GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Don Walsh claimed the No. 1 qualifying position and a first round victory Saturday during the J&A Service NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, co-presented by the Real Pro Mod Association and Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Inc., is the first of 10 events on the season.
Walsh powered his late model Precision Turbo Camaro to a top qualifying run of 5.832 seconds at 248.02 mph, marking the seventh time in his career that he’s claimed the No. 1 spot.
“It was great,” said Walsh. “I’m just really happy we have some new sponsors on board and that I’m able to run well for them this weekend. I’m super excited for us to put it all together here at the first race and put together what we had from last year and move it into this year.”
Walsh followed his qualifying success with a first round win. He will race Bob Rahaim in the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Pro Mod rookie Troy Coughlin Jr., qualified second in his JEGS.com Corvette with a 5.876 at 251.46. He then faced Kenny Lang and raced to victory after Lang red lighted. This is Coughlin’s first Pro Mod appearance in his career. He will face Bill Glidden in the quarterfinals.
After not qualifying through the first two rounds, reigning category champion Rickie Smith was able to salvage a No. 7 qualifying position with a 5.909 at 246.30, but lost to Glidden in the first round of eliminations.
The 2011 world champ, Khalid alBalooshi, did not qualify in the inaugural event of the 2015 season. alBalooshi is making a return to the doorslammer category after racing the last three seasons in Top Fuel.
Pro Mod Series eliminations will continue at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- First round results from the 46th annual AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville, the first of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
PRO MODIFIED:
ROUND ONE -- Bob Rahaim, Chevy Corvette, 5.946, 242.54 def. Mike Castellana, Chevy Camaro, 5.994, 243.81; T.J. Coughlin, Corvette, 5.884, 251.53 def. Kenny Lang, Camaro, broke; Troy Coughlin, Corvette, 6.050, 246.08 def. Kevin Fiscus, Ford Mustang, 6.514, 181.13; Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 5.922, 245.85 def. Mike Knowles, Mustang, 5.977, 241.28; Bill Glidden, Mustang, 5.946, 242.71 def.
Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.962, 245.54; Mike Janis, Camaro, 5.906, 247.70 def. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.873, 249.21; Eric Latino, Camaro, 5.876, 243.77 def. Steve Matusek, Camaro, 5.913, 248.07; Don Walsh, Camaro, 5.829, 242.45 def. Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, broke.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Final order after 3 rounds of qualifying in Pro Modified at 46th annual AMALIE Oil Motor NHRA Gatornationals. The first of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd
1 3382 Don Walsh, Wixom MI, '14 Camaro 5.832 248.02 248.02
2 394 T.J. Coughlin, Delaware OH, '12 Corvette 5.876 251.49 251.49
3 6 Steve Matusek, Olathe KS, '68 Camaro 5.879 248.29 248.29
4 5 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, '68 Camaro 5.882 249.16 249.95
5 2 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, '15 Corvette 5.893 252.43 252.43
6 8 Pete Farber, Baldwinville MA, '69 Daytona 5.897 247.02 247.02
7 1 Rickie Smith, King NC, '69 Camaro 5.909 246.30 246.30
8 9 Mike Castellana, Muttontown NY, '69 Camaro 5.926 242.80 242.80
9 360 Bob Rahaim, Grosse Pointe MI, '15 Corvette 5.929 243.37 243.55
10 324 Bill Glidden, Whiteland IN, '10 Mustang 5.941 242.23 243.24
11 5011 Mike Knowles, Grand Junction CO, '67 Mustang 5.966 236.30 236.30
12 7 Kevin Fiscus, Jacksonville FL, '12 Mustang 5.973 248.57 248.57
13 4 Mike Janis, Lancaster NY, '13 Camaro 5.973 245.40 245.40
14 1938 Eric Latino, Port Perry ON, '69 Camaro 5.984 245.63 245.63
15 5012 Kenny Lang, Grande Pointe MB, '69 Camaro 5.989 240.00 240.64
16 213 Chip King, Semora NC, '70 Charger 6.005 243.19 243.19
------------ Not Qualified ------------
17 327 Khalid alBalooshi, Doha QA, '68 Camaro 6.007 250.00 250.00
18 5200 Steven Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, '14 CTS 6.007 244.92 244.92
19 5087 Jim Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, '69 Chevelle 6.025 242.19 242.19
20 4914 Jeff Naiser, Houston TX, '69 Camaro 6.030 239.87 239.87
21 1109 Gerry Capano, Greenville DE, '63 Corvette 6.059 237.67 237.67
22 6967 Jim Bell, Edmonton AB, '69 Camaro 6.062 232.15 232.15
23 2105 Doug Winters, Pleasant Garden NC, '69 Chevelle 6.174 223.54 223.54
24 701 Clint Satterfield, Albuquerque NM, '68 Firebi 6.180 240.38 240.38
25 303 Dan Stevenson, Bolingbrook IL, '15 Camaro 6.195 242.15 242.15
26 2071 Willard Kinzer, Allen KY, '69 Camaro 6.293 240.59 240.59
27 567 Chris Juliano, Iberia MO, '67 Mustang 6.381 232.39 232.39