(Todd Dziadosz photo)
Veteran racer Jay Payne became the seventh winner of the JEGS ProMod Challenge season Sunday by beating first-time finalist Scott Ray in the money round of the third annual Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.
It was the first win of the season for the 2006 series champion and it stole some of the attention away from a nip-and-tuck championship battle between reigning titlist Josh Hernandez and Tony Pontieri, who are now just 20 points apart in the JEGS points with one race left.
The 16-car field was the quickest in history, ranging from Hernandez's 5.900 to Mike Janis' 6.033. Hernandez's top-qualifying run was the quickest in history but he didn't back it up for an official record, meaning he couldn't collect the 20 bonus points that go with setting a national mark.
Tony Pontieri picked up 20 bonus points when he backed up his 5.905-second run in the second round of qualifying, setting the official record. (Ron Lewis)
Jay Payne (Todd Dziadosz photo)