Some of the quickest Pro Mod teams in the Great Lakes region gathered at Summit Motorsports Park over the weekend for the first of four R&R Auto Body/DeCerbo Construction Rumble Wars Extreme 8 races at “America’s Racetrack.” The race-within-a-race was a part of the Cavalcade of Stars NHRA Division 3 race.
After two qualifying sessions, Melanie Salemi went into eliminations as the No. 1 qualifier in her supercharged “Sidepiece” ’19 Camaro with a 3.691-second pass at 217.81 mph. The 2018 Rumble Wars Extreme 8 champion led an eight-car field that also included Dave Hill, Matt Hutter, Dave Roemer, Keith Jackson, Pat Moore, Anthony St. Bernard, and Jackie Slone Jr. John Vergotz and Bill Riddle just missed the field.
In this video from Straight Line Media, watch as Salemi works through the field in her Buffalo-based Camaro. After winning in a pedalfest over Slone in the opening round, Salemi fired off a pair of low 3.70s to defeat Dave Roemer and Anthony St. Bernard in the semis and final round, respectively.
The Rumble Wars series, which follows NMCA Pro Mod rules, will also race at Summit Motorsports Park’s Monster Mopar Weekend, Saturday, July 24; Night Under Fire, Saturday, August 7; and the NMCA All-American Nationals, August 27-30.
This story was originally published on July 5, 2021. 
