Joliet Pro Mod Challenge qualifying summary

Fred Hahn takes fourth #1 of season in NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge

JOLIET, Ill. (May 31, 2003) -- As part of the NHRA Lucas Oil Route 66 Nationals, three of the four qualifying session for the NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge, an exhibition series on the NHRA national event circuit, found a different driver atop the qualifying ladder. Fred Hahn took No. 1 honors.

On Friday, the Pro Mods ran two qualifying sessions . Roy Hill, from Sophia, N.C., in the Odoban-backed 2003 Ford Mustang, led the opening session with a pass of 6.250 seconds at 227.00 mph. In the evening session, just before severe thunderstorms interrupted then cancelled fuel qualifying, Mike Ashley, a mortgage banker from Melville, N.Y., lowered the elapsed time when his InfiNet '41 Willys cruised the Route 66 quarter-mile in 6.241 seconds at 224.14 mph.

Saturday opened with Fred Hahn, from West Seneca, N.Y., taking advantage of the better air conditions, blazing to the top spot with a run 6.156 seconds at 229.04 mph in the Jim Oddy-owned and prepared Summit Racing '02 Corvette. In the final sessions, Hahn lowered his earlier run when he clipped almost three hundredth of a second off his elapsed time and raised his speed by over a mile per hour. Hahn's final numbers were 6.128 seconds at 230.76 mph. For Hahn it was his fourth No. 1 in five NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge events this season.

"Every number one is sweet," said Hahn. "We feel as good about this one as the first one. We had to work for this one. Actually, you work for them all. We made some major changes here this weekend after we kind of missed the boat at Englishtown. We didn't want to do that again this weekend.

"Last night we went totally the wrong way but that taught us what to do for today. This morning's run was pretty good and this afternoon's was a tad better. The air today helped all day, especially compared to yesterday's runs. The air quality today was much better. Not only did it help us, it helped everybody. Quite a few people stepped up.

"The weather's suppose to be better tomorrow. We won't back it down a whole lot, I don't believe. We'll just have to wait and see what this Summit Racing Corvette will do."

Two drivers, Marty McGinnis, from Gravois Mills, Mo., in a '37 Chevrolet and Scott Ray, from Greenville, Ohio, in a '63 Corvette, qualified for the first Pro Mod event of their career. Tim McAmis, from Hawk Point, Mo., third in points entering this event, suffered a severe blow to his point aspirations when he did not qualify. McAmis was forced to withdraw after he damaged his only operational engine during Friday's qualifying.

The field consists of seven supercharged cars and one nitrous. The lone nitrous car is Rickie Smith's '63 Corvette. Smith, from King, N.C., qualified sixth.

Eliminations for the eight car field will get underway tomorrow at 12 noon. This weekend's Pro Mod action from the NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. (Chicago) can be seen on ESPN2 on Sunday, June 22 at 5:30 p.m. All times are Eastern Time and subject to change without notice.

JOLIET, Ill. -- First-round pairings for Sunday's eliminations for the NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge, an exhibition class on the NHRA national event circuit, being held at the Sixth annual Lucas Oil NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, the fifth of 10 events in the NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Pro Modified -- 1. Fred Hahn, Chevy Corvette, 6.128, 230.76 vs. 8. Scott Ray, Corvette, 6.270, 222.66; 2. Mike Ashley, Willys, 6.165, 227.65 vs. 7. Marty McGinnis, Chevrolet, 6.270, 222.91; 3. Troy Critchley, Corvette, 6.181, 225.30 vs. 6. Rickie Smith, Corvette, 6.262, 224.47; 4. Roy Hill, Ford Mustang, 6.215, 228.77 vs. 5. Mike Stawicki, Corvette, 6.224, 226.77.

-nhra-