Dane Wood’s last appearance at VMP for the PDRA Drag 965 Summer Shootout presented by Classic Graphix two weeks ago saw the Chesapeake, Virginia-based racer make it to his first final round in Pro Nitrous competition. He lost in that final to first-time winner Chris Rini, but he bounced back with a final-round ProStars win. Driving his Albert-powered ’13 Mustang, Wood ran a 3.791 at 199.88 to knock off Ed “The Iron Man” Burnley, who slowed to a 4.077 at 145.19.
“We were just trying to keep the car consistent, as well as speed it up,” said Wood, who thanked his parents, wife Tiffany, his family and friends, BHM Racing, John Sundstrom, and engine builder Billy Albert. “The eight cars that were here are the baddest of the bad. You don’t show up going, ‘Well, I hope I qualify’ or ‘I hope I do good.’ You come in expecting to run the best. We’ve had some lucky breaks, and we’re just going to ride on it for right now. This means a lot. All my friends and family are here. It’s a big deal.”
Wood made the second-quickest pass of the bizarre opening round, a 3.803 at 199.73, on a single after opponent Tommy Franklin sat out the round. He improved to a 3.777 at 199.32 in the second round to defeat two-time world champion Jason Harris and his 6.271 at 69.85.
“I think [consistency] has been the upside to our program,” Wood said. “Even though we haven’t been the fastest, we’ve been consistent, going down the track, hoping they make a mistake, and taking advantage of it.”
Burnley won his first-round match with defending ProStars champion Jim Halsey when the three-time world champion rolled the beams after staging, allowing Burnley to move on with a 5.701 at 85.47. The Pro Mod veteran then had a bye into the final, which he used to run low E.T. of eliminations, a 3.731 at 202.64, in his Musi-powered “Iron Man” ’69 Camaro.
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