Don Walsh (above) raced to the qualifying lead in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the NHRA Toyota Nationals Oct. 31, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Pro Mod racing at this event is presented by Aeromotive, Inc.
Walsh’s Precision Turbo ’13 Camaro powered to a top performance of 5.915 seconds at 252.19 mph. Walsh is looking for his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and first win of the season.
“It was a good run,” said Walsh, who is in his third race with a new car. “We did a lot with the car with it being relatively new. We’re just trying to make it better and better each run. Hopefully we have a consistent race car on Sunday.”
Reigning world champion Rickie Smith is in a three-man battle for the 2014 world championship and is third following a 5.944 at 242.76 in the IDG ‘69 Camaro. Troy Coughlin, who is second in points, is the current No. 2 in his JEGS Corvette after a 5.925 at 248.39. Mike Janis’ Jan-Cen Racing Engines 2013 Camaro, the third contender for the world title, struggled in qualifying, posting a 6.035 at 224.25.
Pro Mod Series qualifying concludes on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. First round of final eliminations are scheduled to begin Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and will continue on Sunday.
LAS VEGAS — Friday’s results after the first two of three rounds of qualifying for 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. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Saturday’s first round of eliminations.
Pro Modified
1. Don Walsh, Chevy Camaro, 5.915, 252.19; 2. Troy Coughlin, Chevy Corvette, 5.925, 248.39; 3. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.944, 242.76; 4. Dan Stevenson, Camaro, 5.946, 239.91; 5. Kevin Fiscus, Ford Mustang, 5.952, 245.58; 6. Von Smith, Camaro, 5.967, 239.19; 7. Todd Tutterow, Camaro, 5.973, 237.75; 8. Richard Snavely, Camaro, 5.982, 249.67; 9. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 5.985, 241.67; 10. Bob Rahaim, Camaro, 5.990, 238.43; 11. Steven Whiteley, Camaro, 6.006, 242.32; 12. Steve Matusek, Camaro, 6.025, 241.45; 13. Jeff Naiser, Camaro, 6.030, 226.85; 14. Jim Whiteley, Corvette, 6.032, 237.59; 15. Mike Janis, Camaro, 6.035, 241.15; 16. Chip King, Dodge Daytona, 6.044, 244.16.
Not Qualified: 17. Mike Castellana, 6.046, 235.23; 18. Jay Payne, 6.066, 237.75; 19. Kevin Rivenbark, 6.091, 236.63; 20. Pete Farber, 6.112, 238.55; 21. Clint Satterfield, 6.121, 238.76; 22. Jeffrey Cummins Jr., 6.133, 229.70; 23. Eric Latino, 6.228, 236.59; 24. Jim Bell, 6.232, 201.67; 25. Kenny Lang, 6.275, 231.00; 26. Shane Molinari, 6.498, 229.82; 27. Chris Juliano, 6.610, 222.33; 28. Mike Knowles, 8.325, 119.33.
This story was originally published on November 1, 2014. 
