[coverattach=1]MADISON, Illinois – To define a category as diverse as Pro Modified with a single word is a difficult task, especially considering the numerous variations of cars and the multiple engine combinations, but if had to be done, “unpredictable” might be the best choice. The O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, the 3rd stop on the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge, supported that notion, as the racing weekend was comprised of every imaginable on-track situation including a pair of harrowing accidents and a number of incredible performances.
For the nitrous Pro Modified powerhouse of Al-Anabi Racing, the goal is always to put one of the team’s cars in the winner’s circle on Sunday, yet anyone who follows this category of racing knows that on any given Sunday, it’s anybody’s race, and this particular weekend Burton Auxier had to settle with a runner up finish while teammate Mike Castellana, the GSA Pro Mod Challenge points leader, bowed out in the quarterfinals.
After qualifying fourth and ninth for the 16-car eliminator, Castellana with a nitrous Pro Mod record pass of 5.964-seconds at 236.59mph and Auxier with a 6.016/235mph blast, the Al-Anabi Racing team was poised to fight their way through a slew of supercharged opponents.
Dixie, Virginia’s own Burton Auxier showcased his prowess behind the wheel with a pair of holeshot victories over Danny Rowe and number-one qualifier Jay Payne, then took out Joe Baker in the semifinals with a 6.009/236mph combination before meeting Roger Burgess in the big money round.
Over the last few years it would have been hard for a nitrous car to have outlasted 12 competitors utilizing forced induction for horsepower and make it to the final, but Auxier’s SPEEDTECH Nitrous/Reher-Morrison Racing Engines powered ’67 Camaro was more than game all day and well matched for Burgess. For the first time all day, though, Auxier would find himself on the unfortunate end of a holeshot when Burgess let out of the clutch an incredible .018-seconds after the tree came down, compared to his own respectable .040 light, rendering his career-best 5.988-second, 237.75mph blast useless to Burgess’ six-flat.
With his runner-up finish, Auxier would climb two spots in the Get Screened America Challenge to the No. 2 slot.
Mike Castellana, driver of the Al-Anabi Racing/Western Beef ’68 Firebird, after setting the Gateway International Raceway track record for a nitrous-assisted Pro Mod during qualifying, took out Taylor Lastor in an unusual pedal-fest in the first round. In the second elimination round it was Castellana and Joe Baker lining up opposite one another, and when both cars struggled to navigate the GIR quarter-mile, Mike Ashley Racing’s Baker-driven Pro Mod was able to get past the current points leader.
Despite exiting sooner than he would have liked, Castellana was able to retain the GSA Pro Mod Challenge points lead and will head into the next race in Bristol with his Al-Anabi Racing teammate trailing him by 25 points.
Up next for Al-Anabi Racing is the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals May 15-17 in Bristol, Tenn.
Points after Madison, Ill (Event 3 of 10)
1 Mike Castellana 241
2 Burton Auxier 216
3 Roger Burgess 212
4 Rick Stivers 200
5 Joe Baker 185
6 Danny Rowe 184
7 Harold Laird 155
8 Jay Payne 142
9 Kenny Lang 140
10 Brad Personett 139
11 Taylor Lastor 134
12 Mike Knowles 115
13 Tim Tindle 100
14 Raymond Commisso 80
15 Rickie Smith 52
ABOUT AL-ANABI RACING/QATAR
A result of drag racing’s continually increasing popularity abroad, Al-Anabi Racing is based out of the country of Qatar. Qatar is widely-known for working with the United States military forces to build one of the premier U.S. air bases in the Arabian Gulf Region at Al-Udeid. The Qatari philosophy was to obtain the best defense by providing the best facilities for U.S. and coalition forces. At the heart of the Al-Anabi Racing program is His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of the ruling family of Qatar, who set a goal of promoting the domestic and international awareness of motorsports in the nation of Qatar through multiple racing teams competing within the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Al-Anabi Racing recently completed construction and held its first events at the new Qatar Race Club (QRC), a state of the art drag strip outside the city of Doha in the nation of Qatar.
