -- Lang, 5.932, 244.03 def. Balooshi, 5.909, 245.49; Gullqvist, 5.857, 248.16 def. Auxier, 11.983, 81.19;
FINAL -- Lang, 5.908, 243.68 def. Gullqvist, foul.
Top 10 point standings for the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series following Sunday’s race at Gainesville Raceway. It is the first of 10 events for the series in 2010.
1. Kenny Lang, 95; 2. Michael Gullqvist, 74; 3. (tie) Burton Auxier, 63; Khalid Balooshi, 63; 5. (tie) Joe Baker, 52; Roger Burgess, 52; Jay Payne, 52; Melanie Troxel, 52; 9. (tie) Troy Coughlin, 41; Adam Flamholc, 41; Ed Hoover, 41; Chip King, 41; Mike Knowles, 41; Tony Pontieri, 41; Rickie Smith, 41.
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK -
ONE MAN GANG – Defending GSA Pro Modified champion Burton Auxier showcased his race day skills by making his way out of the first round.
Auxier, only one of three nitrous teams to qualify this weekend, knocked off fellow nitrous runner Rickie Smith in the first round. He knocked off past NHRA Gatornationals champion Joe Baker in the semis before losing to Swedish racer Michael Gullqvist.
ONE UNHAPPY CAR – Melanie Troxel was among six Pro Modified drivers who met with the Gainesville media, and during the press conference she was asked if a blown doorslammer was essentially a Funny Car with doors.
Troxel was the most qualified driver at the NHRA Gatornationals to answer the question.
“I’ve never driven two different cars on the same weekend, so it has been a challenge,” Troxel explained. “Originally my concerns were with the different driving styles going down the track but after the Phoenix event I got to drive the Pro Modified for the following days in Florida.”
The largest concern for Troxel headed into the weekend was the different starting line demands.
“I jumped in each car and went through the starting line procedures ten time straight before we started the car,” Troxel said. “We’re talking pretty catastrophic differences here. I knew it could get really ugly if I made a mistake and forgot which car I was in.”
Troxel says there’s a lot of manhandling for the nitro Funny Car but believes the Pro Modified car is the most demanding race car she’s ever driven in her life.
“When you add in the suspension to that car already making lots of horsepower, and those cars get unhappy, theirs is nothing out there tougher to drive,” Troxel explained. “After I put one on the lid on my third pass, I started calling them ‘angry little race cars.”
“You don’t know what is going to happen and that’s why fans love them. At any time you can be facing the wall or crossing the center-line. There is nothing tougher to drive.”
“I’ve probably had more fun in the last two years in coming back and racing Pro Modified,” said Troxel. “That’s not to say I haven’t had fun. But this fun ranks up there with the days I had in Top Alcohol Dragster running the In-N-Out car. All of this is coming back full circle to me where I am having a lot of fun in the car.”
Troxel qualified No. 3 with her personal quickest pass of 5.888 seconds at 236.71 miles per hour. She defeated Chip King in the first round before experiencing an angry race car in the quarter-finals opposite Kenny Lang.
A RECORD ALMOST – Jay Payne recorded the quickest run in GSA NHRA Pro Modified history during Saturday evening’s first round of eliminations.
Payne ran a 5.809 elapsed time to track down a quicker-reacting Ed Hoover, who turned in a career-best 5.893 elapsed time. In Sunday’s second round, he ran a 5.913 and missed out on the one-percent back-up.
Turbo racer Brad Personnet holds the record at 5.817 seconds.
HANG ON -
Roger Burgess emerged unscathed from a brush with the retaining wall at Gainesville Raceway Sunday in the second round of the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. The accident eliminated Burgess from competition as, by rule, the wall is considered out of bounds.
"That's the first time I've been that far out of shape," Burgess said. "But you know how it is -- you always press a little too hard trying to win the round. If I had it to do over again, I would have done the same thing. Sometimes you think you can drive through it and you try. That time I couldn't.
Burgess' R2B2 Racing teammate Michael Gullqvist of Hasselby, Sweden, benefitted the most from his disqualification as he advanced to the semifinal round. It's already been a memorable weekend for Gullqvist as he became the first European in history to record a run of more than 400 kph when he went 248.84 mph in Round 1.
"We tuned Michael's car the same as mine and let the driver win or lose it," Burgess said. "One side of the track held it, ours didn't. It was our decision because we had lane choice.
"We weren't trying to run a world record or anything, but we were trying to run an 5.81 or 5.82, which we ran the other night.
