Powered by Mike Janis Superchargers, the 2022 FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by D-Wagon racing series held the fourth of ten races at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park over the weekend.
Since winning his first career Pro Mod Wally at the 53rd annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, Thorne has been the dominant driver at the majority of the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series events. Driving the all black ProCharger-powered Camaro the veteran doorslammer driver added his second win of the season at zMAX Dragway.
The final elimination round at Charlotte was one of the strangest (and slowest) wins in Pro Mod history. Mass confusion struck when Stan Shelton rolled his Mustang past the starting line and then backed up. According to NHRA rules, a driver cannot cross the starting line twice. The disqualification seemed to have a domino effect as veteran Pro Mod driver Rickie Smith left the line before the tree was fully activated leading to his DQ. As the confusion continued both Thorne (.320-second reaction time) and Lyle Barnett (.150 RT) had miserable starts with Thorne winning at the line with a 5.795 ET at 252.14 mph.
Florida’s Kris Thorne Grabs the Pro Mod Points Lead
Steve “Fast” Jackson dominated qualifying for the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by D-Wagon with a 5.701 ET at 257.63 mph but in the semi-final round Rickie Smith drove past Jackson when he was unable to find high gear. A 5.799 ET at 251.34 mph allowed Smith to advance to his 27th NHRA Pro Mod final round. It was Smith who put an end to Thorne’s hopes of three wins in a row at Virginia Motorsports Park last month.
Thorne reached the final round at Norwalk with wins against Lyle Barnett, J.R. Gray and Stan Shelton before setting aim on multi-time NHRA Pro Mod world champion Rickie Smith. With all of Thorne’s wins have coming this year, he has been laying down consistent runs in his ProCharger-powered Camaro. Going 5.796-seconds at 247.93 mph in the final round allowed Thorne to leave Norwalk with 108-point lead over Smith in second place.
Photo courtesy Kris Thorne Racing Facebook Photos
UP COMING:
Menards NHRA Nationals in Topeka
The FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by D-Wagon returns to action Aug. 12-14 as part of the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas.