Photos Courtesy of Roger Richards
For the nitrous Pro Modified powerhouse of Al-Anabi Racing, the goal is always to put one of the team’s cars in the winner’s circle on Sunday, yet anyone who follows this category of racing knows that on any given Sunday, it’s anybody’s race, and this particular weekend Burton Auxier had to settle with a runner up finish while teammate Mike Castellana, the GSA Pro Mod Challenge points leader, bowed out in the quarterfinals.
After qualifying fourth and ninth for the 16-car eliminator, Castellana with a nitrous Pro Mod record pass of 5.964-seconds at 236.59mph and Auxier with a 6.016/235mph blast, the Al-Anabi Racing team was poised to fight their way through a slew of supercharged opponents.
Dixie, Virginia’s own Burton Auxier showcased his prowess behind the wheel with a pair of holeshot victories over Danny Rowe and number-one qualifier Jay Payne, then took out Joe Baker in the semifinals with a 6.009/236mph combination before meeting Roger Burgess in the big money round.
Over the last few years it would have been hard for a nitrous car to have outlasted 12 competitors utilizing forced induction for horsepower and make it to the final, but Auxier’s SPEEDTECH Nitrous/Reher-Morrison Racing Engines powered ’67 Camaro was more than game all day and well matched for Burgess. For the first time all day, though, Auxier would find himself on the unfortunate end of a holeshot when Burgess let out of the clutch an incredible .018-seconds after the tree came down, compared to his own respectable .040 light, rendering his career-best 5.988-second, 237.75mph blast useless to Burgess’ six-flat.
With his runner-up finish, Auxier would climb two spots in the Get Screened America Challenge to the No. 2 slot.
Mike Castellana, driver of the Al-Anabi Racing/Western Beef ’68 Firebird, after setting the Gateway International Raceway track record for a nitrous-assisted Pro Mod during qualifying, took out Taylor Lastor in an unusual pedal-fest in the first round. In the second elimination round it was Castellana and Joe Baker lining up opposite one another, and when both cars struggled to navigate the GIR quarter-mile, Mike Ashley Racing’s Baker-driven Pro Mod was able to get past the current points leader.
Despite exiting sooner than he would have liked, Castellana was able to retain the GSA Pro Mod Challenge points lead and will head into the next race in Bristol with his Al-Anabi Racing teammate trailing him by 25 points.
Up next for Al-Anabi Racing is the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals May 15-17 in Bristol, Tenn.
Points after Madison, Ill (Event 3 of 10)
1 Mike Castellana 241
2 Burton Auxier 216
3 Roger Burgess 212
4 Rick Stivers 200
5 Joe Baker 185
6 Danny Rowe 184
7 Harold Laird 155
8 Jay Payne 142
9 Kenny Lang 140
10 Brad Personett 139
11 Taylor Lastor 134
12 Mike Knowles 115
13 Tim Tindle 100
14 Raymond Commisso 80
15 Rickie Smith 52
ABOUT AL-ANABI RACING/QATAR
A result of drag racing’s continually increasing popularity abroad, Al-Anabi Racing is based out of the country of Qatar. Qatar is widely-known for working with the United States military forces to build one of the premier U.S. air bases in the Arabian Gulf Region at Al-Udeid. The Qatari philosophy was to obtain the best defense by providing the best facilities for U.S. and coalition forces. At the heart of the Al-Anabi Racing program is His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of the ruling family of Qatar, who set a goal of promoting the domestic and international awareness of motorsports in the nation of Qatar through multiple racing teams competing within the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Al-Anabi Racing recently completed construction and held its first events at the new Qatar Race Club (QRC), a state of the art drag strip outside the city of Doha in the nation of Qatar.
Photos Courtesy of Roger Richards
