Rookie Pro Mod driver Melanie Troxel used consistent 5.90’s to wade through her side of the eliminations ladder to her first final round since moving to the Pro Mod ranks. She ran a 5.986/240.81 to defeat Mike Castellana's Al-Anabi-backed Firebird. Castellana, equipped with a Reher-Morrison nitrous motor under the hood, ran a respectable 6.004 /233.84 mph. next, she ran a 5.971 at 242.54 to take out the No. 1 qualifier Brad Personett, and then ran a 5.983 at 241.89 to dismiss Joe Baker and advance to the final.

Mike Castellana

In the winners circle a very happy Stivers said, "This weekend has been some of the best racing anytime, anywhere, and I have to thank my entire team, Brad (Anderson), my wife Jill, and my son Rick Jr., who couldn't be here this weekend but who I know was listening on the Internet and was screaming with us as I took the stripe."

While Stivers added his second trophy to his collection, Brad Personett made the pass that got everyone’s attention. During the second round of qualifying on Saturday the Indiana racer ripped off a 5.87/246 pass that took the wind out of his opponents’ sails. Both the supercharged and nitrous standard bearers of Pro Mod have expressed their fear of turbocharged entries. Although none of the many turbo cars that have tried to race with their blown or N2O-injected brethren has shown a consistent advantage in power, the tuners of the nitrous and supercharged cars know the turbocharged engine has the potential to develop as much as 1,000 hp more than the rest.

Personett was unable to get close to the 5.87 number again. Although he did manage a first round 5.955 at 236.34 to defeat Kirk Wilmes, he hurt his turbocharged rat motor in the process. Overnight, his team changed the engine, but when he faced off against Melanie Troxel in the quarterfinals on Sunday morning something went south in his combination causing the motor to lose power at the hit of the throttle.