"We've got about a month before we run in Houston. The competition is going to be like this all year long. This is the best group of Pro Mods ever assembled. You have to bring your A game every single time, and consistency counts. Right now the most consistent guys are winning rounds."
PHOTO SEQUENCE
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SATURDAY - BURGESS TAKES FIRST OFFICIAL NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITION IN NHRA GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD DRAG RACING HISTORY
Roger Burgess earned the first official No. 1 qualifying position of the new NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series Saturday at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. After nine seasons as an exhibition category, the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series became an official NHRA touring series with 10 races on the 2010 schedule and is making its much-anticipated debut this weekend.
Burgess earned the historic top spot with a performance of 5.856 at 248.39 in his ProCare RX Corvette.
Jay Payne was second in his FireIce ’68 Camaro with a 5.887 at 241.28.
Burgess and Payne were both among the first-round winners during Saturday’s first round of eliminations. Eliminations for the category will continue on Sunday.
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First-round elimination pairings for the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series from the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Pro Modified -- 1. Roger Burgess, Chevy Corvette, 5.856, 248.39 vs. 16. Adam Flamholc, Chevy Camaro, 6.115, 232.39; 2. Jay Payne, Camaro, 5.887, 241.28 vs. 15. Ed Hoover, Camaro, 6.019, 235.84; 3. Melanie Troxel, Corvette, 5.888, 246.57 vs. 14. Chip King, Dodge Daytona, 6.017, 236.46; 4. Burton Auxier, Camaro, 5.905, 240.25 vs. 13. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 6.007, 238.68; 5. Mike Knowles, Corvette, 5.909, 244.60 vs. 12. Joe Baker, Pontiac Firebird, 6.003, 242.02; 6. Kenny Lang, Corvette, 5.924, 241.24 vs. 11. Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 5.998, 216.34; 7. Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 5.925, 244.29 vs. 10. Tony Pontieri, Camaro, 5.957, 241.07; 8. Michael Gullqvist, Camaro, 5.933, 244.47 vs. 9. Tim Tindle, Shelby Mustang, 5.953, 239.95. Did Not Qualify: 17. Mike Janis, 6.230, 233.84; 18. Von Smith, 6.380, 236.13; 19. Rick Distefano, 7.038, 220.62; 20. Brad Personett, 7.102, 145.06; 21. Raymond Commisso, 8.096, 117.09; 22. Danny Rowe, 8.178, 118.52; 23. Dennis Radford, 8.223, 133.29; 24. Mike Castellana, 9.813, 87.51; 25. Scott Ray, 10.367, 83.97.
First-round results for the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series:
Roger Burgess, 5.824, 246.80 def. Adam Flamholc, ccl; Michael Gullqvist, 5.852, 248.84 def. Tim Tindle, 6.030, 207.02; Burton Auxier, 5.898, 240.12 def. Rickie Smith, 5.937, 238.76; Joe Baker, 5.956, 232.35 def. Mike Knowles, 5.913, 246.80; Jay Payne, 5.809, 244.87 def. Ed Hoover, 5.893, 244.25; Khalid Balooshi, 5.916, 244.03 def. Tony Pontieri, 5.877, 246.30; Melanie Troxel, 5.901, 247.70 def. Chip King, 5.945, 241.41; Ken Lang, 5.860, 244.92 def. Troy Coughlin, 17.248, 45.98.
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FRIDAY - PAYNE LEADS PRO MOD QUALIFYING AT NHRA GATORS
Veteran driver Jay Payne raced to the qualifying lead Friday at Gainesville Raceway in the debut of the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.Payne, of Ontario, Calif., covered the quarter-mile distance in 5.887 seconds at 241.28 mph in his supercharged 1968 Camaro, which is tuned by Brad Anderson.
Payne, who has 36 career NHRA victories in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car competition, will try to earn his first official Pro Mod victory Sunday when Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals eliminations begin for NHRA’s newest national touring series. Payne has seven wins in NHRA Pro Mod exhibition racing.
“It was absolutely awesome,” Payne said. “There's going to be more rubber on the track tomorrow, which is going to make it better for the guys who run in front of me. If it makes it better for them, it makes it better for us. We just have to make the power to race with them. I really didn't drive it good, but I'm not going to complain because it went real fast. There was room for improvements on my end, because it was dark and I was really amped up.”
Melanie Troxel, who also is competing in Funny Car at this event, was second in her In-N-Out ’63 Corvette with a 5.888 at 236.71. Mike Knowles powered his ’63 Corvette to the third spot with a 5.909 at 244.60.
