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ATLANTA (April 26) -- Ray Commisso is the Ohio Crankshaft No. 1 qualifier for the first time in more than a year as qualifying for the JEGS ProMod Challenge concluded Saturday afternoon at Atlanta Dragway.
Currently ranked third in the JEGS championship standings, 93 points behind Joe Baker, Commisso suddenly has a golden opportunity to gain a bunch of ground back on the No. 1 ranking as Baker failed to qualify for the event after winning the first two races of the year.
"We're definitely looking to earn as many points as we can," said Commisso, driver of the ProCare Rx Camaro. "The standings are about to bunch up considerably with Joe out of the line-up so it's going to get very interesting.
"I think we have a car that's capable of winning. It's only got three runs on it since Vanishing Point Race Cars rebuilt the center section of the chassis so we're still working out the bugs a little bit but any time you enter a drag race with Al Billes tuning your car you have a great chance to win."
Commisso's elapsed time of record was the 5.957 at 244.87 mph he posted in Friday's first qualifying session. He'll open against Rick Stivers, who set a very quick bump spot of 6.099 at 233.36 mph in his '67 Tindle Enterprises Shelby GT.
Returning to his '41 Willys after one race behind the wheel of Roger Burgess' hot rod, Baker's best run was a 6.165 at 234.94 mph. With an 80-point advantage over Tony Pontieri, who qualified 12th with a 6.066, Baker could still leave town with the points lead but it's dwindling fast.
Eliminations begin at 4:30 p.m. EDT
First-round pairings:
COMMERCE, Ga. -- Final order after 3 rounds of qualifying in JEGS ProMod Challenge
at the 28th
annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals:
Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd
1 1090 Raymond Commisso, Toronto ON, '68 Firebird 5.957 244.87
2 38 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, '68 Camaro 5.993 236.09
3 320 Steve Engel, Shandon OH, '63 Corvette 5.999 241.32
4 1986 John Russo, Middleton MA, '86 Firebird 6.011 240.47
5 24 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, '06 GTO 6.021 239.57
6 1211 Mike Ashley, Melville NY, '68 Camaro 6.031 240.51
7 763 Kirk Kuhns, Yorba Linda CA, '41 Willys 6.044 229.98
8 8 Shelly Payne, Ontario CA, '05 Stratus 6.046 233.68
9 272 Roger Burgess, Duluth GA, '63 Corvette 6.048 228.42
10 3 Jay Payne, Ontario CA, '68 Camaro 6.056 236.38
11 1941 Eddie Ware, Marietta GA, '67 Firebird 6.056 236.30
12 1152 Tony Pontieri, Bolton ON, '57 Bel Air 6.066 236.42
13 1212 Scott Ray, Greenville OH, '53 Corvette 6.069 233.52
14 7 Harold Laird, Baton Rouge LA, '63 Corvette 6.070 234.98
15 402 Taylor Lastor, Knoxville NC, '67 Camaro 6.072 238.55
16 9 Rick Stivers, Lexington KY, '67 Shelby GT 6.099 233.36
Not Qualified
17 6 Tim Tindle, Santa Rosa FL, '67 Shelby GT 6.153 240.34
18 2103 Joe Baker, Milton FL, '41 Willys 6.165 234.94
19 348 Brad Personett, Elkhart IN, '53 Corvette 6.273 233.80
20 501 Mike Knowles, Grand Junction CO, '68 Camaro 8.376 114.64
1. Raymond Commisso, Pontiac Firebird, 5.957, 244.87 vs. 16. Rick Stivers, Shelby GT, 6.099, 233.36; 2. Danny Rowe, Chevy Camaro, 5.993, 240.34 vs. 15. Taylor Lastor, Camaro, 6.072, 238.55; 3. Steve Engel, Chevy Corvette, 5.999, 242.32 vs. 14. Harold Laird, Corvette, 6.070, 236.84; 4.John Russo, Firebird, 6.011, 240.47 vs. 13. Scott Ray, Corvette, 6.069, 233.52; 5. Troy Coughlin, Pontiac GTO, 6.021, 239.57 vs. 12. Tony Pontieri, Chevy Bel Air, 6.066, 236.42; 6. Mike Ashley, Camaro, 6.031, 240.51 vs. 11. Eddie Ware, Firebird, 6.056, 236.30; 7. Kirk Kuhns, Willys, 6.044, 233.08 vs. 10. Jay Payne, Camaro, 6.056, 236.38; 8. Shelly Payne, Dodge Stratus, 6.046, 233.68
vs. 9. Roger Burgess, Corvette, 6.048, 238.09.
