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Joe Baker (above and right) entered the first event of the 10-race JEGS ProMod Challenge as a last-minute alternate after another competitor crashed in testing earlier in the week. He barely made the 16-car field with the slowest elapsed time in the group. He even had to race the quickest and fastest car of the meet in the final round of the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals.
In the end, none of that mattered as the local hero from Milton, Fla., pulled off one of the most improbable victories in the seven-year history of the series, winning with a coasting 12.687-second pass at 63.03 mph after final-round foe Raymond Commisso hit the retaining wall just before the finish line to disqualify himself from contention.
"I had the luck when I needed it, that's for sure," Baker said. "What a great day. This was my first win in NHRA competition and to do it at the Gatornationals in my home state makes it all the better. I can't thank Jeg Sr. and Troy Coughlin enough for this. We had to scramble just to get here but it all seems worth it now. What a blast!"
Driving a '41 Willy's once owned by two-time champion Mike Ashley, Baker shook his tires hard right off the launch pad in the final round. He sat and watched Commisso zoom away to an apparent easy win. But Commisso's '68 Camaro started drifting towards the centerline and when he tried to guide it back into the groove it went a little too far right and impacted the wall, negating a 6.352 at 173.58 mph that would have given him the win.
Baker's lucky day began with a huge upset win over No. 1 qualifier Mike Ashley, who lost traction early in his run. He then got a gift from a red-lighting Scott Ray, before watching Kirk Kuhns get way out of shape and shut off early. His best pass of the day was a 6.167 at 232.19 mph.
Mike Ashley returned to his Pro Mod roots this year, but had traction problems in the first round.
 Ashley’s teammate, Roger Burgess, sure has the burnout process down. |
 After all the great paint jobs on the rest of the cars, Raymond Commisso’s basic black looks a bit plain. |
Commisso, meanwhile, was driving like a man possessed, rattling off a pair of five-second runs, including a 5.935 in the semifinals, to set low elapsed time of the meet. Earlier in the day he had topped out at 247.34 mph to set the event's top speed mark. He clearly had the car to beat, but ended up beating himself.