NHRA’s E3 Spark Plugs brand of Pro Mod racing produces a first time winner last weekend…

Alabama-based Brandon Snider capped off an impressive weekend at the Texas Motorplex, winning for the first time in his career in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service.

Snider, who was the No. 1 qualifier for the second straight race in his supercharged Corvette, went 5.805-seconds at 245.99 mph in the final round to beat defending world champ Stevie “Fast” Jackson on a holeshot. Jackson went 5.795 at 247.43, but Snider’s quicker .025 reaction time was the deciding factor in the victory.

The race, which was presented by JBS Equipment, was the fifth of seven races during the 2020 NHRA Pro Mod season. Snider reached his first career final round in the class by knocking off Eric Latino, Chad Green and Doug Winters before turning in a stellar performance against Jackson in the championship round.

“Since we started doing this three years ago, we’ve just lost,” Snider said. “But we’ve been steadily learning. We’ve had a lot of great people helping us out. There’s a lot of people who have been part of this deal. We do the best we can and we just keep learning.”

Brandon Snider rolled to his first win in NHRA Pro Mod class racing.

Jackson advanced to his 16th career final round and second in 2020 with wins over Justin Jones, Mike Janis and Khalid alBalooshi. It also sent Jackson back into the points lead, and he currently holds an 18-point lead over Snider, who jumped to second in the standings with the victory.

Snider (far lane) used a hole shot start in the championship final round to turn back overall points leader Steve Jackson.

The Dallas event featured a small field of Pro Mods by comparison – with only 16 cars being entered. Snider set the pace with a blast of 5.680 secs (low ET) while top speed of the race once again went to Kris Thorne — this time at 258.02 mph.

The E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series has two more races on it’s season calendar — contining Oct. 23-25 with the Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park.

Pro Mod racing at Dallas did include the first Canadian-based car in competition this (COVID plagued) season — with Eric Latino able to cross the border to enter   his GTA-based Camaro. Eric lost out in round #1 to Snider.

Updated E3 Spark Plugs Championship Points (Top 10)

1. Steve Jackson, 354; 2. Brandon Snider, 336; 3. Mike Janis, 326; 4. Khalid alBalooshi, 302; 5. Chad Green, 288; 6. Jonathan Gray, 285; 7. Kris Thorne, 254; 8. Rickie Smith, 221; 9. Clint Satterfield, 218; 10. Jason Scruggs, 178.

Posted with files by NHRA Communications and Bruce Biegler
All photos by Randy Anderson