Castellana Remains No.1 Qualifier in the Pro Mod Category at the NHRA Toyota Nationals

LAS VEGAS, NV – October 27, 2018 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Mike Castellana improved on his No. 1 qualifying pass from Friday to remain atop the field going into race day at the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service portion of the NHRA Toyota Nationals. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by Trask Performance, is the last race of the season for the category.

Castellana posted a run of 5.710-seconds at 252.80 during the first qualifying session of the day on Saturday in his ’17 Camaro.

“I really didn’t think our run from last night was going to hold,” said Castellana. “I wanted to make sure we did better than yesterday because I knew everyone was going to improve too. We’re not in the championship hunt this year but coming into the final race of the season is a big bonus for us.”

Mike Janis aims for his first category crown as the current points leader, is qualified fifth and will face Mike Caruso on Sunday. Rickie Smith trials Janis in the standings and will begin race day from the bottom half of the field after qualifying 14th. He will race Jeremy Ray in eliminations.

E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series eliminations begin Sunday at 9 a.m. at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

LAS VEGAS — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 18th annual NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the final of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Pro Modified — 1. Mike Castellana, Chevy Camaro, 5.710, 252.80 vs. 16. Clint Satterfield, Camaro, 5.851, 248.39; 2. Todd Tutterow, Camaro, 5.721, 243.85 vs. 15. Jim Whiteley, Camaro, 5.850, 246.30; 3. Jeremy Ray, Chevy Corvette, 5.732, 247.93 vs. 14. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.814, 247.43; 4. Jose Gonzalez, Camaro, 5.742, 258.07 vs. 13. Shane Molinari, Pontiac firebird, 5.809, 255.63; 5. Mike Janis, Camaro, 5.747, 249.53 vs. 12. Marc Caruso, Camaro, 5.801, 246.26; 6. Rick Hord, Corvette, 5.749, 253.33 vs. 11. Chad Green, Corvette, 5.789, 246.98; 7. Sidnei Frigo, Camaro, 5.753, 256.50 vs. 10. Steve Jackson, Camaro, 5.788, 246.21; 8. Steven Whiteley, Camaro, 5.776, 251.25 vs. 9. Michael Biehle, Ford Mustang, 5.788, 255.87.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Khalid alBalooshi, 5.851, 246.35; 18. Bob Rahaim, 5.861, 243.50; 19. Steve Matusek, 5.862, 247.66; 20. Danny Rowe, 5.869, 249.63; 21. Brandon Snider, 5.888, 241.89; 22. Doug Winters, 5.894, 242.80; 23. Scott Oksas, 5.910, 238.60; 24. Harry Hruska, 5.981, 248.84; 25. Rick Distefano, 6.092, 239.70; 26. Chip King, 6.998, 109.52.

To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, call 800-644-4444. Tickets also are available online at www.lvms.com/tickets/nhra/. Kids 12 and under are free in general admission areas with a paid adult. To honor the Salute to First Responders, military and first responders can save 20 percent on general admission tickets at the gate. For more information about the NHRA visit www.NHRA.com.

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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