After five thrilling Pro Modified qualifying sessions, Mark Micke claimed the $10,000 low qualifier bonus Saturday night at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by Johnson\u2019s Horsepowered Garage and J&A Service at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Micke\u2019s 3.598-second pass from Friday night kept him and his twin-turbocharged M&M Transmission \u201969 Camaro at the top of the quickest 32-car Pro Mod field in drag racing history. Mike Bowman, who won the original WSOPM in 2017, is the No. 32 qualifier with a 3.664-second effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Past NHRA Pro Stock world champion Bo Butner also maintained his No. 1 position in the second annual Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational in his Johnson\u2019s Horsepowered Garage Camaro. Ron Green lowered his weekend best to reclaim his No. 1 spot from Friday in the inaugural Pro 10.5 Challenge in his ProCharged 2000 Firebird.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Saturday also saw two final qualifying sessions for the sportsman classes, the inaugural Intercontinental Top Sportsman Championship presented by FTI Performance and the inaugural Intercontinental Top Dragster Championship presented by FTI Performance. Friday\u2019s provisional No. 1 qualifiers, Bryan LaFlam in Top Sportsman and Frank Falter IV in Top Dragster, held on to their top spots.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following qualifying, drivers used a random chip draw to determine first-round pairings for Sunday eliminations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many fans of outlaw doorslammer racing connect Mark Micke with the drag radial classes due to his barrier-breaking, record-setting accomplishments in those classes in recent years. But he\u2019s also an experienced Pro Mod driver who came into the World Series of Pro Mod with the best car he\u2019s ever had. His twin-turbocharged M&M Transmission \u201969 Camaro \u201cshop car\u201d set the pace with a 3.598 at 220.94 on Friday, and it\u2019s recorded passes in the low 3.60-second range in every other session. He\u2019s confident in his odds on race day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be awesome,\u201d said Micke, who collected a $10,000 low qualifier bonus from Pilot Electric and Red Line Oil. \u201cThese are the baddest drivers on the planet. I told my guys, who are a bunch of young guys, they don\u2019t understand what we did. This is the pinnacle of anything I\u2019ve ever done in racing. I\u2019ve done a lot of shit and this is more impressive. I don\u2019t know what else to say. I was blown away.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the No. 1 qualifier, Micke was the first driver to pull a poker chip out of the bag in Saturday night\u2019s chip draw. He pulled the No. 1 chip along with fellow radial racer Lyle Barnett, meaning the two will be the first pair out after the national anthem on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the chip draw because you don\u2019t know \u2013 it\u2019s just a roll of the dice,\u201d Micke said. \u201cI\u2019m ready. It\u2019s gonna be on in the first round. Who knows what\u2019s gonna happen? To win a World Series of Pro Mod, that\u2019s the top of my career. That\u2019s all I\u2019ve ever wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jim Halsey and Tommy Franklin, with seven PDRA Pro Nitrous world championships between them, put their nitrous-assisted Camaros in the No. 2 and 3 spots, respectively. Halsey qualified second in his Brandon Switzer-tuned, Fulton-powered \u201968 Camaro with a 3.609 at 209.17. Franklin was third with a 3.617 at 206.39 set in the final session in his Musi-powered \u201cJungle Rat\u201d \u201969 Camaro. Two-time NHRA Pro Mod world champion Stevie \u201cFast\u201d Jackson, who won the $50,000-to-win Radial vs. the World class at Lights Out 15 last weekend, took his screw-blown Motion Raceworks \u201cShadow 3.0\u201d \u201969 Camaro to the No. 4 spot with a 3.623 at 207.11 in the final session. Reigning PDRA Pro Boost world champion and 2023 WSOPM semifinalist Jason Harris rounded out the top five with a 3.623 at 205.22 in his ProCharged \u201cParty Time\u201d \u201969 Camaro.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mike Bowman, who won the first WSOPM at Bandimere Speedway in 2017, ended up on the 32-car bump spot in his California-based, ProCharged \u201969 Chevelle. His 3.664 at 206.07 would\u2019ve put him in the No. 19 spot in the 2023 WSOPM field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
First-round pairings: Mark Micke vs. Lyle Barnett, Jim Halsey vs. Stan Shelton, Kevin Rivenbark vs. Todd Tutterow, Mike Decker Jr. vs. Randy Weatherford, Kenny Lang vs. Johnny Camp, Preston Tanner vs. Keith Haney, Jason Scruggs vs. Dustin Nesloney, Marcus Birt vs. William Brown III, Kurt Steding vs. Travis Harvey, Mike Bowman vs. Chuck Parker, Stevie Jackson vs. Scott Wildgust, Scott Lang vs. Spencer Hyde, Eric Gustafson vs. Marcus Butner, Jim Widener vs. Ken Quartuccio, Tommy Franklin vs. Derek Ward, and Jason Harris vs. Steve King.<\/p>\n
Luke Nieuwhof photo<\/p>\n
NHRA Pro Stock standout Bo Butner held onto the No. 1 qualifier position in his debut race driving the Elite Motorsports-fielded Johnson\u2019s Horsepowered Garage \u201920 Camaro in the second annual Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational. Through five rounds of qualifying, no one was able to run quicker than Butner, who recorded a 4.06 at 178.05 on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a pretty good start for the Mountain Motor Pro Stock series if you ask me,\u201d said Butner, as he held an oversized check for $1,500 from Feather-Lite Batteries during Saturday night\u2019s chip draw. \u201cI have a great car and a great team as always. I\u2019ll probably stay up all night working on [wife Randi Lyn Butner\u2019s] car, but we will get it fixed. We\u2019re having fun. This is a cool event. I am having fun driving these cars. It\u2019s a learning step for me. No. 1 qualifier is badass, but we\u2019ve got to close the deal tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Butner will face Derrick Reese in the first round. Reese is a rising star in the Mountain Motor Pro Stock ranks and will be a worthy opponent for Butner in the first round.<\/p>\n
