Danny Rowe raced to the qualifying lead Friday in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville.
Rowe powered his Agave Underground Tequila ’68 Chevy to a leading performance of 5.862 seconds at 250.55 mph to top the 16-car field. Mike Janis tied Rowe’s elapsed time in his late-model Valvoline Camaro, but Rowe claimed the top spot by virtue of his faster speed.
Series newcomer Jason Hamstra qualified third with a 5.866 at 246.30 in his 2010 Ford Mustang. Defending NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series world champ Rickie Smith qualified fourth with a 5.889 at 245.09 in his ’12 Camaro. Steven Whiteley is fifth overall after posting a 5.900 at 247.34 in his Y-Not Racing ’68 Camaro.
The Pro Mod Series qualifying continues on Saturday with sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Friday’s results after the first one of three rounds of qualifying for the 45th annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville, first of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
PRO MODIFIED
1. Danny Rowe, Chevy Camaro, 5.862, 250.55; 2. Mike Janis, Camaro, 5.862, 247.93; 3. Jason Hamstra, Ford Mustang, 5.866, 246.30; 4. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.889, 245.09; 5. Steven Whiteley, Camaro, 5.900, 247.34; 6. Steve Matusek, Mustang, 5.904, 246.26; 7. Raymond Commisso, Camaro, 5.948, 237.42; 8. Craig Cawte, Camaro, 5.966, 227.19; 9. Mike Knowles, Camaro, 5.980, 246.80; 10. Kevin Fiscus, Mustang, 5.990, 245.40; 11. Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.996, 240.81; 12. Kevin Rivenbark, Mustang, 6.013, 239.06; 13. Don Walsh, Mustang, 6.074, 247.34; 14. Dan Stevenson, Camaro, 6.165, 239.78; 15. Chris Juliano, Mustang, 6.225, 219.86; 16. Bill Glidden, Mustang, 6.279, 199.88. Not Qualified: 17. Eric Latino, 8.257, 117.80; 18. Troy Coughlin, 8.766, 122.32; 19. Clint Satterfield, 9.823, 91.53; 20. Todd Tutterow, 10.123, 95.28; 21. Chip King, 10.539, 82.79; 22. Jim Laurita, 10.678, 82.03; 23. Pete Farber, 11.147, 83.03; 24. Doug Winters, 12.097, 69.24; 25. Jim Bell, 12.228, 70.22; 26. Kenny Lang, 12.381, 94.64; 27. Harold Martin, 14.638, 67.82.
This story was originally published on March 15, 2014. 
