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PRO MOD
Paducah, KY's Billy Harper was the best of five
nitrous entries that made the show, qualifying
fourth with a 6.200 at 223.32 mph. No. 3 qualifier
Mike Janis ran an identical elapsed time, but
went three mph faster.
Rumors abounded before and during the race
that a blower overdrive reduction rule was coming
for the supercharged cars, but nothing was done
at Rockingham. Thirty-nine Pro Mod entries vied
for 16 raceday positions, with West Seneca,
NY's Fred Hahn leading the way
after three rounds of qualifying with a 6.144
pass at 229.12 mph. Only Hahn, number-two qualifier
Rick DiStefano, and eventual race winner Janis
ran in the teens all weekend.
Al Billes, from Barrie, ON, qualified his blown
'53 Corvette fifth and raced through Steve Salvadore,
Billy Harper, and Scotty Cannon to reach the
final round. It was a particularly expensive
weekend for Cannon, who blew up two engines
and received two "black flag" penalties for
oiling the track. "If hindsight is 20/20," the
Pro Mod legend said, "I probably would have
preferred to lose in the first round and have
both motors intact, than to win two rounds and
lose both motors." Janis, meanwhile, overcame
a holeshot by Mike Castellana to win his first
round, cut an unreal .003 light on his way to
an easy win over Kerunsky in round two, and
disposed of DiStefano after a brief pedaling
contest in the semis.
Mike Janis (near lane)
and Canada's Al Billes squared off in the Pro
Mod final, with Janis taking the win home to
Lancaster, NY.
Although not producing a repeat winner this
year, the Pro Mod final was a repeat of last
season's Spring Nationals at Rockingham, with
the same result. In the final round, Janis left
first and went 6.274 at 227.69 to beat the 6.364/223.88
combo put together by Billes.
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