PMRA Product Progression                                     

By:       Bruce Biegler

 Let there be no doubt, Eastern Canada’s Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA) has, as the saying goes — got it going.   That very notion was there for everyone to see last weekend during a rather rousing event held at Cayuga Dragway, Toronto Motorsports Park, that circuit’s first racing event of the 2010 season.

 The PMRA has come a long way since its inception back in 2005, and the product, the quantity and the quality of racing continues to progress nicely.  While there may still be an absence of regular 5-secs elapsed times and bigger name PM drivers, the circuit is busy carving out its own niche and that is just fine with the Canadian paying public.

 Last weekend’s Victoria Day Feature event got off to a rather troubled start when rain frustrated both racers and fans all day Saturday.  Not a wheel turned.   Thus Sunday’s modified and compacted schedule included two qualifiers for the Pro Mod cars and for their Quick 32 supporting staff, before heading straight into eliminations.   All that kept things at a rather feverish pitch.  For those patient fans who attended, the end result was one of the most entertaining single days in the history of drag racing in Ontario.  

Fast improving driver Eric Latino was a winner in Pro Mod

 Eric Latino, who began to show vast improvement last year, (including winning the PM feature during the CSCN in August) was impressive again while winning.

 The racer, who is based from Port Perry Ontario, drives one of the coolest cars anywhere, a supercharged ’38 Chevy Coupe, which has migrated and evolved from some previous owners.

 Latino qualified 5^th, over a field of 18 hopefuls and then mowed down the field using consistency.  His final round run of 6.471 secs at 206.48 mph beat out class new comer Derek Hawker who enjoyed a great PMRA debut driving his ’63 Vette.  Hawker’s “fairly tale” event effort came up just short with a losing 6.519 secs in the final.

 “We had a good day,” said Latino, who is closely associated with Tony Pontieri’s NHRA PM racing program. “We played it safe — we were consistent, and the car went down the track every single pass.”

 Low ET of the event went to New York’s Mike Stawicki who ran his all new ADRL targeted Firebird to a 6.175 secs to pace the field.   Canada’s Jeff Roth set top speed of the race at 235.84 mph while taking his immaculate ’41 Willys to the semi final round.

Derek Hawker '63 Vette Ran Well

 In total there were 18 Pro Mod cars that attempted qualifying runs for the 8 available elimination slots.  However it’s important to note that in fact there were 21 cars on site, some for testing an licensing.   That total is a great measure of the overall health of the PMRA and holds well for future events.

 The event did include some thrills and oddities too.  Ike Maier clipped the top end wall during his first qualifier and badly damaged the potent ’63 Corvette he runs in conjunction with Kirk Silberman.  Maier was not injured in that incident thankfully.   The event’s DNQ list also included names like Bruce Boland (3X and reigning PMRA champion) as well as the usually hard running cars campaigned by Canadian’s Mark Nielsen and Gary Irving.

 The event’s Quick 32 Sportsman Series, which is presented by NAPA Auto Parts for 2010, saw Paolo Guist best a large field.   Guist first won in Top Dragster and then covered Top Sportsman class winner Steve Corriveau for the overall Q32 title.

In that race, both Guist and Corriveau had identical reaction times (.036) but Guist, who is from Osgoode, ON, ran closer to his dial in at 7.019 secs 184.75 mph.

Mike Stawicki set Low ET and top speed...

 To view DragRaceCanada Photo Gallery from this race click: HERE

 (Bruce Biegler Photos)

PMRA Victoria Day Classic – May 22-23, 2010  Cayuga Ontario

Latino Prevails @ PMRA Opener

Pro Mod Winner: Eric Latino

It was a close race, but Eric Latino won the opening round of the 2010 Pro Modified Racing Association season.

 Held on the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario, Latino, of Port Perry, Ontario, won with a 6.47-second, 206-mph pass over Derek Hawker of Corbyville Ontario with a 6.51-second, 215 mph run.

The win was the first PMRA race for Latino and his 1938 Chevy Coupe.  For Hawker, driving his Atchison powered 1963 Corvette; it was his first race in PMRA competition. 

Latino qualified fifth in the field, and Hawker qualified in sixth spot.

 “We had a good day,” said Latino after the race, which opened the sixth season of PMRA racing. “We played it safe. We were consistent, and the car went down the track every single pass.”

In the semi-finals, Jeff Roth of New Dundee, Ontario, lost the combination with his 1941 Willys, losing traction and the round to Hawker. In the other semi, Dave Kulik Jr of East Aurora, New York with his 1967 Camaro lost to Latino.

Several PMRA regulars failed to qualify for the season opener, including three-time and reigning champion Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario, Mark Nielsen of Brantford, Ontario, and Mike Cusimano of Rochester, New York. 

Boland was having problems getting his new 1963 Corvette set up, Nielsen had difficulties adjusting to the new Bruno automatic transmission in his 1968 Camaro, and the 1994 Corvette of Cusimano was having traction problems.

