Castellana Claims Event Title at Arby’s NHRA Southern Nationals

COMMERCE, GA – May 5, 2019 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Mike Castellana claimed his second victory in three years at Atlanta Dragway in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service on Sunday, winning the 39th annual Arby’s NHRA Southern Nationals, where the series was presented by FuelTech. It is the fourth of 12 races during the 2019 season.

Castellana ran 5.825-seconds at 248.29 mph in his supercharged Al-Anabi Performance Chevrolet Camaro, picking up the final-round win when Jose Gonzalez suffered a red-light start.

It marks the ninth career E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod victory for Castellana, who qualified ninth and also earned round wins over Brandon Snider, Jeremy Ray and defending world champion Mike Janis, running a 5.809 at 248.48 in the semifinals.

“I knew everything would come together, but I didn’t expect it this quick,” said Castellana, who failed to qualify at the first three races of the season. “(Crew chief) Frank (Manzo) and my team do a great job. We feel real confident now. We’re making progress with the car and we’ll be ready for Virginia.”

The E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service continues May 17-19 with the Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in Richmond, Va.

COMMERCE, GA — Final finish order (1-16) at the 39th annual Arby’s NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. The race is the fourth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

PRO MODIFIED:
1. Mike Castellana; 2. Jose Gonzalez; 3. Mike Janis; 4. Doug Winters; 5. Jeremy Ray; 6. Todd Tutterow; 7. Sidnei Frigo; 8. Chad Green; 9. Rickie Smith; 10. Khalid alBalooshi; 11. Brandon Snider; 12. Erica Enders; 13. Alex Laughlin; 14. Clint Satterfield; 15. Steven Whiteley; 16. Steve Jackson.

COMMERCE, GA — Sunday’s final results from the 39th annual Arby’s NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. The race is the the fourth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Pro Modified — Mike Castellana, Chevy Camaro, 5.825, 248.29 def. Jose Gonzalez, Camaro, Foul – Red Light.

COMMERCE, GA — Final round-by-round results from the 39th annual Arby’s NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, the fourth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

PRO MODIFIED:

ROUND ONE — Mike Castellana, Chevy Camaro, 5.883, 248.11 def. Brandon Snider, Chevy Corvette, 6.016, 239.14; Doug Winters, Chevy Chevelle, 5.874, 247.25 def. Rickie Smith, Ford Mustang, 5.903, 248.75; Todd Tutterow, Camaro, 5.803, 247.75 def. Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, 5.997, 202.52; Jeremy Ray, Corvette, 9.778, 89.19 def. Steve Jackson, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Chad Green, Camaro, 5.816, 250.37 def. Clint Satterfield, Camaro, 7.499, 158.58; Jose Gonzalez, Camaro, 5.844, 249.86 def. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.397, 232.19; Mike Janis, Camaro, 6.278, 200.14 def. Steven Whiteley, Camaro, 12.181, 71.45; Sidnei Frigo, Camaro, 5.853, 254.47 def. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.062, 252.57;

QUARTERFINALS — Castellana, 5.851, 247.25 def. Ray, 6.717, 145.99; Gonzalez, 7.965, 133.54 def. Frigo, Foul – Red Light; Janis, 5.856, 247.07 def. Tutterow, 7.917, 120.63; Winters, 6.044, 223.91 def. Green, Foul – Centerline;

SEMIFINALS — Castellana, 5.809, 248.48 def. Janis, 5.860, 240.98; Gonzalez, 5.865, 254.71 def. Winters, Broke – No Show;

FINAL — Castellana, 5.825, 248.29 def. Gonzalez, Foul – Red Light.

COMMERCE, GA — Point standings (top 10) following the 39th annual Arby’s NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, the fourth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Pro Modified

1. Steve Jackson, 334; 2. Todd Tutterow, 333; 3. Mike Janis, 301; 4. Jose Gonzalez, 274; 5. Jeremy Ray, 222; 6. Chad Green, 207; 7. Rickie Smith, 202; 8. Steven Whiteley, 178; 9. Erica Enders, 177; 10. Sidnei Frigo, 160.

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