Courtesy Drag Illustrated Nate Van Wagnen
Images: Courtesy Luke Nieuwhof and Geoff Sculley
Mark Micke continued to prove that he has one of the quickest cars in eighth-mile Pro Modified racing Friday night when he went to the provisional No. 1 spot at the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks. Competing in the first of three races in the inaugural Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service, Micke recorded a 3.591-second pass at 218.87 MPH to lead the 64-car qualifying order in M&M Transmission Pro Mod presented by FuelTech and PJS Racing. Joel Wensley sits on the 32-car bump spot with a 3.670.
Provisional No. 1 qualifiers in the other classes are Lyle Barnett in Precision Shaft Technologies Pro 275 presented by Mickey Thompson Tires, Greg Blevins Jr. in Callies Performance Products Limited Drag Radial presented by Energy Manufacturing, Kyle Salminen in TBM Brakes Outlaw 632 presented by Rife Sensors, and Shawn Pevlor in TRZ Motorsports Ultra Street presented by Precision Turbo & Engine
PRO MOD
Mark Micke, who qualified No. 1 at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod at Bradenton in March, rolled into the Snowbirds on a mission with his twin-turbocharged M&M Transmission ’69 Camaro. Determined to set low E.T. of every round, Micke got off to a strong start on Friday as he was the quickest driver in both qualifying sessions.
He held off six-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders and her 3.628 in the first session with his 3.625 at 217.21, then went quicker than Canadian Pro Mod veteran Kenny Lang’s 3.624 with a 3.591 at 218.87 to reclaim the provisional top spot in the second session.
“We were trying to run a little faster [in Q1] but the car shook a little early,” Micke said. “Luckily this car recovered and we got lucky to beat Erica by just a little bit. We came back, looked at everything, the guys went to work, made a stator change in the converter, and changed some stuff on the car. I honestly thought everybody else was gonna step up a bunch, so when Kenny went that number, I’m like, ‘All right, I’ve got a bunch of fast-ass cars behind me. We need to go .59-.60 to hold on to No. 1.’ I really felt that. Luckily the car made the rip and did what we wanted it to. I think everybody else is struggling a little bit with the bald spots up there a little bit. We just got a hold of it.”
Micke intends to get an even better grip during Saturday’s two qualifying sessions, which will set the 32-car field for Sunday eliminations.
“This is Pro Mod so you can’t slack up,” Micke said. “Our mindset this weekend is we want to win this deal, period. We’re going to win. We’re not here to do anything else. Our goal coming in here was to run low E.T. every round and just try to put our foot on the throat of everybody else and just keep holding down and just keep going. That’s what we’re gonna do and we’re not gonna slack off. We’re not gonna lay up. Tomorrow, we’re gonna try and go .58 during the day and if we get an opportunity, you might see a .56 or .57.”
Micke knows he’ll need to continue chipping away into the 3.50s to hold on to his top spot. The group of drivers under him on the qualifying sheet include numerous world champions in various classes, including Enders, Stevie “Fast” Jackson, Jason Harris, and even four-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown making his Pro Mod debut. Some of the most accomplished tuners and crew chiefs in the sport are contributing to one of the most competitive fields in Pro Mod history.
“You’re gonna see other guys step up tomorrow, I promise, because the air is gonna cool off,” Micke said. “When it cools off, the track gets better and everybody will step up. I think you’ll see a number of cars in the 3.60 flat range. My guess is a bump spot of 3.63 if the air comes in like it’s looking like it’s going to be. There’s no ducks here.”
Erica Enders is currently sitting in the #2 spot going into Saturday’s final day of qualifying
Lang jumped to the No. 2 spot in the second qualifying session with his 3.624 at 209.17 in his screw-blown ’69 Camaro. Enders, making her return to Pro Mod, laid down a 3.628 at 205.22 in Scott Tidwell’s ProCharged Elite Motorsports ’69 Camaro to end the day in the third spot. Two-time and reigning PDRA Pro Boost world champion Jason Harris drove his ProCharged Southern Diamond Company “Party Time” ’69 Camaro to a 3.633 at 207.05 to sit fourth. Jeff Rudolf rounded out the top five with a 3.639 at 205.29 in his ProCharged “Ghetto Sleigh” ’69 Camaro.
Below Micke, it’s an all-3.60-second field. Joel Wensley sits on the bump spot of the 32-car qualified field with his 3.680 at 206.26
PRO 275
Lyle Barnett, who’s competing in three classes this weekend, took the provisional No. 1 spot in Pro 275 behind the wheel of Tommy Youmans’ ProCharged “Salvage Title” Mustang. He ran a 3.676 at 202.30, which is coincidentally the same E.T. he used to qualify No. 30 in Pro Mod. Nick Lacerenza qualified No. 2 with a 3.773 at 199.70 in his ProCharged ’90 Mustang. Ocala, Florida’s Chad Opaleski is third in his screw-blown ’66 Chevelle with a 3.803 at 198.79.
LIMITED DRAG RADIAL
Newly crowned FuelTech Radial Outlaws Series Limited Drag Radial champion Greg Blevins Jr. was the only driver to dip into the 3.80s in LDR, putting him at the top of the qualifying sheet. He laid down a 3.899 at 193.71 in his ProCharged ’69 Camaro to lead Matt Bell and Jamie Stanton. Bell in his turbocharged ’93 Mustang ran a 3.927 at 194.60 to sit second. Stanton recorded a 3.935 at 189.07 in his ’02 Camaro for the No. 3 spot.
OUTLAW 632
Outlaw 632 is stacked with Florida racers, including the top three drivers. Port Charlotte’s Kyle Salminen went to the top in his Nelson-powered ’03 Cavalier with a 4.152 at 171.10. Mike Fiorelli, based in Hollywood, posted a career-best 4.16 at 171.03 in his Clayton Murphy-tuned ’68 Camaro to sit No. 2. Clermont’s Chris Holdorf drove his Jamie Miller-tuned, Nelson-powered Freedom Grow ’10 GTO to a 4.165 at 169.00 to round out the top three.
Qualifying continues Saturday at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday’s schedule also features the Jet Jam Night of Fire with Rick Knobb’s “Boneshaker” Jet Truck, Hayden Profitt II’s “Hot Streak” Jet Truck, and the Larsen Motorsports Jet Dragsters. Jet shows are set for 4 and 8 p.m.
General admission tickets are available for Saturday’s Night of Fire are $40. Active military and children ages 11 and under get in free. Fans can also watch the race through the official event livestream on www.FloRacing.com.