Last year’s Cayuga event winner, Ike Maier of Tottenham, Ontario, did qualifying number three in the eight-car field, but clipped the wall on his run and could not continue.

A record number of 21 entries were at Cayuga for the event. 

While Roth took out Gary Mater of Petrolia, Ontario with his twin-turbo 1938 Chevy, other first round losers included multi-time PMRA event winner Mike Stawicki of Medina, New York, who led the qualifying, winning the Marydel Homes – Qualifying Bonus with a 6.175-second pass; Dave Earhart of Strathroy, Ontario; and Sam Andreacchi of Toronto, Ontario.

In the Quick 32 Sportsman Series event presented by NAPA Auto Parts of 2010, Paolo Giust bested a large field to win in his Top Dragster over the Top Sportsman car of Steve Corriveau.

(Bruce Biegler Photo)

ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III –  May 21-22^nd, 2010  Petersburg, VA

Al-Anabi Cars Dominate ADRL VMP

The American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Speedtech U.S. Drags III marked only the second ADRL race of KH Al-Thani’s career, but in a Pro Extreme class loaded with top talent on a record-breaking weekend, it was the Qatar native who proved to be the quickest learner.

Al-Thani didn’t set any time or speed records with his supercharged 1968 Camaro on the eighth mile at Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP) on Saturday, but he did emerge as the most consistent Pro Extreme competitor, knocking off Joshua Hernandez in the championship round in front of a near-capacity crowd.

Al-Thani’s Al-Anabi Racing teammate Shannon Jenkins also won in Pro Nitrous, Gary White of Titan Motorsports prevailed in the Extreme 10.5 final, Brian Gahm successfully defended his 2009 Extreme Pro Stock event title and Ashley Owens scored his second consecutive Pro Extreme Motorcycle win. 

After qualifying second, Al-Thani knocked off veteran Brian Daniels, rookie Mick Snyder, and former two-time class champion Jason Scruggs to reach Hernandez, the winningest driver in Pro Extreme, in the final round.

Al-Thani turned in a strong 3.65-seconds pass at 210.60 mph to beat the 4.00 at 183.22 mph by Hernandez, who had to pedal his Fight Me MMA (mixed Martial Arts)-backed ’57 Chevy to regain traction.

Al-Thani, the 2009-10 Arabian Drag Racing League Pro Extreme champion, said having teammates like crew chief Frank Manzo and newcomers to the team, Tim and Kim Richards, were critical to his success.

“They’ve made a big difference,” Al-Thani said of the Richards’ tuning contribution. “You wouldn’t believe how many things they’ve changed on the car.”

Pro Extreme qualifying included a surprise pole sitter when Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor made the quickest run in “doorslammer” history to pace the field.

Taylor, an automotive repair shop owner from Dickinson, Texas, covered the VMP eighth mile with his supercharged 2005 Corvette in 3.60 seconds at 208.71 mph to edge the 3.64 at 210.97 combination by His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar for the top spot.

P/N Final - Smith Vs Jenkins

After celebrating his 56th birthday and the top qualifying spot on Friday, Jenkins followed up with a consistent performance on raceday that included overcoming a holeshot by Steve Vick in round one, winning with his own holeshot over Jim Halsey in round two and outrunning Al-Anabi teammate Burton Auxier in the semi-finals.

That set up an entertaining side-by-side race against “Tricky Rickie” Smith in the final round that began with the Pro Nitrous legends engaging in a short staging duel before Jenkins, known as “The Iceman,” left with the starting-line advantage, then went 3.89 at 194.27 mph in his ’68 Camaro to beat Smith’s 3.95 at 188.83 in a similar ride and earn his first ADRL win in 10 months.

“Rickie’s always going to do what Rickie does,” the Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based driver said of his longtime rival making him wait on the line. “But that’s okay; I just do what I always do, too. It’s fun to race against him.”

In Extreme 10.5, New Market, Alabama’s Gary White emerged as the Speedtech U.S. Drags III champ, having beaten Dwayne Wolfe, David Hance, Jeff Naiser and Todd Moyer, setting low elapsed time (ET) of each round along the way.

In the final, Moyer made his best pass of the day with a game 4.03 at 194.55, but White left with a sizeable holeshot and set low ET of the meet for the class with a 3.95 run at 186.74 mph in his turbocharged, six-cylinder 2007 Scion.

“My guys have the Titan car running so well right now they’ve made it easy for me,” said White, who started from the second qualifying position. “It’s really a pleasure to drive it right now.”

Gahm, from Lucasville, Ohio, qualified his Extreme Pro Stock ’07 Mustang in the seventh position, then led stripe-to-stripe over every one of his opponents, including Cale Aronson, Dean Goforth, John Montecalvo and Cary Goforth in the final.

In a classic Ford vs. Chevy showdown, Gahm left first, then won with a 4.10 pass at 175.07 to Goforth’s 4.12 at 175.57 mph in his ’08 Cobalt.

“That’s fun to do,” Gahm stated. “There are so many great teams out here that it really gets you up on the wheel to race every one of them. This is the best racing of its kind anywhere in the world.”

