There were a couple of upsets in the first and second rounds of eliminations with No. 3 qualifier Matusek losing to Eric Latino and No. 1 qualifier Walsh simply being outrun by eventual winner Rahaim

Going into the semifinals it was the turbocharged entries of Troy Coughlin and his son, TJ, against Rahaim and Farber. Surprisingly both Coughlins lost with Rahaim just running away from Troy while TJ suffered some mechanical problems and couldn’t even stage his car.


Bob Rahaim (Steve Gruenwald photo)

That set up a final between the nitrous injected car of Rahaim against Farber’s “winged wonder” Dodge Daytona. Rahaim left first and was never threatened as his 5.957/243.99 easily covered Farber’s troubled 8.965 at 107.26 mph.

Conclusion

The NHRA/RPM Pro Mod series has matured into a genuine NHRA professional class despite efforts by some (NHRA) to separate it from the rest of the professional fields. For fans of Pro Mod right now the RPM group is at the same time the most diverse and well funded.

Although ‘69 Camaro, Firebird, and Chevelle bodies are dominant, the powerplants are not. Fans of nitrous, supercharged and turbocharged cars all have stars to root for and there is representation from all of Detroit’s big three.

If there is any problem on the horizon it would be the possible domination by turbocharged cars. Those cars were the dominant performers at the Gatornationals. But, as in the past, the quickest and fastest cars in Pro Mod often aren’t found in the winners circle or winning championships. If you love Pro Mods, variety and the NHRA, the RPM Pro Mods are delivering the goods these days.