EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK GSA PRO MODS POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND  FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - PRUETT WINS FINAL 2011 NHRA GSA PM RACE

Leah Pruett raced to her second consecutive win as the 2011 NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Season came to an end Sunday at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas.

Pruett powered her ProCare Rx ’10 Mustang to a 5.910-second run at 253.04 mph, past Danny Rowe to pick up her second win of the season in her first full season in the category.

“Mission definitely accomplished,” said Pruett. “I think we ran Las Vegas out of its luck. This car is non-stop. This race is where the crew stood out. This R2B2 Mustang does have problems sometimes, but when you have the best crew in the world, that’s how you win. They shined through the thrashes we had to go through between the rounds.”

World champion Khalid Balooshi, who was crowned yesterday following his first round win over Mike Janis, lost in the second round to No. 1 qualifier and defending event winner Brad Personett. Personett was unable to get around championship runner-up Rowe in the semifinal round.


1.  Leah Pruett; 2.  Danny Rowe; 3.  Melanie Troxel; 4.  Brad Personett; 5.  Donald Martin; 6. Khalid Balooshi; 7.  Pete Farber; 8.  Jay Payne; 9.  Kenny Lang; 10.  Mike Janis; 11.  Clint Hairston; 12.  Adam Flamholc; 13.  Joe Lepone Jr; 14.  Rickie Smith; 15.  Dennis Radford; 16.  Troy Coughlin.

Final Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series round-by-round results from the 11th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the race is the final of ten events in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

ROUND ONE -- Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang, 13.665, 59.46 def. Joe Lepone Jr, Chevy Camaro, foul; Melanie Troxel, Chevy Corvette, 5.935, 253.56 def. Clint Hairston, Pontiac GTO, 6.045, 245.18; Jay Payne, Camaro, 5.983, 240.68 def. Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 11.210, 99.54; Donald Martin, Camaro, 5.946, 244.12 def. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 7.376, 131.34; Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 5.956, 240.59 def. Mike Janis, Mustang, 6.037, 238.09; Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 6.030, 241.93 def. Kenny Lang, Camaro, foul; Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.961, 243.06 def. Dennis Radford, Plymouth Duster, 9.758, 92.16; Brad Personett, Camaro, 5.967, 247.75 def. Adam Flamholc, Camaro, 6.071, 236.67;

QUARTERFINALS -- Pruett, 5.927, 249.95 def. Farber, 6.152, 237.38; Rowe, 5.960, 243.19 def. Payne, foul; Personett, 5.956, 251.72 def. Balooshi, 6.007, 241.32; Troxel, 5.908, 253.66 def. Martin, 5.956, 243.19;

SEMIFINALS -- Rowe, 5.977, 243.46 def. Personett, broke; Pruett, 5.897, 251.20 def. Troxel, 5.892, 253.85;

FINAL -- Pruett, 5.910, 253.04 def. Rowe, 5.940, 243.55.

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series following the 11th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the race is the final of ten events in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.


1.  Khalid Balooshi, 662; 2.  Danny Rowe, 631; 3.  Melanie Troxel, 513; 4.  Kenny Lang, 483; 5. Rickie Smith, 472; 6.  Mike Janis, 441; 7.  Mike Castellana, 432; 8.  Ed Hoover, 414; 9.  Jay Payne, 411; 10.  Dennis Radford, 405.

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - BALOOSHI CAPTURES SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP

Khalid Balooshi won the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing world championship Saturday at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas.

Balooshi clinched his first world championship and the $50,000 champion’s prize when he powered his Speedtech ’68 Camaro to a 5.956-seconds at 240.59 mph past Mike Janis in the first round of eliminations.

“This was such a great season for us,” said Balooshi. “I appreciate everyone who’s worked with us, our team, my team owner and everyone involved. I had such an amazing year and this just tops it off. I’m very excited.”

Balooshi’s world championship-winning season included race wins in Gainesville and the Las Vegas spring race, a final round appearance in Houston, and No. 1 qualifiers in Gainesville, and Atlanta.

While Balooshi clinched his world championship today, defending event winner Brad Personett raced to the No. 1 qualifying position, then advanced to the second round of eliminations. Personett powered his ’68 Camaro to a 5.848 at 256.70 to take the top spot in the category, then drove past Adam Flamholc in the first round of eliminations. Personett and Balooshi will meet in the second round as eliminations continue Sunday.


Saturday's first-round pairings for the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series eliminations for the 11th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The final of ten events in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Pro Modified -- 1. Brad Personett, Chevy Camaro, 5.848, 256.70  vs. 16. Adam Flamholc, Camaro, 6.117, 235.72; 2. Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang, 5.855, 252.24  vs. 15. Joe Lepone Jr, Camaro, 6.095, 236.22; 3. Melanie Troxel, Chevy Corvette, 5.897, 253.66  vs. 14. Clint Hairston, Pontiac GTO, 6.077, 243.72; 4. Jay Payne, Camaro, 5.918, 242.50  vs. 13. Scott Ray, Corvette, 6.040, 237.17; 5. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.919, 244.25  vs. 12. Dennis Radford, Plymouth Duster, 6.026, 232.35; 6. Donald Martin, Camaro, 5.924, 244.78  vs. 11. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 6.013, 237.05; 7. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 5.964, 244.03  vs. 10. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.001, 241.41; 8. Mike Janis, Mustang, 5.994, 239.31  vs. 9. Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 5.996, 238.85.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Troy Coughlin, 6.119, 246.03; 18. Mike Knowles, 6.142, 238.13; 19. Steve Matusek, 6.320, 239.27; 20. Chip King, 8.112, 119.25; 21. Roger Burgess, 8.450, 150.43.

