Pre-Season Pro Mod special — DI Winter Series finale & JBS Sponsorship Reveal….
Self-Proclaimed Kingship! — Fans at Florida’s Bradenton Motorsports Park were treated to the final round of the impressive 3-race Drag Illustrated Winter Series which features top rated Pro Mod drivers from all over the world.
At the season concluding 6th annual Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod event — it was a modern-day David vs. Goliath battle, with the self-proclaimed “underdog” Steve King outrunning two-time NHRA Pro Mod world champion “Stevie Fast” Jackson. King took home the $150,000 winner-take-all payday when his 3.629 seconds at 204.82 mph run defeated Jackson’s 3.653-second pass at 203.55 mph.
The event attracted an amazing 83-car Pro Mod entry list for a 32-car qualified field.
Racing this C7 Corvette – unheralded Jason King collected Drag Illustrated’s World Series of Pro Mod top season payout.
“It’s tough when you come down here with 83 of the baddest cars on the planet,” said King. “We know we’re bringing a good car, but you gotta have a little luck along the way. We’ve done really well in the Winter Series, but just had no luck. But today was our day.”
Meanwhile, Ken Quartuccio secured the inaugural DI Winter Series points championship with his second-round victory over Australian John Ricca. The win, along with early exits from the rest of the top five in points – Kye Kelley, Mark Micke, Kurt Steding, and Melanie Salemi – gave Quartuccio the $25,000 awarded to the series champion.
Ken Quartuccio secured the inaugural DI Winter Series – three race points title.
By winning the incredible final round held Saturday night, Steve King continued the time-honored WSOPM tradition of winning the event as an underdog. Two years after Spencer Hyde was victorious from the No. 32 spot, King ran through the 32-car field from the 30th position in the Gene Pilot-owned screw-blown “Savage” ’18 Corvette.
In the first round of eliminations, King was paired against Cameron Hensley and in the second frame King faced Jeff Rudolf and emerged a winner.
From there, King faced a gauntlet of multi-time world champions from a multitude of classes. In the quarterfinals, King took out six-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders and then longtime friendly rival, and reigning back-to-back PDRA Pro Boost world champion, Jason Harris. King singled in the semifinals when Harris suffered parts breakage — setting up a final-round matchup with Jackson.
After two days of qualifying, nearly 50 Pro Mod drivers from across the world were on the outside looking in at the World Series of Pro Mod 32-car qualified field. Of those it was Brazil’s Roderjan Busato and Zach Sackman who met in the final both looking to ease the pain of not qualifying with a $10,000 check of their own in the Chicago-Style Shootout.
All of the non-qualified Pro Mods got the opportunity to take one shot at the track Saturday afternoon, with the four quickest cars returning for a second pass. The top four after round one were Busato, Sackman, Matt Deitsch, and Mike DiDomenico. In the second round, Busato (3.653) and Sackman (3.667) punched their ticket to the final round.
In the final, Busato – who hails from Brazil – used a 3.640 at 206.48 to defeat Sackman’s 3.678 at 204.39.
Brazil’s Roderjan Busato won the Pro Mod consolation feature at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod event.
The World Series of Pro Mod also included the third annual Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational and the second annual Pro 10.5 Challenge, which both paid $25,000 to win. Two-time PDRA Extreme Pro Stock champion Johnny Pluchino earned the Mountain Motor Pro Stock win, while reigning PDRA Pro Street champion Ethan Steding was victorious in Pro 10.5.
A pair of $50,000 paydays went to the winners in the second annual Intercontinental Top Sportsman Championship and the second annual Intercontinental Top Dragster Championship. Ronnie Proctor (Top Sportsman) and Hailey Hawkins (Top Dragster) collected those big checks.
Editors Note: Link to the LMLCMedia event photo gallery from the WSOPM race: HERE
Big Breaking News — After a period of some uncertainly, it’s “Go Time” again for NHRA’s reigning Congruity Pro Mod World Championship team.
Qatar’s reputed top drag racer, Khalid Al Balooshi has announced new sponsorship secured from Al-Anabi Racing for the 2025 NHRA Pro Modified season — in conjunction with JBS Motorsports.
The team will campaign three cars this year with drivers Khalid Al Balooshi joined by British Columbians Jordan Lazic, and Justin Bond. In 2024 that group enjoyed a remarkable season run which saw Jordan Lazic win the NHRA championship and with Justin Bond and Khalid Al Balooshi also having top five points finishes (Bond 3rd – Khalid 5th) respectively.
First look at Canadian Justin Bond’s new to kick in major season sponsorship with Al-Anabi Racing.
The highly potent group and drivers will debut their new sponsorship colours this coming weekend at the season-opening NHRA Amalie Oil Gatornationals event.
Posted with files by Nate Van Wagnen & Bruce Biegler
Photos by Luke Nieuwhof & Courtesy of JBS Motorsports
