With the $150,000-to-win Midwest Drag Racing Series Fall Smackdown less than two weeks away, Mark Micke is riding a massive wave of momentum. Micke doubled up in Pro Mod this past weekend at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, winning both the MWDRS Funny Car Nationals and the make-up final round from the Night of Fire & Thunder in St. Louis earlier this year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cool temperatures and dry air provided the perfect recipe for Micke\u2019s twin-turbo Camaro, as he reset the MWDRS record multiple times for both elapsed time and mph, culminating in a blistering 3.556-second pass at 229.94 mph in the semifinals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a dream weekend for us,\u201d Micke said. \u201cPerfect weather, perfect track conditions, and we had zero issues with the car. Everything just went our way. But it also showed just how good our team is prepared to be able to take advantage of those conditions. We\u2019re hoping to carry that momentum into the Smackdown at Flying H next weekend.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
During qualifying, Micke used a 3.562 at 214 mph to defeat Brandon Snider in the make-up final from St. Louis and position himself in the No. 1 spot for Saturday\u2019s race. Due to breakage from both Keith Goolsby and Corey Smith, Micke didn\u2019t see an opponent until a rematch with Snider in the semifinals. While Snider ran a stout 3.626, Micke\u2019s aforementioned record-setting pass moved him into the finals. Despite slowing slightly with a 3.761, he defeated Aaron Wells, who struggled to a 5.084.<\/p>\n
With two wins in one weekend, Micke extended his points lead over Wells, Keith Haney, and Ron Muenks, while looking nearly unstoppable heading into the MWDRS Fall Smackdown on Sept. 19-21 at Flying H Dragstrip in Odessa, Missouri. As if he needed any more help, Micke considers Flying H to be his home track, so he will feel extremely comfortable there.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into the race, I do feel like we have a hometown advantage,\u201d said Micke. \u201cI\u2019ve probably got more passes there than all the other Pro Mod guys combined, and we\u2019re more familiar with the conditions here. But while that might get me through the first couple rounds, these guys are all pros. You give them a day or two of testing and the first couple rounds on that track, the advantage is gone at that point. I\u2019m hoping we have a hell of an advantage, but I\u2019m a realist too.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
With over 50 Pro Mods currently entered to compete at the Fall Smackdown, the competition level will be the highest the Kansas City area has ever seen. Knowing this, Micke is showing up loaded with three engines already lined out, with one specifically for qualifying, another for race day, and a spare. That\u2019s the type of commitment he believes it will take to walk home with the big $150,000 check.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the first big race we\u2019ve had in the Midwest in forever,\u201d Micke said. \u201cEverything is taken to the next level \u2013 intensity, focus\u2026there\u2019s a lot at stake. It\u2019s gonna be very fast, very tight fields with the best of the best. You\u2019ve got Jason Harris, Derek Ward, Melanie Salemi\u2026you can go on and on. Everybody\u2019s going to let their shit hang out. A lot of guys forget that with five rounds, that\u2019s an extra round, and it\u2019s a lot for these cars. You gotta figure the pin\u2019s pulled on the hand grenade at all times.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been in high-pressure situations like that,\u201d continued Micke. \u201cI\u2019ve been fortunate enough to win the first $101,000 race from Donald Long. I think some guys will buckle under the pressure, but I\u2019d say your top 20 cars, those guys can handle that shit.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This story was originally published on September 10, 2024. <\/p>\n
The post Mark Micke Recaps \u2018Dream\u2019 Weekend, Previews Midwest Drag Racing Series Fall Smackdown<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With the $150,000-to-win Midwest Drag Racing Series Fall Smackdown less than two weeks away, Mark Micke is riding a massive wave of momentum. Micke doubled up in Pro Mod this past weekend at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, winning both the MWDRS Funny Car Nationals and the make-up final round from the Night […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95885","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=95885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95885\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}