Mother Nature Gets the Win-light at Summer Drags

Belle Rose, La. (July 9, 2005) - Rough weather throughout the southeastern United States played havoc with the weekend's Pro Mod racing at No Problem Raceway Park, eventually forcing the postponement of both the FLOWMASTER American Drag Racing League and AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge presented by TLR events.

The conclusion of the Torco Gear Summer Drags presented by Ambrose Printing - the third of six events on the ADRL schedule and the ninth of 14 for the Pro Mod Challenge series - will be contested during qualifying at the next scheduled stop in each series. The ADRL portion of the event will be completed Aug. 19-21 at the ADRL Racensure.com Sunshine Drags in Valdosta, Ga.; the AMS/TLR eliminations will finish up at the NHRA Northern SPORTSnationals, July 28-31 in Columbus.

"Obviously, any time you lose an event from circumstances beyond your control, there's a lot of disappointment," said ADRL President Kenny Nowling, who also serves as series administrator for the AMS/TLR tour. "Most of all, though, we're disappointed for the fans in this area who came out and supported us and were hoping to see the conclusion to some great Pro Mod racing."

The event was officially postponed at 8 p.m. Central time Saturday, during the running of the ADRL's Pro Extreme eliminations. Ten ADRL drivers are still alive in Summer Drags eliminations, including the four Pro Nitrous semifinalists (Shannon Jenkins, Johnny Pilcher, Keith Baker, and James Hancock III) and six drivers in Pro Extreme. The Pro Mod Challenge portion of the event ended while the six remaining drivers were in the staging lanes awaiting their quarterfinals runs. Among those still in contention for the Summer Drags title are No. 1 qualifier Joshua Hernandez, AMS/TLR Cup points leader Mike Ashley, and AMS Staff Leasing-backed Troy Critchley, who won a wild first-round race with a holeshot against Frankie Taylor.

Torco Gear Summer Drags first-round eliminations (winner in bold)

Pro Extreme

Michael Neal 4.440, 127.43 Jerry Hicks 6.731, 70.87

Bil Clanton 4.044, 177.00 Bennie McDonald 4.125, 150.53

Pro Nitrous

Johnny Pilcher 4.193, 173.58 Justin Bankston 4.659, 133.54

Shannon Jenkins 4.138, 177.67 J.T. Thompson 4.533, 157.21

Keith Baker 4.312, 165.66 Rex Kelly 4.228, 173.41

James Hancock III 4.287, 172.08 Stan Allen Red-light

AMS/TLR Pro Mod

Joshua Hernandez 6.310, 222.03 Glen Kerunsky 10.158, 84.78

Zach Barklage 6.408, 219.40 Troy Coughlin 6.398, 221.27

Thomas Patterson 6.308, 222.47 Mike Castellana 8.734, 109.62

Doug Palmer 6.531, 216.72 Harold Laird DNS

Mike Ashley 6.301, 227.31 Jay Payne 6.346, 228.15

Troy Critchley 7.555, 192.80 Frankie Taylor 7.523, 207.18

Torco Gear Summer Drags ADRL qualifying

Pro Nitrous 1. Johnny Pilcher, 4.183, 174.14; 2. Rex Kelly, 4.264, 171.29; 3. James Hancock, 4.270,170.58; 4. Shawn Jenkins, 4.452, 133.51; 5. J.T. Thompson, 4.461, 161.87; 6. Stan Allen, 4.556, 160.38; 7. Keith Baker, 4.774, 116.65; 8. Justin Bankston, NTR

Pro Extreme 1. John Lynam, 4.059, 183.24; 2. Mike Neal, 4.064, 178.12; 3. Bil Clanton, 4.081, 173.14; 4. Michael Neal, 4.129, 174.73; 5. Jerry Hicks, 4.170, 172.85; 6. Bennie McDonald, 4.212, 167.97; 7. Herman Sheppard, 4.256, 171.21; 8. Bubba Stanton, 4.256, 169.10. (did not qualify) 9. Perry Herring, 4.274, 164.51; 10. Cody Barklage, 4.478, 165.09; 11. Troy Critchley, 5.163, 96.94; 12. Eddie Ware, 5.238, 106.34.

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