QUALIFYING

Khalid alBalooshi claimed the No. 1 qualifying position and followed it up with a first round victory Sunday. AlBalooshi pushed his Precision Turbo and Engine ‘69 Camaro to the No. 1 spot with a 5.845 second pass at 239.78 mph to earn his first top qualifier of the season and third of his career.

Khalid alBalooshi defeated TJ Coughlin in the second round. (Chris Haverly photo)

Sidnei Frigo, a Pro Mod newcomer, had a successful qualifying attempt to earn the No. 2 starting spot, but fell to Jim Whiteley in the first round. (Chris Haverly photo)

Janis, who won the most recent Pro Mod event in Norwalk in July, took the points lead from Gainesville winner Bob Rahaim after racing to victory over Troy Coughlin. Rahaim failed to qualify for Indianapolis.

“It’s great to get the points lead at Indy, but it just adds to the pressure,” said Janis. “I would rather come from behind at the end and get it, but it’s all right. We’ll take it round by round. It’s really tough competition out here, tougher than I think it’s been all year. Everyone is right on their game. It’s a hot race track but everyone’s going down, so it’s going to be a tough deal.”