After five thrilling Pro Modified qualifying sessions, Mark Micke claimed the $10,000 low qualifier bonus Friday night at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, the final race of the DI Winter Series presented by J&A Service, at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Micke’s 3.575-second pass from Friday’s fourth qualifying session was enough to keep him and his twin-turbocharged M&M Transmission ’69 Camaro at the top of the quickest 32-car Pro Mod field in drag racing history. Three-time PDRA Pro Nitrous champion Tommy Franklin is the No. 32 qualifier with a 3.637-second effort.
2024 NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world champion and two-time PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Johnny Pluchino maintained his No. 1 position in the third annual Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational in his Ross Environmental Services ’13 Mustang. John Carinci claimed his No. 1 spot Friday night under the lights in the second annual Pro 10.5 Challenge in his turbocharged 2004 Corvette.
Friday also saw the final qualifying session for the sportsman classes, the second annual Intercontinental Top Sportsman and Intercontinental Top Dragster Championships. Friday’s provisional No. 1 qualifiers, Glenn Butcher in Top Sportsman and Russ Whitlock in Top Dragster, held on to their top spots.
Following qualifying, drivers in Pro Mod, Mountain Motor Pro Stock, and Pro 10.5 gathered for the random chip draw to determine first-round pairings for Saturday’s eliminations.
PRO MOD
After struggling unexpectedly on Thursday, Mark Micke returned to his dominating ways on Friday, jumping to the top of the qualifying sheet with a 3.575-second pass at 223.65 mph. The pass extended Micke’s No. 1 qualifying streak to an incredible 13 events in a row in his twin-turbocharged M&M Transmission ’69 Camaro.
“We got behind during testing, and Thursday we just couldn’t put it together,” said Micke, who also collected the $10,000 low qualifier bonus. “We had changed the car up a lot at U.S. Street because there’s radial prep, and we found out we couldn’t run it like that at this race. We put our heads together, looked over the data, and were pretty confident this morning.
“We ran a .61 in the morning, and that got our confidence back,” Micke continued. “Things just fell our way in the next round – we watched the weather falling and the track getting cooler, and I said, ‘Boys, I think this is our run.’ To put together 13 No. 1s in a row against the baddest Pro Mod racers in the world, I’m just really proud of our guys. Thick and thin, hot or cold, whatever the prep, we’ve been able to pull it out with the car. To be standing on top, that’s pretty badass.”
As the No. 1 qualifier, Micke was the first driver to pull a poker chip out of the bag in Friday night’s chip draw. He pulled the No. 2 chip along with No Prep Kings star and 2024 Snowbird Outlaw Nationals winner Kye Kelley, setting up what will be the marquee matchup of round one between two drivers with points championship aspirations.
“Those guys ain’t no joke,” Micke said. “They’ve got Jeff [Pierce] and Billy [Stocklin], so they’re going to run fast – and Kye’s a machine on the tree, and one of our oldest NPK customers. But we talked, and if we can knock Kye out, that jumps us ahead, and then we gotta pray we get (points leader) Ken Quartuccio in the next round. That’s the only shot we got. It’ll be a stretch, but our best shot is to get him early.”
Reigning back-to-back PDRA Pro Boost world champion and 2023 WSOPM semifinalist Jason Harris ran a 3.583 at 209.04 mph to take the No. 2 spot in his ProCharged Party Time Racing ’69 Camaro. He’ll take on Jay Cox in the first round on Saturday.
“I can’t be any more proud of my team and everyone that stands behind me,” said Harris. “Being the second-quickest car here with the fastest cars in the world means a lot to me. The confidence level has to be high, but I don’t think there is a good draw. You can’t draw anybody and feel good about it. Once you draw those chips, you just gotta hope for the best and do the best you can. This is the largest stage you’ll race on in our level, and to go in knowing I’ve been to the semis (at WSOPM) before, all I’ve got left is to win it.”
2017 WSOPM champion Mike Bowman returned to his previous form, taking the No. 3 position with a career-best E.T., running a 3.589 at 220.37 mph in his twin-turbo ’69 Chevelle. He drew 2025 U.S. Street Nationals runner-up Lyle Barnett in the first round.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” Bowman said. “It doesn’t feel like winning it the first time, but you feel like you won just qualifying. The biggest race of my life was that race that I won, and it was nothing like this – we had a field of 16. But to do it again with 80 Pro Mods will be absolutely amazing. These are the baddest of the baddest in the world, and I’m going to have to dig deep to get a good reaction time to run with Lyle. We’ll see what happens.”