Owens, of Decatur, Alabama, did almost exactly as he did at the ADRL’s previous race last month in Georgia, only this time he left with not only the race win and a new ET record; he reset the official Pro Extreme Motorcycle speed record, too.

After qualifying his Fast by Gast 2010 Suzuki on top with a then-record 4.06 pass, Owens cruised past Derrick Holloway and Eric McKinney before officially lowering the class elapsed time mark to 4.05 in a semi-final win over Kim Morrell, who earlier in the day had become the ADRL’s quickest and fastest female bike rider.

In the final round, Owens met up with number-two starter Terry Schweigert from British Columbia, Canada, who made a decent 4.16 run at 169.40, but it was no match for another 4.06 at a record 178.21 mph by Owens.

“That felt like a near-perfect run,” Owens said. “I like to think we can always go a little faster, but I’ve done this long enough to know you eventually reach a wall that can be hard to break through. We’ll see how it goes at the next race.”

(Posted by Ian Tocher)

IHRA National Event History

Canadian racers have won a number of IHRA National Event titles.
Legendary Gary Beck was the first – But who will be next?

Between 2011 — 2024 IHRA race formats were designated as exhibition events – not regarded as “Nationals Event” again until 2025. 

NHRA Summit Southern Nationals – Get Screened America Pro Mod Series
May 14-16^th, 2010 Commerce GA

Gullqvist becomes first European racer to win on NHRA tour!  –   (By: Rob Geiger) 

Five days later “Gully” is the toast of drag racing after becoming the first European in the 59-year history of the sport to win an NHRA national event.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Gullqvist said from the winner’s circle at Atlanta Dragway. “This was my third final in a row dating back to the European FIA championship last fall. I lost that one because I made a little mistake and then I had another final here in Gainesville (Fla.) in March driving another one of Roger’s cars and lost that one as well with a red light so I was really anxious to get this win, especially under the circumstances of Raymond’s father passing away.”

Gullqvist was surprised to learn he was the first European racer to win an NHRA event but was pleased to bring attention to the FIA tour.

“I’m heavily involved with European drag racing and we have a good thing going over there,” he said. “I’m not sure people here know how big it is but we have 50, 60, 70,000 people at our races. Pro Mod usually draws 50 or more cars at each event. If this (win) can bring our kind of drag racing to more American fans then I am very happy. 

 “I know lots of people in Sweden and all of Europe were pulling for us this weekend. I see the notes on Facebook and I got many messages on my mobile phone. It’s been very exciting and I’m sure I will have a great reception when I return home.

 “This is a win for Europe, for Sweden, for Canada (Commisso’s native country), and for America. I’m very happy to bring this to Roger and his team.”

 This was the first victory of the year for Burgess’ multi-car race team, which fields the Pro Mod hot rods of Melanie Troxel, Burgess, and Commisso. The team also supports Troxel’s In-N-Out Burger Funny Car.

 “It’s quite a group Roger has put together and it makes it very easy for the driver to be surrounded by so much talent,” Gullqvist said. “Frank Hawley (team consultant) talked to me after Round 1 (Saturday evening) and we found a way to adjust some things in Raymond’s car to make me more comfortable. After that it was just a matter of driving to my best ability.”

 Gullqvist looked very relaxed Sunday, beating Scott Ray, Von Smith, and top qualifier Mike Janis in the final to take the win. His final-round performance was convincing as he left with a huge .057-second advantage (.061 to .118) and rode away for the victory with a 6.006 at 244.03 mph to Janis’ 6.081 at 237.00 mph.

 “Maybe the race with Von Smith was the one I feared the most because he has been running so well,” Gullqvist said. “I saw his car for a bit but when our Al Billes horsepower kicked in that was all I needed. That’s when I started smiling.

“Now, of course, I will be smiling for a long time.”

(Bruce Biegler Photo)

NHRA AAA Insurance Mid West Nationals – Get Screened America Pro Mod Series

Apr. 30-May 2^nd, 2010  Madison IL

Qatar is the Present in Pro Mod!

Pro Mod Winner - Von Smith

Tennessee-based driver Von Smith was able to race his way to victory over a tough class of NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series entrants during the event at Gateway International Raceway.   It was the third race of the year for the Professional category which is a new addition to the NHRA drag racing circuit this season.

Driving for the Qatar-based Barwa Racing Team, Smith got around the No. 1 qualifier Danny Rowe in the second round battle between supercharged Chevy Camaros, and from there made it into the finals where he out powered Dennis Radford for the win.   Smith posted a run at 5.933 secs at 243.81 mph compared to Radford’s 6.088 secs 233.44 mph effort driving his unique nitrous-injected Plymouth Duster.

This was the first win for Smith in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

“I hope that is the first of many and it is a blessing to have everything go as good as it did,” said Smith following the race.  “It’s a dream come true for us as we want to get back on track and we’ve had our back against the wall for some time and it’s worked out really well.”

Photo by: David Ostaszewski