On a wild day at Bristol Dragway, Jason Collins picked up his second win in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports on Sunday, defeating Mike Stavrinos in the final round to close out the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
This weekend’s event was the sixth of 11 races, closing out the regular season, and it was powered by Cardinal Insurance.
Collins finished out the regular season in fashion, even if it wasn’t necessarily conventional. Stavrinos went red by .005 in the championship round, handing the victory to Collins, who got loose and nearly crossed the centerline. But, in the end, Collins enjoyed his second win in the past three races as he’s advanced to the final round three straight times in the loaded category.
In the second round, Collins got loose during the burnout and struck the center guard wall on the starting line during a wild turn of events. But he recovered, got the car staged and knocked off Travis Harvey with a run of 5.786 at 247.79. A round later, Collins knocked off Stan Shelton with a run of 5.798 at 247.52 to reach the final round and make it into the playoffs.
“I wasn’t supposed to win today, but my car was really good,” Collins said. “I didn’t mean to tear it up and that was a little close in the final. This one is all because of my crew. I had some luck and my crew did a great job. I’m just out here chasing a dream and it was unbelievable. Now, we’re in the playoffs and who knows what can happen.”
Stavrinos, who qualified No. 1, reached the finals for second time this season and seventh time in his career with victories Alex Laughlin, reigning world champion J.R. Gray and Rickie Smith.
The Road to the Championship playoffs for the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports begins June 25-28 as part of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Derek Menholt opens the five-race playoffs in first place, with Stavrinos in second. Justin Bond, Collins and Stan Shelton round out the top five.
