“Our main concentration is to win the Pro Modified championship and this is all because of my crew. They do a great job and they got it right,” Castellana said. “It’s been a great year and I can’t say enough about it.

“I really have to thank KH (Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani) and Al-Anabi Racing for making this happen.”

Eric McKinney took a commanding lead in the Pro Extreme Motorcycle points race with a brilliant showing at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. McKinney made it three wins in 2012 after running a 4.073 at 170.15 mph against first-time ADRL finalist Dave Norris.

“It was unbelievable. We changed some stuff and really stepped it up. You’re only as good as the people surrounding you and they make my program easier,” McKinney said. “They keep everything routine and we just keep plugging away. This was an awesome weekend.”

McKinney was outstanding on the tree during eliminations, capped off with .006 and .013 reaction times in the semifinals and finals, respectively. McKinney also finished as the No. 1 qualifier after going 4.10 in the final qualifying session to take momentum into eliminations.

“That was definitely a confidence-booster,” McKinney said. “There’s nobody easy out there, so everyone has to do their jobs. This bike is consistent and comfortable and that’s big.”

Alan Pittman was the recipient of some good old racing luck in winning the Mickey Thompson XTF final, denying Billy Glidden a chance to make some more ADRL history in the process.

Glidden went 3.917 during the race – a weekend-best in the class – but had a very rare .001 red light in the final, handing the win to Pittman and his 4.042 at 195.28 mph. It’s the third win in 2012 for XTF points leader Pittman which kept Glidden from picking up an ADRL record-tying 14th career win.

Glidden couldn’t have been happy if he had heard Pittman’s comments after his win.

“I won already when Terry Leggett made it to the finals. I mean, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him and his wife,” Pittman said. “I felt real good and then (when I pulled up to the starting line and I had it in low gear...the car wouldn’t move forward. So I had to stick it in high gear and leave in high gear, so he definitely would have had me beat if he hadn’t turned it red.”

Bruce Thrift was remarkably consistent in picking up his first win in Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman, finishing off a standout day with a 4.376 at 153.61 mph in the finals to beat William Brown III. “I’m real excited. This is the real deal for Top Sportsman racing,” Thrift said. “This is the cream of the crop in this class. You really have to get after it just to get in. This was just awesome.”

Bo Butner made it four wins in the SuperCar Showdown, slipping past Drew Skillman in a great side-by-side pass with a 5.77 at 119 mph, inching past Skillman and his 5.80 at 118.57 mph. Look for a full report with photos on this class in DRO later this week from DRO Editor-at-Large Bret Kepner.

In Pro Junior Dragster, Devin Isenhower won with a 7.88 at 81.68 mph, knocking off Lane Ledford.

The sixth stop on the 10-race 2012 ADRL Tour takes place Aug. 3-4 at the state-of-the-art zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, NC, for Dragstock IX.