Don Walsh claimed the No. 1 qualifying position and a first-round victory during the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the NHRA Toyota Nationals Nov. 1, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Pro Mod racing at this event is presented by Aeromotive, Inc.
Reigning world champion Rickie Smith (above) qualified second with 5.883 at 243.68. He then faced Danny Rowe, driving his IDG ’12 Camaro to a 6.610 at 163.35. Smith is one round win away from clinching his second consecutive world championship. He will line up against Rick Snavely in the quarterfinals.
Walsh powered his Precision Turbo ’13 Camaro to a top qualifying run of 5.880 seconds at 249.44 mph. The run gave Walsh his second No. 1 qualifier of the season.
“It was great to stay in the top spot,” said Walsh. “It’s nice to be No. 1 and important to be in a good spot on the ladder. It was exactly what we were looking for.”
Walsh followed his qualifying success with a first-round win light over Pete Farber, posting a 5.841 at 250.51 to Farber’s losing 5.962 at 242.93. Walsh will race Kevin Rivenbark in the second round.
Troy Coughlin, who still has an outside chance at winning the title if Smith falters tomorrow, beat Steven Whiteley with a 5.880 pass at 250.27 at the controls of his turbocharged Corvette. He faces Eric Latino in round two. Von Smith and Jay Payne will decide the other quarterfinal round.
Mike Janis, the only other driver heading into the event with a mathematical chance of winning the championship, failed to qualify.
NHRA Pro Mod Series eliminations continue on Sunday.
(DI.com file photo)
LAS VEGAS — First round-by-round results from the 14th annual NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the race is the final of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
PRO MODIFIED
ROUND ONE — Kevin Rivenbark, Ford Mustang, 5.986, 236.80 def. Mike Knowles, Chevy Camaro, 6.157, 240.85; Richard Snavely, Camaro, 5.934, 253.14 def. Dan Stevenson, Camaro, 6.411, 175.66; Von Smith, Camaro, 5.936, 240.72 def. Mike Castellana, Camaro, 6.493, 166.66; Troy Coughlin, Chevy Corvette, 5.880, 250.27 def. Steven Whiteley, Camaro, 6.313, 180.02; Jay Payne, Camaro, 5.933, 242.67 def. Kevin Fiscus, Mustang, 11.158, 78.87; Eric Latino, Camaro, 5.906, 243.68 def. Todd Tutterow, Camaro, 5.924, 239.70; Rickie Smith, Camaro, 6.610, 163.35 def. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 11.925, 91.28; Don Walsh, Camaro, 5.841, 250.51 def. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, foul
LAS VEGAS – Final order after 3 rounds of qualifying in Pro Modified at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, the race is the final of 10 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Psn—Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type—————Qual-ET–Qual-Spd-Top Spd
1 3382 Don Walsh, Wixom MI, ’13 Camaro 5.880 249.44 252.19
2 1 Rickie Smith, King NC, ’69 Camaro 5.883 243.68 243.68
3 1938 Eric Latino, Whitby ON, ’69 Camaro 5.914 244.38 244.38
4 220F Kevin Fiscus, Jacksonville FL, ’12 Mustang 5.916 247.11 247.11
5 2377 Von Smith, Oak Ridge TN, ’69 Camaro 5.921 240.64 240.64
6 2 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, ’68 Corvette 5.925 248.39 248.39
7 708R Richard Snavely, Los Angeles CA, ’69 Camaro 5.928 253.09 253.09
8 205 Kevin Rivenbark, Wallace NC, ’67 Mustang 5.935 236.26 236.63
9 5011 Mike Knowles, Grand Junction CO, ’68 Camaro 5.946 241.15 241.15
10 303 Dan Stevenson, Bolingbrook IL, ’13 Camaro 5.946 239.91 239.91
11 5200 Steven Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, ’68 Camaro 5.953 244.03 244.03
12 3 Mike Castellana, Muttontown NY, ’69 Camaro 5.954 238.85 238.85
13 210 Jay Payne, Claremont CA, ’12 Camaro 5.966 241.32 241.32
14 202 Todd Tutterow, Yadkinville NC, ’69 Camaro 5.966 239.06 239.06
15 6 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, ’68 Camaro 5.972 244.56 244.56
16 8 Pete Farber, Baldwinville MA, ’69 Daytona 5.979 242.84 242.84
———— Not Qualified ————
17 360 Bob Rahaim, Grosse Pointe MI, ’69 Camaro 5.979 240.21 240.21
18 5450 Steve Matusek, Olathe KS, ’68 Camaro 5.984 243.81 243.81
19 6718 Shane Molinari, Battle Ground WA, ’70 Camaro 6.009 246.03 246.03
20 5087 Jim Whiteley, Grand Junction CO, ’53 Corvette 6.012 239.31 239.31
21 4914 Jeff Naiser, Houston TX, ’69 Camaro 6.030 226.85 226.85
22 1456 Mike Janis, Lancaster NY, ’13 Camaro 6.035 224.25 241.15
23 9 Chip King, Semora NC, ’69 Daytona 6.044 244.16 244.16
24 701 Clint Satterfield, Albuquerque NM, ’68 Firebir 6.069 238.64 238.76
25 7 Kenny Lang, Grande Pointe MB, ’69 Camaro 6.082 236.75 236.75
26 567 Chris Juliano, Iberia MO, ’67 Mustang 6.101 231.71 231.71
27 6967 Jim Bell, Edmonton AB, ’69 Camaro 6.108 211.03 211.03
28 495 Jeffrey Cummins Jr., Cypress TX, ’68 Camaro 6.133 229.70 229.70
This story was originally published on November 2, 2014. 