Qualifying continues Saturday with two sessions for Sunday’s eliminations.
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Friday’s qualifying results for the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series from the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
1. Jay Payne, Chevy Camaro, 5.887, 241.28; 2. Melanie Troxel, Chevy Corvette, 5.888, 236.71; 3. Mike Knowles, Corvette, 5.909, 244.60; 4. Kenny Lang, Corvette, 5.924, 241.24; 5. Michael Gullqvist, Camaro, 5.933, 244.47; 6. Tony Pontieri, Camaro, 5.957, 241.07; 7. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 6.007, 236.88; 8. Chip King, Dodge Daytona, 6.017, 236.46; 9. Ed Hoover, Camaro, 6.019, 235.84; 10. Tim Tindle, Shelby Mustang, 6.044, 236.13; 11. Roger Burgess, Corvette, 6.423, 239.40; 12. Joe Baker, Pontiac Firebird, 6.974, 148.28; 13. Brad Personett, Camaro, 7.102, 145.06; 14. Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 7.548, 113.98; 15. Rick Distefano, Camaro, 8.492, 108.87; 16. Adam Flamholc, Camaro, 8.740, 107.87. Not Qualified: 17. Dennis Radford, 10.140, 88.76; 18. Mike Castellana, 10.313, 85.22; 19. Von Smith, 10.829, 76.38; 20. Mike Janis, 11.074, 82.71; 21. Raymond Commisso, 11.184, 77.16; 22. Danny Rowe, 11.509, 69.82; 23. Troy Coughlin, broke; 24. Scott Ray, broke; 25. Burton Auxier, broke.
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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK
A DREAM COME TRUE - After a decade of existence as an exhibition class, the Pro Mod cars are now a fully sanctioned NHRA class, and team owner/driver Roger Burgess 
couldn't be happier.
"A lot of people contributed a lot of time and effort to make this happen," Burgess said. "By becoming an official class it legitimizes everything we've been doing. Racing for Wally (trophies) is going to be very exciting. Everyone wants one of those little gold men. They are the NHRA's iconic symbol of success.
"Being on ESPN2 also will help tremendously, especially with bringing corporate sponsors to the table for all of our competitors. This is big year for us."
Since the announcement of the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, the requests for a spot in the elite field have gone off the charts.
"It's a historic time for Pro Mods and we've been overwhelmed with requests from teams that want to take part in the series," Burgess said. "The NHRA was kind enough to push our number of entries for Gainesville from 24 to 28 and we still have several more wanting in."
Burgess himself will be among the drivers looking to claim the first Wally at the 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals starting Friday at Gainesville Raceway.
"We have a brand-new '67 Camaro we wanted to use in 2010 but it hasn't tested very well so we've decided to start the season in one of last year's cars, a '63 Corvette," he said. "We obviously still have quite a bit of confidence in that car. We'll get the new one figured out and have it on track as soon as it's ready.
"If the weather cooperates, we could see the first all five-second field at this track. Every car on the entry list has run in the fives and half have run 5.8s. The fans are in for a treat."
When not at the racetrack, Burgess manages several businesses, which he says makes the downtime between seasons go quickly. But once the calendar gets close, the owner and founder of ProCare Rx and R2B2 Motors says he takes steps to get in a racing frame of mind.
"When the off-season first arrives you have to kind of forget about driving if you can," Burgess said. "When I'm out of the car I have a lot of other interests to keep me occupied so it's not too tough to get through it all.
"When the season gets closer I begin training. I do a lot of visualization. I'll try to remember the best run we've ever made and just relive it over and over in my mind. You want to train yourself to instinctively do all the things that make it a good run."
Part of that instinct is to get the feel for what it's going to be like on race day.
"I put my firesuit on at the shop and just wear it around," Burgess said. "It's important to be as comfortable as possible in your gear so I'll wear it until I realize I forgot I was wearing it, then I know I'm used to having it on.
"We have a practice tree as well. It doesn't replicate the car completely, and it certainly doesn't react like the car, but it keeps you mentally sharp and gets your mind to focus.
"We've got a big season ahead of us. It's about to start and we're all very excited. I can't wait to fire up the car on Friday."
Smith is ready to challenge for the NHRA's first official "professional" Pro Modified championship.
