PATTERSON GRABS TOP SPOT WITH HIS BEST RUN OF ’05; ASHLEY, PAYNE STILL LEAD PRO MOD CLASH POINTS BATTLE

Belle Rose, La. (April 23, 2005) — Thomas Patterson picked a good time to put together his best run of the 2005 season, scoring a $2,000 bonus from FLOWMASTER after running a 6.16 in the fourth and final Pro Mod qualifying session and finishing in the No. 1 spot at the Jegs.com NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals at No Problem Raceway Park.

For Patterson, who had not even reached the 6.20s in the season’s first three AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge presented by TLR events, the No. 1 finish was the first since he led qualifying at the 2002 Bristol event. Patterson and the rest of the PMS Excavation ’41 Willys team will enter Sunday’s eliminations hoping history will repeat itself: that Bristol event three years ago ended with Patterson posting a clean sweep of every available performance award (event win, No. 1, low ET, and top speed).

After leading through the first three sessions, defending series champion Mike Ashley had to settle for the No. 2 spot with a 6.18 best. No other driver was able to reach the 6-teens, but AMS/TLR Cup points leader Jay Payne (6.21), Frankie Taylor (6.22), Troy Coughlin (6.22), and Kirk Kuhns (6.22) all managed to get into the low-6.20s. The result was the best of the season thus far for Coughlin, an NHRA national event winner in Pro Stock, who will begin eliminations in the top half of the field for the first time as a Pro Mod driver.

Patterson’s No. 1 finish also jumped him into eighth place in the FLOWMASTER Pro Mod CLASH bonus-event points standings. Ashley (60 points) and Payne (58) are 1-2 in the CLASH standings for the second straight week; Patterson has 27 points and is two ahead of Las Vegas top qualifier Glen Kerunsky for the eighth and last spot in the field.

The final top eight points-earners will compete in the 3rd annual FLOWMASTER Pro Mod CLASH, which will be held during qualifying at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, Oct. 20-23. The No. 1 qualifier at each AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge presented by TLR event will earn 16 points, the No. 2 qualifier will earn 15 points, and so on, down to one point for the No. 16 qualifier. Points will be earned through the O’Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas, Sept. 22-25.

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK

Seven in a row: The last seven AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge presented by TLR events have finished with seven different No. 1 qualifiers. The streak began at last season’s Indianapolis event, where Harold Martin grabbed the top spot.

No. 1 a curse? Speaking of Martin’s Indianapolis performance, he’s also the last top-qualified driver to win a side-by-side race in Pro Mod eliminations. Since then, five straight No. 1s have gone out in their first competitive passes, including Kerunsky last week in Las Vegas. Patterson will be looking to end the mysterious streak when he takes on AMS/TLR series newcomer Brandon Pesz in Sunday’s first round.

Perfect records: Six drivers have qualified for all four Pro Mod Challenge events this season: Ashley, Payne, Kuhns, Troy Critchley, Joshua Hernandez, and Shelly Payne.

FLOWMASTER PRO MOD CLASH POINTS STANDINGS (Top eight finishers qualify) Through 5 of 14 events
1. Mike Ashley	60
2. Jay Payne	58
3. Joshua Hernandez	44
4. Troy Critchley	42
(tie) Ed Hoover	42 (1 pole)
6. Chip King	36
7. Kirk Kuhns	34
8. Thomas Patterson	27 (1 pole)
9. Glen Kerunsky	25 (1 pole)
10. Frankie Taylor	24
(tie) Quain Scott	24