It had been a lengthy break for the 2022 FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by D-Wagon, as teams had the last seven weeks to prepare for a return to action at Topeka. The 33rd annual Menards NHRA Nationals was the fifth Pro Mod race of the ten race season and was powered by M&M Transmission and torque converters. M&M is well known for championship-winning and record breaking high-performance equipment.
It seems every weekend that teams and drivers are faced with high ambient temperatures, more humidity than anyone wanted to soak up, and a track temp pushing a 140-degrees. So, it really wasn’t much of a surprise to find out Kansas can be really warm during the late summer months, too.
The last two Pro Mod world champions, Jose Gonzalez and Stevie “Fast” Jackson, and points leader Kris Thorne were looking make big mid-season moves at Heartland Motorsports Park. With an adjusted altitude of 4,472 feet, the thermometer was pushing 100 degrees during the elimination rounds. With conditions being the best of the day, several drivers posted their quickest and fastest times in E1. Justin Bond, Steve Jackson, JR Gray Jr, Jose Gonzalez, Rickie Smith, and Kris Thorne all advanced.
Justin Bond Wins Third Pro Mod Wally at Tulsa
Justin Bond reached his sixth career final round and his first of the year on Sunday by taking down Sidnei Frigo and J.R. Gray. Bond wasn’t the fastest in qualifying at the Tulsa track. The Number One qualifier was Khalid AlBalooshi. Bond didn’t have the best reaction time or the lowest ET. Those honors went to Rickie Smith with a .015 RT and a 5.820 ET. As for who posted the fastest run at Kansas, it was a tie between Steve Jackson and Lyle Barnett. Both drivers crossed the line at 250.92 mph and both in a losing effort.
In the final round, Bond drove his ProCharger-powered Bahrain 1 Racing Camaro to his third career Pro Mod win by knocking off multi-time world champion Rickie Smith with a pass of 5.862-second elapsed time at 243.90 mph. The win at Heartland Motorsports Park moved the driver out of British Columbia into third place overall for the season point’s lead with 295, which is a hundred ticks behind Rickie Smith in second and 199 points behind Pro Mod championship leader Kristopher Thorne.
Up Coming:
Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd
The FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by D-Wagon returns to action Aug. 12-14 as part of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, MN.
NOTE: The D-Wagon NHRA Pro Mod Shootout specialty shootout race will also take place during the weekend, with the winner earning a $10,000 prize. Join us there for some doorslammer fun and run!
.
