Pro Modified teams from across the U.S. and Canada return to Empire Dragway this weekend for a two-day event featuring the Quick 32 Sportsman Series and Pro Bike & Sled Series. The eighth-mile race runs July 18-19 with qualifying beginning Friday evening.
Pro Mods are expected to surpass 200 mph with drivers including Melanie Salemi, Johnny Camp, Steve King, Jay Santos, Mike Decker Jr., Mike Decker III, Mike Stawicki, Jack Grainy, Jason Kalso, Sal Cammisuli, Don Klooster, Claude St. Maurice, Robert Bauer, John Vergotz and Robert Bingham. Full fields are also expected in Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, and Pro Bike & Sled.
Notable Top Dragster entries include Brett Bennett, Craig Chadderdon, Buddy Forrest, Mike Kalin, Burt Lyon, Tony Platania, Cody Reome, Mark Romanofsky, Tyler Rudolph, Lucas Salemi, Ron Wightman, Art Cioffi, John Vergotz Jr. III, Ryan Harris and Shawna Woudstra.
Top Sportsman drivers set to compete include Charlie Emler, Dan Germano, Gary Grahner, Matt Gregoire, Jennifer Guenther, Bobby Jaus Sr., Tony Madonia, Gary O’Connell, Allan Runions II, Tom Simone, Bill Stevens, Ron Szewczyk, Bryan Borders, Dave Burchell, Luke DeJonge, Dustin Gabel, Mike Wagg and Kayden Wicke.
The Pro Bike & Sled Series will feature Ontario racers Josie Brooks and Jim Bernier alongside Lee Burgess of Pennsylvania. New York-based competitors include Josh Costa, Peter Edwards, Haley Feher, Brandon MacCombie, Dick Nearhoof, Mike Puglia, Joel Rivera, Kevin Sutliffe, Tom Varney, Brian Baker, Ron Dean, Bob Salerno, Nichole Albin and Clayton Knicely.
Gates open at 8 a.m. both days, with qualifying starting Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m. Eliminations are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, and camping is available for the weekend.
Charlie Rudolph leads the Quick 32 Sportsman Series points standings with 338, followed by Doug Lynden (314), Brian Werner (297), Art Cioffi (297), and Dan Germano (280).
Brian Babiak tops the Pro Bike & Sled Series standings with 315 points, trailed by Haley Feher (295), Ken Babiak Jr. (280), and Brian Baker (278). Both series continue their championship seasons at Empire Dragway with events scheduled Aug. 15-16 and Sept. 12-13.
Live streaming of the weekend’s action will be available on YouTube and via StandbackPerformance.com, which also hosts track webcams and weather updates.
Fans can follow event updates on Facebook at Pro Modified Racing Association, Quick 32 Sportsman Series, Pro Bike & Sled Series, and EmpireDragway.com.
