NHRA U.S. NATIONALS - PRO MODIFIED NOTEBOOK

Keep up with this weekend's AMS Pro Modified action in Indianapolis by reading our behind-the-scenes event notebook. We will bring you the stories behind the numbers and win-lights throughout the course of the weekend. Tune in daily for the latest news from the pits.

Laird wins his first ever at the U.S. Nationals

It was billed as the best AMS Pro Mod Challenge race ever, the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, and Harold Laird made his very first AMS Pro Mod event win even more memorable by defeating defending event champion and current points leader Josh Hernandez.

In just his third start of the season and the first time he's made it past the first round this season, Laird definitely brought his "A" game to Indy. Qualifying lucky No. 13 with a 6.195/230.69, Laird delivered a strong performance throughout eliminations, defeating defending World Champion Jay Payne in the first round, Mike Knowles in the second, and John Russo by a holeshot in the semifinals.

Getting to the finals to face Laird, Josh Hernandez and his Dr. Moon's Rage '68 Camaro dispatched nitrous-powered Mike Castellana in round one, Shelly Payne and her Brad Anderson-tuned '68 Camaro, and O'Reilly Raceway Park speed record setter Steve Engel. Engel ran a blistering 242.15 mph in eliminations to take the track record bragging rights.

In the final round, Hernandez selected the right lane to face the charging Laird, and with nearly identical reaction times (.051 to Hernandez' .055), the two fought a classic side-by-side battle, with the Baton Rouge-resident Laird defeating the defending champion at the line, 6.102/235.72 to 6.124/237.84.

"This means so much to me, I can't even think of the words," an ecstatic Laird said. "We've struggled so hard just to get out here, and to have this kind of success is un-imaginable. It really makes all the work worth it, and I couldn't be happier.

"It's not just another race, it's the U.S. Nationals, and to win my first race here is just awesome," he said.

Hernandez said, "We were really hoping to defend last year's title but Harold really gave us quite a race. I'm so proud of my team for getting Tommy Lipar Racing and Dr. Moon's RAGE to the finals for the third straight year at the U.S. Nationals."

Other notable events of the weekend were surprise DNQ's by No. 2 in BAE Championship points Raymond Commisso, along with series presenting sponsor Tim Tindle and his teammate Rick Stivers. Both cars struggled to get down the track in the tricky hot conditions. Also not qualifying were turbo-powered Mike Moran and Troy Coughlin.

Coughlin said, "We came into the race knowing we needed to increase our wheel speed down low and we accomplished that without question. We just need to control it now and we'll do that through chassis adjustments and utilizing different gear ratios.

"We're doing something, or trying to do something, that no one has ever done before, so every run is progress in my mind. We came here to get in the field and race for the trophy and we missed that goal. But, we did get to make some big runs down a track that is prepared to NHRA specifications for a national event. That's what it takes to get better," he said.

Next up on the schedule for the AMS Pro Mod Challenge presented by Tindle Enterprises, Inc. is the O'Reilly Fall Nationals Sept. 20-23 in Ennis, Texas, just outside of Dallas.

BAE Championship Points Standings (after 7 events)

1. Josh     Hernandez     3566
2. Raymond     Commisso     2053
3. Jay     Payne     1850
4. Tony     Pontieri     1547
5. Tim     Tindle     1432
6. Troy     Critchley     1356
7. Steve     Engel     1337
8. Shelly     Payne     1015
9. Scott     Ray     989
10. Mike     Janis     850
11. Doug     Palmer     841
12. Scott     Cannon     801
13. Harold     Laird     785
14. John     Russo     767
15. Rick     Stivers     679
16. Matt     Hagan     653
17. Bryan     Seward     613
18. Dan     Rowe     597
19. Mike     Stawicki     520
20. Cody     Barklage     516
21. Troy     Coughlin     404
22. Tommy     Gray     394
23. Mike     Knowles     361
24. Mike     Bell     330
25. Zach     Barklage     283
26. Eddie     Ware     279
27. Raymond     Vettel     279
28. Andy     McCoy     254
29. Chip     King     185
30. Shannon     Jenkins     131
31. Brandon     Pesz     130
32. Joe     Mulligan     129
33. Mike     Castellana     127
34. Quain     Stott     126
35. Gene     Terenzio     25
36. Dan     Saitz     25
37. Isaias     Rojas     25
38. William     Rojas     25
39. Mike     Moran     25
40. Angel     Garcia     25
41. John     Deflorian     25