Castellana Locks Down First No.1 Qualifier in Pro Mod at Gainesville

March 17, 2018 Motor Sports NewsWire Motorsports, NHRA, Racing Comments Off on Castellana Locks Down First No.1 Qualifier in Pro Mod at Gainesville
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GAINESVILLE, FL – March 17, 2019 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Mike Castellana powered to the No. 1 qualifier Saturday during the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service portion of the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Dragway. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented Jerry Bickel Race Cars, is the first of 12 events this season.

Castellana ran a 5.750-second pass at 253.56 mph in the fourth qualifying session in his Al Anabi Racing ’69 Camaro to take the No. 1 slot. Castellana used the final pass to better his time and speed from Friday evening to earn the top spot at the opening race for the category.

“It feels great to start off the season with a No. 1 qualifier, especially after struggling in Gainesville last year,” Castellana said. “We had such a great beginning of the year in 2017, and even though we did fall off a little at the end, we can’t complain because it was such a tremendous season.”

Steve Jackson qualified second with a 5.754 at 250.60 and Shane Molinari is in third with a 5.771 at 256.16.

Castellana finished the 2017 season second in the Pro Mod points standings and chases his first category championship in 2018.

E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service eliminations begin on Sunday.

AMALIE MOTOR OIL NHRA GATORNATIONALS

GAINESVILLE, FL — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 49th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the first of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Castellana Locks Down First No.1 Qualifier in Pro Mod at Gainesville

Pro Modified — 1. Mike Castellana, Chevy Camaro, 5.750, 253.56 vs. 16. Carl Stevens, Camaro, 5.832, 254.47; 2. Steve Jackson, Camaro, 5.754, 250.60 vs. 15. Jose Gonzalez, Camaro, 5.830, 256.45; 3. Shane Molinari, Pontiac Firebird, 5.771, 256.16 vs. 14. Doug Winters, Chevy Chevelle, 5.829, 246.75; 4. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.776, 250.64 vs. 13. Bob Rahaim, Camaro, 5.823, 246.30; 5. Steven Whiteley, Cadillac CTS-V, 5.787, 253.47 vs. 12. Jim Whiteley, Camaro, 5.801, 248.11; 6. Mike Janis, Camaro, 5.787, 248.84 vs. 11. Dan Stevenson, Camaro, 5.801, 255.34; 7. Chad Green, Chevy Corvette, 5.793, 248.93 vs. 10. Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, 5.800, 250.92; 8. Todd Tutterow, Camaro, 5.795, 249.72 vs. 9. Jeremy Ray, Corvette, 5.798, 247.66.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Sidnei Frigo, 5.843, 253.71; 18. Pete Farber, 5.847, 246.30; 19. Michael Biehle, 5.854, 252.52; 20. Jeffery Barker, 5.859, 254.42; 21. Chuck Little, 5.860, 246.39; 22. Rick Hord, 5.875, 248.80; 23. Danny Rowe, 5.882, 247.61; 24. Harry Hruska, 5.884, 250.37; 25. Melanie Salemi, 5.905, 243.24; 26. Eric Latino, 5.918, 247.47; 27. Kenny Lang, 5.936, 243.63; 28. Steve Matusek, 5.963, 246.71; 29. Bill Glidden, 6.013, 235.47; 30. Chip King, 6.021, 243.99; 31. Richie Stevens, 6.051, 231.36; 32. Rick Distefano, 6.149, 240.89; 33. Clint Satterfield, 6.542, 238.93; 34. Brandon Pesz, 7.398, 132.33; 35. Ruben Tetsoshvili, 11.255, 66.07.

About NHRA

Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 24 national events featuring the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, and E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. NHRA also offers NHRA Jr. Street program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 5 to 17. In addition, NHRA owns and operates four racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Source: National Hot Rod Association

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