 

Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series first round-by-round results from the 11th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the final of ten events in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series:

ROUND ONE -- Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang, 13.665, 59.46 def. Joe Lepone Jr, Chevy Camaro, foul; Melanie Troxel, Chevy Corvette, 5.935, 253.56 def. Clint Hairston, Pontiac GTO, 6.045, 245.18; Jay Payne, Camaro, 5.983, 240.68 def. Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 11.210, 99.54; Donald Martin, Camaro, 5.946, 244.12 def. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 7.376, 131.34; Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 5.956, 240.59 def. Mike Janis, Mustang, 6.037, 238.09; Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 6.030, 241.93 def. Kenny Lang, Camaro, foul; Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.961, 243.06 def. Dennis Radford, Plymouth Duster, 9.758, 92.16; Brad Personett, Camaro, 5.967, 247.75 def. Adam Flamholc, Camaro, 6.071, 236.67.


FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - PRUETT LEADS FRIDAY VEGAS PM QUALIFYING

Leah Pruett raced to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position Friday in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Pruett, who picked up her first win of the season at the previous race in Charlotte, drove her ProCare Rx ’10 Mustang to a 5.855-second pass at 252.24 mph to take the provisional top spot. If it stands, it would be her first No. 1 qualifier in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Pruett’s teammate Melanie Troxel sits in the provisional second spot after two rounds of qualifying, putting both R2B2 Racing cars at the top of the provisional field.

“I definitely think it’s a great day for R2B2,” said Pruett. “We’re still No. 1. It’s a little bit different than Charlotte. In the second qualifying session there Melanie got ahead of me. But we both knew that we were going to pump up these cars and in that session the track got quite a bit better. I don’t know if we’ll see that for qualifying tomorrow. It should be good, but not as good as this.”

Current points leader Khalid Balooshi is in the provisional seventh spot with a run of 6.019 at 238.43, while second-place driver Danny Rowe currently sits in the provisional third spot with a run of 5.919 at 244.25.

Qualifying continues Saturday at 10:30 a.m., with the first round of eliminations beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eliminations continue on Sunday.

Friday's Get Screened America Pro Mod Series results after the first two of three rounds of qualifying for the 11th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Saturday's final eliminations.

Pro Modified -- 1. Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang, 5.855, 252.24; 2. Melanie Troxel, Chevy Corvette, 5.897, 253.28; 3. Danny Rowe, Chevy Camaro, 5.919, 244.25; 4. Mike Janis, Mustang, 5.994, 239.31; 5. Brad Personett, Camaro, 5.996, 254.81; 6. Jay Payne, Camaro, 6.015, 240.64; 7. Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 6.019, 238.43; 8. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.020, 240.12; 9. Dennis Radford, Plymouth Duster, 6.026, 232.35; 10. Donald Martin, Camaro, 6.027, 242.50; 11. Scott Ray, Corvette, 6.040, 237.17; 12. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 6.042, 241.15; 13. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 6.049, 234.00; 14.
Clint Hairston, Pontiac GTO, 6.077, 243.72; 15. Adam Flamholc, Camaro, 6.241, 196.13; 16. Joe Lepone Jr, Camaro, 6.292, 224.96.  Not Qualified: 17. Troy Coughlin, 6.355, 234.66; 18. Mike Knowles, 6.785, 227.65; 19. Chip King, 8.112, 119.25; 20. Roger Burgess, 8.450, 150.43; 21. Steve Matusek, 9.497, 129.33.

IN CHAMPIONSHIP MODE - Ask any drag racer and he or she will tell you that winning rounds is the key to winning races.

But for Pro Mod driver Danny Rowe, winning or losing rounds doesn’t just mean the difference between winning or losing a race. For the driver currently sitting second in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series point standings, it equates to the difference in winning and losing a world championship.

As the series makes its final stop of the 2011 season, the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals, Oct. 27-30 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Rowe sits 55 points, just five points shy of three round wins, behind points leader Khalid Balooshi. For Rowe, those are round wins that determine whether he’s hoisting the world championship trophy over his head in Las Vegas or finishing runner-up for the second consecutive season.

“We need a little bit of luck on our side, that’s for sure,” said Rowe. “If he qualifies and wins first round, we’re done. If he loses first round, then we have a chance if we can win the race. We may get it, but it’s definitely going to be a big challenge, that’s for sure.”

Rowe is all too familiar with the current situation. After a first round loss at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, Rowe could only sit back and watch as Von Smith clinched the 2010 world title when he took the green light in the first round of eliminations in Las Vegas.

“We all worked very, very hard last year and this year is no exception,” said Rowe. “We’ve tried to stay competitive all year long with all these other cars. It’s a challenge and we don’t want to think that we’re going to sit back and accept the No. 2 spot. We’re definitely chasing the championship.”

Rowe knows that he has a fighting chance to take the points lead away from Balooshi and race to his first world championship. In the last five races Rowe has collected three final round appearances including a win at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J. in comparison to Balooshi, whose best finish in the past five races was a semifinal round loss to Rowe in Bristol. It is this hot streak that Rowe hopes will help propel him into the points lead.

“We know we have a good car and a good program and have all year,” said Rowe. “Obviously there are variables that make it a challenge, but our program has been consistent all season long and we know we have to run our own race. After that, you just have to sit back and let the cards fall where they will.”

Rowe will have plenty of competition for the race win in the Pro Mod category as the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series makes its final stop of the 2011 season. The R2B2 team of Melanie Troxel and Leah Pruett have dominated the class and raced to a combined two wins in the past four races, while fifth place driver Mike Castellana is hoping to collect his third race win of the season.