Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

News

Alex Laughlin Takes Caruso Family Pro Mod to $50,000 Victory at Drag Illustrated World Doorslammer Nationals Presented by CTech Manufacturing

NHRA Pro Stock star Alex Laughlin added another milestone moment to his doorslammer drag racing career Sunday evening when he turned on the final-round win light at the inaugural Drag Illustrated World Doorslammer Nationals presented by CTech Manufacturing.

Racing at Orlando Speed World Dragway, Laughlin defeated Todd “King Tut” Tutterow in the final round, recording a 5.671-second pass at 251.53 mph to Tutterow’s 6.362 at 146.21.

Laughlin hadn’t even sat in the seat of Marc Caruso’s Caruso Family Racing ’69 Camaro before the World Doorslammer Nationals. But after a series of test runs, four rounds of qualifying and four passes in eliminations, Laughlin was cutting consistent reaction times and wheeling the roots-blown ATI Performance entry like a veteran.

“It sounds pretty crazy – let’s be real, it is real crazy,” Laughlin said. “We started off on the wrong foot. We struggled through every test run. Once we started qualifying, things started going our way. Once we started racing, things really started going our way.”

Laughlin qualified No. 3 with a 5.66 at 251.77. He moved on past the first round of eliminations by beating Jim Whiteley’s 5.738 with a 5.717 at 249.76. The Texas native caught a break in the second round when Sidnei Frigo slowed to a 10-second pass, allowing Laughlin to race on to the semifinals with a 5.825 at 248.16.

Tuner Lee White stepped up for the semifinal matchup with Michael Biehle. Laughlin won on the strength of a 5.704 at 250.64 to Biehle’s 5.731.

Laughlin and Tutterow were both aggressive in the final round. Tutterow left the line first with a .042 light to Laughlin’s .045. It was an even race until Tutterow had to drive through tire shake, ultimately backfiring the supercharger downtrack. Laughlin made a clean pass down the Orlando quarter mile to take the win.

“Man, Lee White is definitely an underestimated crew chief,” Laughlin said. “The dude knows what he’s doing. He deserves all the credit for this. The Carusos have some of the nicest equipment money can buy in the class. Props to them, props to Lee. We just won the first-ever World Doorslammer Nationals and it’s an unbelievable feeling.”

In addition to racing in Pro Mod, Laughlin was also competing for $75,000 in Pro Stock. He qualified No. 9 in Pro Stock before falling to Elite Motorsports teammate Aaron Stanfield in the second round. He was the only driver competing for the double-up in both classes.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“After qualifying third, I thought we absolutely had a shot at it,” Laughlin said. “The Pro Stock car was running pretty decent and this thing was running pretty decent, so I thought we had a shot at winning both – definitely a good shot at winning one, and it turns out we did.”

While Laughlin didn’t pull off the double-up, he did get to share the winner’s circle with another one of his Elite Motorsports teammates, Jeg Coughlin Jr., who won the $75,000 Pro Stock race.

“What a day,” Laughlin said. “Me and my teammate won both classes. That’s rad – raaaad.”

Complete results from the Drag Illustrated World Doorslammer Nationals presented by CTech Manufacturing are available at DragIllustrated.com and DragRaceCentral.com.

This story was originally published on March 8, 2020. Drag Illustrated

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

News

With a recovering John Force watching from the sidelines, Austin Prock and Jack Beckman delivered the ultimate “get well” message Sunday, driving their respective...

News

Due to weather and unfavorable track conditions following a lengthy cleanup after an on-track incident, the conclusion of the 24th annual Ford Performance NHRA...

News

Funny Car points leader Austin Prock broke John Force’s record for most No. 1 qualifiers in a single season on Saturday at The Strip...

News

Greg Anderson and his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro enter raceday at the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals on the heels of a solid qualifying effort that...

Since 2005, DI has informed, inspired and educated drag racers from every walk of the racing life - weekend warrior and street/strip enthusiasts to pro-level doorslammer and Top Fuel racers. From award-winning writing and photography to binge-worthy videos to electric live events, DI meets hundreds of thousands of racers where they live, creating the moments that create conversations.