Also running a career-best was 2025 U.S. Street Nationals semifinalist Rian Hayward, who used a 3.593 at 208.62 to put his ProCharger-powered “Code Blue” ’69 Camaro in the No. 4 spot. 2025 U.S. Street Nationals winner and current DI Winter Series points leader Ken Quartuccio rounded out the top five with 3.594 at 208.75 in his Scott Tidwell Racing screw-blown ’69 Camaro.
Tommy Franklin, a three-time PDRA Pro Nitrous world champion, ended up on the 32-car bump spot in the third iteration of his infamous “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro. His 3.637 at 208.36 in the final session of the night secured his spot.
First-round pairings: Melanie Salemi vs. Keith Haney, Mark Micke vs. Kye Kelley, Ken Quartuccio vs. Spencer Hyde, Jason Harris vs. Jay Cox, Kurt Steding vs. Isaias Rojas, Jeff Rudolf vs. Sidnei Frigo, Cameron Hensley vs. Steve King, Scott Taylor vs. Raymond Matos, John Ricca vs. Victor Alvarez, Ty Tutterow vs. Joel Wensley Sr., Mike Bowman vs. Lyle Barnett, Rian Hayward vs. Johnny Camp, Tim Dutton vs. Erica Enders, Amber Denton vs. Billy Banaka, Stevie Jackson vs. Stan Shelton, Alex Laughlin vs. Tommy Franklin.
PRO 10.5
John Carinci proved the potential of his turbocharged ’04 Corvette in the final Pro 10.5 qualifying session when he laid down a 3.903 at 205.69 to take the No. 1 spot from young gun Joel Wensley Jr. He steadily improved throughout the four qualifying sessions on Thursday and Friday, starting with a 5.072 followed by a 4.049 that put him in the middle of the pack going into the final session. Tuner Carl Stevens Jr., winner of the 2018 WSOPM in Denver, then sent Carinci on a chart-topping pass under the Friday night lights.
“We’ve been struggling all weekend,” Carinci said. “We did some work on the car. It’s got a lot of new chassis work on it, and it’s got a fresh engine in it. We were struggling, but then we were able to figure out a few little glitches and got them all taken care of. Carl Stevens Jr.’s tuning, Xtreme Racing Engines, Mark Micke’s transmission, Neal Chance Racing Converters, Precision Turbos, Atomizer Injectors, Aeromotive fuel pumps – these guys are all on board helping us out.”
Carinci continued to thank the people in his corner who contributed to his success to this point in the event.
“Shoutout to my boys back home in Canada, my son James and good buddy Vince, and a big shoutout to Ronnie Partap and his brother and Chassis Stop,” Carinci said. “They have all helped out big time, and without them, this wouldn’t happen. But I thank Wes Buck, Tom Kasper, and all the people associated with this race, and all the racers. This is an absolute class act – I love this.”
It was a validating performance for Carinci, who has competed in Outlaw 10.5 for years. He was one of the 24 participants in the first Pro 10.5 Challenge last year, and now he’s leading the 25-car qualifying order at the second running of the $25,000-to-win race.
“It’s fun, it’s exciting,” Carinci said. “I drove 30 hours to come down here [from Canada]. I’ve been doing 10.5 for a long time, and when they opened up the 10.5 in the World Series of Pro Mod, I said, ‘We’ve got to be part of that because that’s what we love.’ The 10.5 tire is the wildest tire – the cars look cool and people love them.”
While 25 drivers made qualifying attempts, only the quickest 16 will race on Saturday. Small-tire veteran Rob Valden, driving for Charlie Cooper in his turbocharged ’22 Mustang, qualified second with a 3.914 at 204.39 in the final session. Wensley Jr., whose 3.925 at 194.32 gave him the provisional No. 1 spot on Thursday, slipped to third in his ProCharged ’14 Camaro. The late Lizzy Musi’s fan-favorite, nitrous-fed “Bonnie” ’69 Camaro, now driven by Blake Denton out of the Tommy Franklin Motorsports camp, qualified fourth with Denton’s 3.952 at 191.73. Second-generation Outlaw 10.5 driver Ty Kasper wheeled his family’s turbocharged Victus Sports “Sinatra” ’05 Mustang to a 3.953 at 199.76 to round out the top five.
First-round matchups: John Carinci vs. Adrian Herrera, Bill Lutz vs. Bill Riddle, Rob Valden vs. Lance Knigge, Joel Wensley Jr. vs. Ty Kasper, Tim Dutton vs. Chris Tuten, Kallee Mills vs. Dmitry Lisin, Blake Denton vs. Lyle Barnett, Jerry Morgano vs. Ethan Steding.
MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK
Johnny Pluchino made his best qualifying run in Thursday’s night session, but he also looked strong in Friday’s two Mountain Motor Pro Stock sessions, which included a day session and one in the evening. He secured the No. 1 position on the strength of a 4.061 at 177.60 in the Kaase-powered Ross Environmental Services ’13 Mustang that he drove to two PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world championships and the first-ever NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world championship last season.
“We’ve made four really good runs all weekend, but our No. 1 run was good,” Pluchino said. “I’m honestly more impressed with what we did in the heat. Both of our runs during the daytime were low for the session and very impressive runs. As happy as I am to be No. 1, I’m really happy that we have a car that’s capable of going out in the heat and going .09, .10 when the conditions are difficult.”
Pluchino’s performance would typically net him a first-round match with the No. 16 qualifier, but like the Pro Mod and Pro 10.5 classes at WSOPM, the $25,000-to-win MMPSI also uses random chip drawings to determine matchups in eliminations. Pluchino drew Dennis Firkus, who threw down a 4.069 at 178.99 in his Done Rite Auto ’07 Cobalt in the final qualifying session to qualify No. 2.
“Yeah, so the chip draw,” sighed Pluchino with a smile on his face. “No. 1 qualifier versus No. 2 qualifier – that’s the beauty of the chip draw, right? I got Dennis Firkus. They made a really good run tonight. I’ve raced them before. We’re going to go at it again. We’ve raced maybe once or twice. I think I’m on the right side of that deal in the past, but tomorrow’s a new day. They’re running really well. Dennis can let the clutch out on time, but we feel really good about our team, no matter who’s in the other lane.”
Pluchino continued to praise his Long Island-based team, which includes his father, 2016 PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion John Pluchino.
“I just want to thank my team,” Pluchino said. “I want to thank Ross Environmental Services for coming out, supporting our team, and joining forces with us. I’m just excited for tomorrow. I want to get out there and do what we need to do, go round-by-round, and hold this trophy.”
After Pluchino and Firkus, two-time and reigning PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Chris Powers used a 4.074 at 178.10 in his Sonny’s Racing Engines/ATI Performance ’21 Camaro to qualify third. Multi-time world champion John Montecalvo, who won the 2023 MMPSI, stepped up to a 4.08 at 178.00 in his Kaase-powered JM Racing ’19 Mustang in the final session to end up fourth. Longtime MMPS wheelman Tony Gillig took advantage of the opportunity to fill in for 2023 PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Alan Drinkwater, steering the Drinkwater family’s Kaase-powered Flatout Gaskets ’08 Mustang to the No. 5 spot with a 4.096 at 176.93.
First-round matchups: Bill Neri vs. Larry Pearce, Matt Giangrande vs. Daryl Stewart, Scott Benham vs. Jordan Ensslin, John Montecalvo vs. Derrick Reese, Johnny Pluchino vs. Dennis Firkus, Chris Powers vs. Kurt Neighbor, Rick Cowger vs. Dwayne Rice, Tony Gillig vs. Elijah Morton.
TOP SPORTSMAN
Nitrous-assisted hot rods led the way again in Top Sportsman’s second and final qualifying session on Friday after topping the Thursday chart. Glenn Butcher, who won the 2024 PDRA Elite Top Sportsman world championship, locked in the No. 1 position with a 3.835 at 196.13 in his Albert-powered ’69 Camaro. Virginia’s Thomas Brown moved up to second in his Camaro with a 3.967 at 190.35. Longtime Top Sportsman proponent Bruce Thrift took his “Color Me Gone” GTO to the third spot with a 4.006 at 183.54.
TOP DRAGSTER
The top three in Top Dragster remained unchanged from Thursday’s lone qualifying session after the second and final session on Friday. Russ Whitlock clinched the No. 1 position in his ProCharged ’08 Race Tech dragster with his 3.885 at 188.96. Les Feist, who made the trip down from Minnesota, followed with a 3.888 at 184.93 in his ’13 Miller dragster. Multi-time NHRA national event winner Matt Sackman in the supercharged SB Metal Fab ’10 Spitzer qualified third with a 3.889 at 185.21
Pro Mod’s first round of eliminations will begin Saturday at 9:45 a.m. following Super Pro’s first round at 9 a.m.
Saturday general admission tickets are available for $40. Children ages 12 and under get in free. Fans can also watch the race through the official event livestream on www.FloRacing.com.
For a detailed schedule, tickets, and other event info, visit www.WorldSeriesOfProMod.com or www.Facebook.com/worldseriesofpromod.
This story was originally published on March 1, 2025. 
The post Mark Micke Extends No. 1 Qualifying Streak to Lead Record Field at World Series of Pro Mod first appeared on Drag Illustrated.