Commisso secures Ohio Crankshaft money; Point leader Baker DNQs
ATLANTA (April 26) -- Ray Commisso is the Ohio Crankshaft No. 1 qualifier for the first time in more than a year as qualifying for the JEGS ProMod Challenge concluded Saturday afternoon at Atlanta Dragway.
Currently ranked third in the JEGS championship standings, 93 points behind Joe Baker, Commisso suddenly has a golden opportunity to gain a bunch of ground back on the No. 1 ranking as Baker failed to qualify for the event after winning the first two races of the year.
"We're definitely looking to earn as many points as we can," said Commisso, driver of the ProCare Rx Camaro. "The standings are about to bunch up considerably with Joe out of the line-up so it's going to get very interesting.
"I think we have a car that's capable of winning. It's only got three runs on it since Vanishing Point Race Cars rebuilt the center section of the chassis so we're still working out the bugs a little bit but any time you enter a drag race with Al Billes tuning your car you have a great chance to win."
Commisso's elapsed time of record was the 5.957 at 244.87 mph he posted in Friday's first qualifying session. He'll open against Rick Stivers, who set a very quick bump spot of 6.099 at 233.36 mph in his '67 Tindle Enterprises Shelby GT.
Returning to his '41 Willys after one race behind the wheel of Roger Burgess' hot rod, Baker's best run was a 6.165 at 234.94 mph. With an 80-point advantage over Tony Pontieri, who qualified 12th with a 6.066, Baker could still leave town with the points lead but it's dwindling fast.
Eliminations begin at 4:30 p.m. EDT
First-round pairings:
COMMERCE, Ga. -- Final order after 3 rounds of qualifying in JEGS ProMod Challenge
at the 28th
annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals:
Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd
1 1090 Raymond Commisso, Toronto ON, '68 Firebird 5.957 244.87
2 38 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, '68 Camaro 5.993 236.09
3 320 Steve Engel, Shandon OH, '63 Corvette 5.999 241.32
4 1986 John Russo, Middleton MA, '86 Firebird 6.011 240.47
5 24 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, '06 GTO 6.021 239.57
6 1211 Mike Ashley, Melville NY, '68 Camaro 6.031 240.51
7 763 Kirk Kuhns, Yorba Linda CA, '41 Willys 6.044 229.98
8 8 Shelly Payne, Ontario CA, '05 Stratus 6.046 233.68
9 272 Roger Burgess, Duluth GA, '63 Corvette 6.048 228.42
10 3 Jay Payne, Ontario CA, '68 Camaro 6.056 236.38
11 1941 Eddie Ware, Marietta GA, '67 Firebird 6.056 236.30
12 1152 Tony Pontieri, Bolton ON, '57 Bel Air 6.066 236.42
13 1212 Scott Ray, Greenville OH, '53 Corvette 6.069 233.52
14 7 Harold Laird, Baton Rouge LA, '63 Corvette 6.070 234.98
15 402 Taylor Lastor, Knoxville NC, '67 Camaro 6.072 238.55
16 9 Rick Stivers, Lexington KY, '67 Shelby GT 6.099 233.36
Not Qualified
17 6 Tim Tindle, Santa Rosa FL, '67 Shelby GT 6.153 240.34
18 2103 Joe Baker, Milton FL, '41 Willys 6.165 234.94
19 348 Brad Personett, Elkhart IN, '53 Corvette 6.273 233.80
20 501 Mike Knowles, Grand Junction CO, '68 Camaro 8.376 114.64
1. Raymond Commisso, Pontiac Firebird, 5.957, 244.87 vs. 16. Rick Stivers, Shelby GT, 6.099, 233.36; 2. Danny Rowe, Chevy Camaro, 5.993, 240.34 vs. 15. Taylor Lastor, Camaro, 6.072, 238.55; 3. Steve Engel, Chevy Corvette, 5.999, 242.32 vs. 14. Harold Laird, Corvette, 6.070, 236.84; 4.John Russo, Firebird, 6.011, 240.47 vs. 13. Scott Ray, Corvette, 6.069, 233.52; 5. Troy Coughlin, Pontiac GTO, 6.021, 239.57 vs. 12. Tony Pontieri, Chevy Bel Air, 6.066, 236.42; 6. Mike Ashley, Camaro, 6.031, 240.51 vs. 11. Eddie Ware, Firebird, 6.056, 236.30; 7. Kirk Kuhns, Willys, 6.044, 233.08 vs. 10. Jay Payne, Camaro, 6.056, 236.38; 8. Shelly Payne, Dodge Stratus, 6.046, 233.68
vs. 9. Roger Burgess, Corvette, 6.048, 238.09.
