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BAYTOWN, Tex. (March 30, 2007) - Raymond Commisso, driver of the Steelback Racing '67 Camaro Pro Mod took the provisional top spot in the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Modified Challenge presented by Tindle Enterprises, Inc., running an impressive 5.985/243.94 in the only round of qualifying at the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park Friday.
Just missing the elusive five-second barrier, series sponsor Tim Tindle posted a 6.000/239.19 to grab the number two spot behind the wheel of his Chuck Ford-tuned '67 Mustang.
In all, the top six drivers ran 6.065 or quicker, almost .03 seconds better than the 2006 event low qualifying time of 6.094, putting an exclamation mark on the performance improvement over last year. Among the top six is 2006 World Champion, Jay Payne, now comfortably in the show on Sunday after he failed to qualify in Gainesville.
All is not well, however, in the Payne's camp, as driver Shelly Payne failed to even make a run due to mechanical problems starting her car. Because there was only one round of qualifying, she, more than any of the other drivers, is hoping weather forecasts calling for rain Saturday prove to be wrong, giving her at least one chance to qualify.
NHRA officials elected to allow only run one round of qualifying on Friday, citing concern for driver's safety due to the limited lighting after sundown. AMS Series Director, Matthew Brammer, said although he never wants to have a round pulled, he agreed with NHRA’s decision to err on the side of safety for all concerned.
"NHRA is focused on providing the best track surfaces and the safest conditions. Graham Light assured me that he would do everything possible to give our drivers at least one more round of qualifying, and hopefully two - weather permitting tomorrow," Brammer said.
Barring rain, both scheduled runs on Saturday will be qualifying passes, and eliminations will be run in their entirety on Sunday, April 1.
After one round of qualifying
1 Raymond Commisso 5.985 243.94
2 Tim Tindle 6.000 239.19
3 John Russo 6.042 241.2
4 Scott Cannon 6.046 238.13
5 Troy Critchley 6.052 240.59
6 Jay Payne 6.065 238.3
7 Chip King 6.148 240.21
8 Steve Engel 6.168 237
9 Scott Ray 6.227 232.27
10 Bryan Seward 6.255 230.45
11 Matt Hagan 6.267 235.27
12 Tony Pontieri 6.744 212.66
13 Joshua Hernandez 7.269 140.4
14 Eddie Ware 8.307 113.2
15 Dan Rowe 14.617 71.89
16 Brandon Pesz NTR
Commisso on Top after One Round of Qualifying in AMS Pro Mod Challenge
BAYTOWN, Tex. (March 30, 2007) - Raymond Commisso, driver of the Steelback Racing '67 Camaro Pro Mod took the provisional top spot in the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Modified Challenge presented by Tindle Enterprises, Inc., running an impressive 5.985/243.94 in the only round of qualifying at the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park Friday.
Just missing the elusive five-second barrier, series sponsor Tim Tindle posted a 6.000/239.19 to grab the number two spot behind the wheel of his Chuck Ford-tuned '67 Mustang.
In all, the top six drivers ran 6.065 or quicker, almost .03 seconds better than the 2006 event low qualifying time of 6.094, putting an exclamation mark on the performance improvement over last year. Among the top six is 2006 World Champion, Jay Payne, now comfortably in the show on Sunday after he failed to qualify in Gainesville.
All is not well, however, in the Payne's camp, as driver Shelly Payne failed to even make a run due to mechanical problems starting her car. Because there was only one round of qualifying, she, more than any of the other drivers, is hoping weather forecasts calling for rain Saturday prove to be wrong, giving her at least one chance to qualify.
NHRA officials elected to allow only run one round of qualifying on Friday, citing concern for driver's safety due to the limited lighting after sundown. AMS Series Director, Matthew Brammer, said although he never wants to have a round pulled, he agreed with NHRA’s decision to err on the side of safety for all concerned.
"NHRA is focused on providing the best track surfaces and the safest conditions. Graham Light assured me that he would do everything possible to give our drivers at least one more round of qualifying, and hopefully two - weather permitting tomorrow," Brammer said.
Barring rain, both scheduled runs on Saturday will be qualifying passes, and eliminations will be run in their entirety on Sunday, April 1.
After one round of qualifying
1 Raymond Commisso 5.985 243.94
2 Tim Tindle 6.000 239.19
3 John Russo 6.042 241.2
4 Scott Cannon 6.046 238.13
5 Troy Critchley 6.052 240.59
6 Jay Payne 6.065 238.3
7 Chip King 6.148 240.21
8 Steve Engel 6.168 237
9 Scott Ray 6.227 232.27
10 Bryan Seward 6.255 230.45
11 Matt Hagan 6.267 235.27
12 Tony Pontieri 6.744 212.66
13 Joshua Hernandez 7.269 140.4
14 Eddie Ware 8.307 113.2
15 Dan Rowe 14.617 71.89
16 Brandon Pesz NTR
