When reigning WSOPM winner Steve King just missed out on qualifying for the main 32-car Pro Mod field at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by Red Line Oil, his chances at returning to the WSOPM Winner’s Circle didn’t end. Thanks to the Outlaw Light Beer Wild Card Shootout, a separate five-round race for the drivers who didn’t qualify, he got to race on Saturday.
King, who drove Gene Pilot’s screw-blown “Savage 3.0” Corvette to the $150,000 final-round win over Stevie “Fast” Jackson in last year’s WSOPM final round, ended up No. 37 on the final qualifying sheet for this year’s race. He delivered a best of 3.604 seconds at 207.15 mph, and Robin Roberts claimed the No. 32 spot with a 3.602 at 211.00. Just two thousandths of a second and a few mph separated King from his shot at back-to-back titles.
But King and the Pilot Racing team went to work anyway in the Outlaw Light Beer Wild Card Shootout, running a 3.697 to beat past NHRA Pro Stock world champ Bo Butner in the opening round. His 3.632 to beat Frank Falter IV tied Luis de Leon for low E.T. of the second round. King was then quickest of the quarterfinals with his 3.614 to take out Robert Costa. King’s rollercoaster of a weekend continued in the semifinals as he went red by .002 on a 3.627-second pass that easily would’ve beat de Leon, who suffered a major parts failure. When de Leon bypassed the scales, King was reinstated because he did cross the scales.
“A little semifinal round action there – I kind of feel a little bit down on that episode – I did red light but he bypassed the scales,” King said. “I mean, how often do you get a buy-back round in Pro Mod racing?”
King made the most of his second chance in the second-chance race, leaving first against 2023 WSOPM Second-Chance Shootout winner Melanie Salemi in the $15,000 final round and charging to a 3.611 at 207.27. Salemi slowed to a 4.336 at 121.10.
“We had to run our teammate in the finals,” who gave a shoutout to the Salemi family and their G-Force Race Cars and Resolution Racing Services. “Those guys were over here in the semis thrashing – all their guys, all my guys, we had the motor tore apart in a million pieces. We want both team cars in the final, which we ended up with.
“We’re happy with the win,” King continued. “Jon [Salemi] gave us a great car all weekend. Came up a little short on the A-feature to get into the main race, and those guys are lucky we didn’t get in there because we made some good runs today in the heat. During the night time sessions we’re not picking up like we need to, but during the day, this car can run with any car here.”
This story was originally published on March 2, 2026. 
The post King’s Comeback: 2025 WSOPM Champ Steve Kings Wins Outlaw Beer Wild Card Shootout first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