“Honestly, I couldn’t be more excited to be back racing in the NHRA,” said Von Smith, former TAFC racer who now races a Pro Modified 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. “We’ve been honored to be able to race and contend for a championship on behalf of Sheikh Khalid and Al-Anabi Racing in the Arabian Gulf Region, but we’re happy to be back racing on our home soil and are hopeful we can see the same degree of success here in the United States.”
When Pro Mod was announced as an official professional division, he knew he needed to be a part of the NHRA's historic first class.
“With the announcement at the end of last year’s season that the NHRA was going to consider Pro Modified an official class, we knew we had to be a part of it," Smith said. "I don’t think there is any denying that the cars, drivers and crew chiefs that make up this GSA NHRA Pro Mod Series represent the best in the world and that’s where we want to be – competing against the best of the best.”
The Oak Ridge, Tennessee-based team’s pre-season testing has been limited, though, as they spent what is considered the off-season in America competing in the Arabian Drag Racing League’s Pro Extreme division overseas. Barwa Racing’s legendary crew chief, Howard Moon, is no stranger to the winner’s circle and has quickly re-acclimated himself to the “legal” tune-up that earned him four world championships and rights to the NHRA Pro Mod Crew Chief of the Year award in 2005/2006.
CHAMP OVER "THERE" HOPE TO BE CHAMP HERE - Fresh off his world championship run at the top level of National Muscle Car 
Association competition, veteran drag racer Troy Coughlin will return to Pro Mod in 2010 beginning this weekend.
Coughlin realized a dream in '09 when he mastered the NMCA's Pro Street category. Looking for a new challenge, he elected to build a JEGS.com '68 Camaro and return to a class he's raced in the past, most recently in 2007. The move was largely precipitated by NHRA's decision to make Pro Mod a competition class. In the past, it was run as an exhibition category.
"The chance to race for a Wally is the talk of the Pro Mod community right now," said Coughlin, who already owns several of the little gold statues from previous wins in Pro Stock, Super Gas, and Super Comp. "We're excited to race Pro Mod again. It's a wild category and it's really gotten quick in the last few years. I can't wait to get started."
Unlike year's past when he raced a supercharged machine, Coughlin has made the move to NOS power, which he admits took some adjustment time.
"It really gets up and goes with the NOS power adder," he said. "We had a lot to test but our time in Bradenton (Fla.) really paid off for us. Not only did we have a new car to figure out but we had a new driver in the sense I had never driven a NOS car before. It's something that takes a little time to adjust to."
Coughlin leaned heavily on crew chief "Tricky Rickie" Smith, a multi-time world champion who joined the JEGS team in the off-season.
"Rickie's blended right into the team," said Coughlin, the Pro Stock runner-up in Gainesville in 2000. "His knowledge of Pro Mod cars is unequalled and the fact he can jump in the car and drive it himself is a real plus. Since he has driven these cars for so long, he really knows what I'm saying when I talk about a run.
"With Rickie on the motors, Brian (Metzenheim) has been able to focus all his time on the chassis, and Clint (Allerton) and Mike (Rees) have been workhorses, as usual. I really like this team and I think we're all expecting big things."
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THURSDAY: RAYMOND COMMISSO IS THE QUICKEST-EVER IN A DOORSLAMMER
Running the quickest lap ever in doorslammer drag racing history certainly makes Canadian racer Raymond Commissoo the man to beat this season in 
GSA NHRA Pro Modified competition. This season marks the first time in nearly a decade the Pro Modified division will race minus the "exhibition" label.
Commisso topped his Monday afternoon 5.809 elapsed time with a 5.78, 252.57 pass in testing at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga.
Since joining R2B2 Racing full-time, Commisso has gone from a freewheeling and mostly underfunded independent to a well-supported professional driver and his performances on the racetrack have taken a noticeable upturn. He currently holds the national elapsed time record of 5.881 seconds and has recorded the quickest run in history at 5.817 seconds. People are starting to take notice.
"Always before I have been the underdog when I’ve been drag racing," Commisso said. "I’ve always had a low budget and never had the best of everything, but I loved to race – that’s why I kept doing it.
"Now it’s the other way around. I pull into the park and I know I’m one of the top cars around. I know I can go out there and qualify No. 1 and win races. Being connected with Roger has been the greatest thing in my career."
Now a front-runner, Commisso enjoys his new status.
"I want everybody to bring their A-game to every race because I always being mine," he said. "I like the pressure; it makes me perform better.
"This weekend will be the toughest competition of my racing career. The best of the best are going to show up for this one. Whoever wins will deserve it because there will be no slouches out there with all the heavy-hitting teams on the entry list."
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