Rain continues to dampen the start of the 2023 season for the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA), as the second race on its schedule was postponed due to rain after qualifying this past weekend. NEOPMA will complete eliminations from Maple Grove Raceway’s House of Chaos Door Car Fury during its next event at Cecil County Dragway.
“This has been a challenging start to the season, no doubt,” said John Mazzorana, founder and president, NEOPMA. “Fortunately, we were able to get in some testing and two rounds of qualifying before the rain started on Saturday. Between more rain in the forecast and Mother’s Day on Sunday, NEOPMA and Maple Grove officials decided it was best to cancel the event.”
The House of Chaos Door Car Fury was NEOPMA’s first race back at Maple Grove since the Koretsky family purchased the track.
“The Koretsky family is doing an amazing job of upgrading the track with many more improvements to come per Kyle Koretsky and the general manager Shane Sweigart,” Mazzorana said. “The reception we received was warm and friendly.”
After two qualifying sessions, two-time and reigning NEOPMA champion Mike Decker Jr. was the No. 1 qualifier in his screw-blown Decker’s Salvage Camaro with a 3.646-second pass at 207.72 MPH. His son, Mike “Hollywood” Decker III, followed with a 3.678 at 208.55 in his nearly identical Camaro. “Nova Joe” Albrecht in Fletcher Cox’s ProCharged ’69 Camaro sat third with a 3.681 at 205.10.
Eliminations will be contested during qualifying at the next race on the NEOPMA schedule, the June edition of Cecil County Dragway’s Strange Engineering Street Car Shootout on June 2-3.
“It’s always tough to rain out an event, but this is the next best alternative,” Mazzorana said. “Our racers will get to complete the race, and the Cecil County fans will get two see two Pro Mod races in one weekend.”
In closing, Mazzorana offered his condolences to the family and friends of Dianne Pappas, the wife of NEOPMA car owner Harry Pappas, as well as those of longtime NEOPMA racer Steve Drummond. Pappas passed away just days before the Maple Grove race, while Drummond passed away Monday after a cancer battle.
“These are two unimaginable losses for our club,” Mazzorana said. “Dianne and Steve were both warm, kind people, and they’ll be missed by everyone in our group. Steve was a very talented fabricator and racer, and he absolutely loved Pro Modified racing. We’re keeping the Pappas and Drummond families in our thoughts and prayers.”
For more information on the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association, visit www.NEOutlawProMods.com.
This story was originally published on May 16, 2023. 
