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GREENVILLE, S.C. – Pro Modified competitor Alan Pittman likely won’t soon forget the events, experiences, jubilation, and disappointment that he and his team often enjoyed, but more often endured, during the 2006 eMax Drag Racing Series season.
This past weekend, at the Universal Technical Institute World Finals at North Carolina’s Rockingham Dragway, Pittman accomplished a goal he had set for himself prior to the event; he wanted to finish the year on a high note.
After a season that saw the team start strong, win a national event, and then fall on hard times as they failed to qualify for several races, a positive conclusion to the 2006 campaign was exactly what they needed.
Power, handling, and consistency are what it takes to make a Pro Mod car competitive, and Pittman had them all in abundance as he qualified for the show with a best pass of 6.080-seconds at 229.86 mph, good enough for the No. 9 slot. He also paced his supercharged ’62 Chevy Bel Air to passes of 6.093, 227.46 and 6.146, 226.62 during the preliminary sessions. It was the quickest field of 16 ever assembled in IHRA Pro Mod competition, with a bump spot of 6.106, and just making the show was a major accomplishment.
On Sunday Pittman went down at the hands of top qualifier John Russo in the first round of eliminations, but it was a successful outing as far as he was concerned. “We struggled at times this year, for sure, and we wanted to do well here in the worst way,” Pittman said. “We have always known we had a good car and a good engine program – we’ve just had to deal with too many of the minor problems that come with a new car.
“So we’re real happy with the results we got this weekend,” Pittman said. “Sure, we’d have liked to have gone some rounds, but making such a tough field was a big deal for this team. We know we have a good program, and now we can look ahead to next season with confidence. Mel [car owner Bush] and I have to sit down over the winter and start making plans for next season. We all love doing this, and we want to come back out in 2007 and show what we can do, so we’ll have to kick things around for a while and see what we come up with.
“I said at the beginning of the season that we were going to show the competition more than a pretty red car, and I’m saying it again. We’ll be back, and they’ll know we’re there!”
Mission Accomplished. Pittman Finishes Strong at World Finals, Looks Ahead to Next Season
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Pro Modified competitor Alan Pittman likely won’t soon forget the events, experiences, jubilation, and disappointment that he and his team often enjoyed, but more often endured, during the 2006 eMax Drag Racing Series season.
This past weekend, at the Universal Technical Institute World Finals at North Carolina’s Rockingham Dragway, Pittman accomplished a goal he had set for himself prior to the event; he wanted to finish the year on a high note.
After a season that saw the team start strong, win a national event, and then fall on hard times as they failed to qualify for several races, a positive conclusion to the 2006 campaign was exactly what they needed.
Power, handling, and consistency are what it takes to make a Pro Mod car competitive, and Pittman had them all in abundance as he qualified for the show with a best pass of 6.080-seconds at 229.86 mph, good enough for the No. 9 slot. He also paced his supercharged ’62 Chevy Bel Air to passes of 6.093, 227.46 and 6.146, 226.62 during the preliminary sessions. It was the quickest field of 16 ever assembled in IHRA Pro Mod competition, with a bump spot of 6.106, and just making the show was a major accomplishment.
On Sunday Pittman went down at the hands of top qualifier John Russo in the first round of eliminations, but it was a successful outing as far as he was concerned. “We struggled at times this year, for sure, and we wanted to do well here in the worst way,” Pittman said. “We have always known we had a good car and a good engine program – we’ve just had to deal with too many of the minor problems that come with a new car.
“So we’re real happy with the results we got this weekend,” Pittman said. “Sure, we’d have liked to have gone some rounds, but making such a tough field was a big deal for this team. We know we have a good program, and now we can look ahead to next season with confidence. Mel [car owner Bush] and I have to sit down over the winter and start making plans for next season. We all love doing this, and we want to come back out in 2007 and show what we can do, so we’ll have to kick things around for a while and see what we come up with.
“I said at the beginning of the season that we were going to show the competition more than a pretty red car, and I’m saying it again. We’ll be back, and they’ll know we’re there!”
