In other raceday action, the three supercharged Pro Mods that are part of the Roger Burgess R2B2 team all went out in the first round after experiencing tire shake. Interestingly, R2B2 cars shook in both lanes in the first round of eliminations.

Danny Rowe.  (Jeff Burk photo)

Unlike other NHRA professional categories, the Pro Mods are allowed just three qualifying laps with the first round of Eliminations for the class coming Saturday night. Some highlights from qualifying included Houston winner Danny Rowe, with tuning from Jimmy Rector, getting the top qualifying spot with a 5.945/241 lap.

Brad Personett’s twin turbocharged Hemi-powered Camaro continues to show it makes the most power as once again it was the only Pro Mod to record a speed of 250 mph or higher. His 5.970/250.88 qualified him in the fourth spot but he was unable to advance, wasting a 5.955/248.75 when Florida racer Joe Baker’s .034 light combined with a 5.990/238.22 was good for the win thanks to the .083 RT from Personett. Baker crossed the stripe almost 15-hundredths of second before Personett.

Melanie Troxel (Jeff Burk photo)

Demonstrating just how tough the Pro Modified class is, the DNQ list included Ray Commisso, who has gone over 250 mph, Melanie Troxel, who went to the finals at Houston, and former U.S. Nationals Pro Mod winner Rickie Smith.

Conclusion

Although the nitrous guys are lobbying for a rule change that would bring more “parity” to the class, they are going to have a hard time convincing the NHRA staff since nitrous cars made up half the field in the semi and final rounds.

The NHRA ran out of cars to race at St. Louis early in the afternoon resulting in a lot of downtime. Maybe they need to re-think their policy of running the first round of Pro Mod eliminations Saturday night and add a lap on Sunday.