Just days before the American Doorslammer Challenge, Pro 632 championship contender Jeff Melnick was sitting in the Cleveland Clinic undergoing tests to determine the cause of intense back, neck, and arm pain. He was cleared at the last minute to continue driving Alan O’Brien’s AMC-powered Greenbrier Excavating & Paving ’20 Camaro. Melnick made the most of the opportunity, qualifying No. 2 and winning in the final round by inches. Melnick left the starting line .010 seconds ahead of No. 1 qualifier Doug Nicholl, making all the difference when both drivers crossed the finish line with 4.128-second E.T.s
“They’re all special, believe me,” said Melnick, who won the season opener in just his second Pro 632 appearance. “Every win you get your whole life is special. Whether it’s at a local track winning in No Box, it’s special. To come to a PDRA race and to win in a professional category is something I never thought I would do my whole life. To do that on a week like this where you’re stuck in a hospital bed, you’re staring out the window, and you don’t know what tomorrow’s gonna bring, good or bad, it’s awesome.
“Doctors are scratching their heads trying to figure out what’s wrong with me,” Melnick added. “I go back next week; they think they’ll have some test results by then, so we’ll go from there. I don’t know how much racing I’ll be able to do the rest of the year. We’ll see what’s wrong with me and see what the treatment plan is, and hopefully we can continue to race. Right now, we’re leading the world championship standings, so as long as there’s air coming in these lungs, I’m going to strap myself in the car and let her eat.”
It was a home-track win for Melnick, who hails from Hubbard, Ohio. He started eliminations with low E.T. of the first round, a 4.17 at 167.95, over Tony Lasky’s 5.536. A 4.142 at 169.55 set low E.T. of the second round and beat Walter Lannigan Jr. and his 4.26. Melnick then simply broke the staging beams on his semifinal bye run.
Nicholl, who earned his first career low qualifier award on Friday night, drove his Musi-powered Nicholl Motorsports ’68 Camaro to a 4.186 at 171.64 on a first-round bye run. Tuner Troy Russell gave him a consistent car for the next two rounds, running a pair of 4.154s to beat Jason Ventura’s 4.634 and Lexi Tanner’s 4.207.
This story was originally published on May 28, 2023. 
