Words and Photos by Bret Kepner
5/18/06
Aaron Hodges (above), whose home-built ‘63 Stingray nitrous racer clocked a 4.04 in pre-season testing, made good on that threat with a victory in the first of four Outlaw Pro Modified events in the annual series at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, IL. Although not the quickest driver on the property, Hodges was the mostconsistent in thelater rounds and produced the best sixty-foot elapsed times of the event.
Despite overcast skies, a biting wind and temperatures which failed to break sixty degrees, the racing surface held a temperature over seventy degrees for most of the event and, with the corrected elevation hovering at six hundred feet above sea level, traction was actually “too good” during the event. Tire shake and wild rides were the norm and the race produced several upsets. The unattractive weather and several other events stacked on top of the first GIR PM series meet accounted for the ten-car turnout.
Ageless veteran Delon Joseph actually qualified low with his Bickel-built nitrous Cavalier at 4.21/165 and ran four passes in the 4.20s to make the final round against Hodges. Joseph later admitted to brain fade; the Kansas City racer failed to reset the air shifter before the title bout and left the line in high gear.
Biggest surprise of the race was Independence, Missouri’s, Mike Bodine. Gorgeous ‘68 Camaro uses a miniscule 565-cubic inch Chevy on one stage of nitrous but still managed a 4.38/159.99 best. Liberty-shifted beast is “slightly violent”.
Hometown Ford hero Dan Saitz wheeled one of two turbocharged qualifiers; 400-inch Probe was second behind Joseph at 4.31/175 but stepped up to a career-best 4.24/176 en route to a semi-final finish.
The Swearingen family’s Kansas City “rat rod Pro Mod” had a confusing day. After shaking on both qualifiers, young Travis hit a 4.12/181 against unheralded Jerry Hunt in the opening round...but
left the line three hundredths of a second too soon in the process. A timed trial later in the event found the Willys running 4.00 at 183.05!