Joliet Pro Mods

Words and photos by Jeff Burk
6/6/03

he NHRA AMS Pro Mod Challenge tour is, in the words of Yogi Berra, DÈjý vu all over again. Last year, Shannon Jenkins and his nitrous coupe won the DRO/NMM Cup championship for the NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge, but did not have the dominant performances that Jim Oddy and Fred Hahn are showing so far this year. In five races they have set on the pole four times, won twice, and recorded the quickest ever legal Pro Mod pass. Currently they lead both the DRO/NMM Cup points race and the AMS Pro Mod Challenge shootout points. That's pretty impressive in itself, but did you know that they have done all of that without a spare engine! Pretty impressive for any class of drag racing, much less a professional class such as Pro Modified.

The race at Joliet wasn't as quick or fast as the barnburner at E-Town, but nonetheless it had its moments. Three cars that haven't qualified for a NHRA Pro Mod show previously got into the program at Joliet. Scott Ray in the CARQUEST Corvette and Marty McGinnis in the ex-Jim Oddy '37 Chevy and Troy Critchley who drives the series sponsors supercharged 'Vette.

As he has been doing most of the year, Fred Hahn put the Summit Racing Equipment 'Vette on the pole, this time with a 6.126. He was followed by Mike Ashley who ran a 6.165 and then the surprising Troy Critchley.

As Critchley and Hahn waded through the field towards the final round only Critchley was able to get into the teens while Hahn ran a series of 6.25's on his way to the final. The final round saw Critchley and crew thrash to replace a burnt piston and then shake the tires and click it, giving Hahn a hard earned win and Critchley and his sponsor, Dave Wood of AMS, their first trip to the final round in 2003.

First time qualifiers Scott Ray and Marty McGinnis saved their best for last. The pair ran identical 6.270 laps in the last session to go from being out of the program to qualified. Ray qualified seventh due to a faster speed. Ray is getting tune-up advice from Jim Oddy and McGinnis from Alan Johnson.

Before we elevate Oddy and Johnson to genius status...two racers who had help from those same two guys and didn't do so well were Texas racer Frankie Taylor and Pro Mod E.T record holder Tim McAmis. Chassis builder McAmis broke a brand new engine on his first pass.

"It was the engine we went 6.08 with at E-town," he said. "We took it home and replaced everything except the block. It pitched the rods out in high gear at about 9600 rpm. It's just junk now."

Frankie Taylor damaged his engine beyond repair after just two attempts.

HE'S IN; HE'S OUT

Qualfiying is always nerve racking. Johnny Rocca improved his third round 6.306 by nearly three hundredths on his last pass with a 6.279 that put him in the show. Unfortunately, Scott Ray came behind and improved his 6.307 to a 6.270 and bumped Rocca out. In the meantime, Tim McAmis was on the highway and on his cell phone listening to the qualifying as his 6.280 explodo pass had kept him in the program until the last qualifying session.

BETTER DEAD THAN RED?

At E-Town two weeks earlier McAmis lost in the first round with a 6.08 to Mike Ashley. At Chi-Town, Roy Hill had a first round career best 6.125/230.25 and lost to Mike Stawicki's 6.231. In the interest of our own safety and the dignity of the two racers we won't reveal either racers reaction time.

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