Jupiter, Florida\u2019s Daryl Stewart qualified second in his Chassis Engineering \u201912 Camaro with a 4.076 at 177.30. Two-time PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Johnny Pluchino went to the third spot in his Feather-Lite Batteries \u201913 Mustang with a 4.093 at 177.42. Texan Scott Benham drove the Team O Motorsports \u201908 Cobalt to a 4.097 at 176.74 to qualify fourth. John Montecalvo, the reigning event champion, qualified fifth with a 4.099 at 178.10 in his Montecalvo Asphalt \u201921 Mustang but damaged his engine and isn\u2019t expected to return for eliminations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
First-round pairings: Randi Lyn Butner vs. Scott Benham, Tony Pontieri vs. Johnny Pluchino, Dwayne Rice vs. Kurt Neighbor, Bo Butner vs. Derrick Reese, Rick Cowger vs. John Montecalvo, Daryl Stewart vs. Alan Drinkwater, Tony Gillig vs. Dillon Voss, and Matt Giangrande vs. Elijah Morton.<\/p>\n
One of multiple father-son teams competing in the Pro 10.5 Challenge, Ron Green and Ronnie Green Jr., threw down a hero run in the final qualifying session to take back their No. 1 spot from Friday night. Bill Lutz, led by son Kenny and co-tuner Patrick Miller, went to the top in the fourth session on Saturday with a 3.948-second pass. Green posted a 3.944 at 196.50 in his ProCharged 2000 Firebird in Q5 to secure the top spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very special,\u201d said Green, who earned a $500 bonus and custom baseball bat from Victus Sports and Kasper Performance Edge. \u201cWe struggled a lot and have come a long way. It\u2019s all thanks to my kid here. He worked really hard. We had to be a part of [this race]. Hopefully we have some luck tomorrow and get through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green Jr, who\u2019s just 27, found it rewarding to put his father on top of the 24-car Pro 10.5 qualifying order.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s pretty awesome,\u201d Green Jr. said. \u201cWe work real hard at the shop and at the racetrack, so I\u2019m just glad that\u2019s all paying off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lutz\u2019s 3.948 at 194.04 in his screw-blown \u201cBig Boost\u201d \u201967 Camaro put him second on the sheet. Two-time PDRA Pro Street world champion Tim Essick moved up late in qualifying to the third spot with a 3.969 at 187.89 in his ProCharged \u201cBrown Sugar\u201d \u201918 Mustang. Florida resident Jerry Morgano just missed the 3-second zone with his fourth-ranked 4.001 at 197.77 in his turbocharged \u201902 Cobra Mustang. Ty Kasper was also close with a 4.008 at 196.27 behind the wheel of his turbocharged Victus Sports \u201cSinatra\u201d \u201905 Mustang.\u00a0<\/p>\n
First-round pairings: Dan Norris vs. John Carinci, Nick Agostino vs. Tim Essick, Ron Green vs. Jerry Morgano, Joel Wensley Jr. vs. Bill Lutz, Kallee Mills vs. Scott Kincaid, Ty Kasper vs. Bill Riddle, Nick Schroeder vs. Richard Reagan, and Jesse Lambert vs. Chris Cadotto.<\/p>\n
Bryan LaFlam from Arizona led the pack in Top Sportsman, clocking a 3.729 at 197.08 in his supercharged LaFlam Motorsports \u201967 Mustang. Close behind, Buddy Perkinson achieved a 3.745 at 191.97 mph in his nitrous-fed LAT Racing Oils \u201969 Camaro, securing the second position. Tim Molnar, also utilizing nitrous, placed third with a time of 3.764 at 198.09 in his \u201968 Camaro.<\/p>\n
The top two positions in Top Dragster remained unchanged from Friday, with Maryland\u2019s Frank Falter IV locking in the No. 1 spot in his supercharged \u201cCandy Man\u201d \u201921 Miller dragster with a 3.743 at 202.27. Kentucky\u2019s Ashley Johnson held on to the No. 2 position with a 3.752 at 194.38 in her supercharged \u201913 Spitzer entry. Michael White in his North Carolina-based, ProCharged dragster bumped into the top three with his 3.799 at 190.24.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s on-track activities begin at 10 a.m. with Super Pro time trials, followed by the first round of eliminations in Top Sportsman and Top Dragster. Pro Mod eliminations will kick off at noon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Visit www.DragIllustrated.com<\/a> or www.Facebook.com\/DragIllustrated<\/a> and www.Facebook.com\/WorldSeriesofProMod<\/a> for event results and updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tickets are still available at https:\/\/bit.ly\/wsopm2024<\/a>. Fans watching from home can tune in to the official livestream at https:\/\/flosports.link\/3uYLot3<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The post Mark Micke Leads Record-Setting Field Into $100,000-to-Win World Series of Pro Mod Eliminations<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated | Drag Racing News, Opinion, Interviews, Photos, Videos and More<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After five thrilling Pro Modified qualifying sessions, Mark Micke claimed the $10,000 low qualifier bonus Saturday night at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by Johnson\u2019s Horsepowered Garage and J&A Service at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Micke\u2019s 3.598-second pass from Friday night kept him and his twin-turbocharged M&M Transmission \u201969 Camaro at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91828\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}