Jeremy Ray (far lane) got the win over Justin Bond. (Ron Lewis photo)

Jeremy Ray raced to his first career victory during the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service portion of the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by Bruce Lowrie Chevrolet, is the 10th of 12 races this season.

Ray won on a holeshot with his pass of 5.785-second at 248.07 mph in his ’63 Corvette to Justin Bond’s 5.774 at 255.53. This is his first season in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

“We just had to keep everything together,” Ray stated. “You have to be perfect every time you go up to the line. Everything worked well here though. The tuning was good, I was driving good and was able to just keep ahead on everything.”

Ray defeated Stevie Fast Jackson whose car made a move toward the centerline before he clicked it off, Steven Whiteley (5.796/247.57 to and No. 1 qualifier Sidnei Frigo (red light) to advance to the finals.

Sidnei Frigo qualified at the top of the Pro Mod field. He got the first-round win over a red-lighting Danny Rowe then Frigo coupled a .014 RT to a 5.801 at 256.11 mph to get the holeshot win over Mike Castellana’s 5.771/252.57.   (Ron Lewis photo)

Frigo’s crew chief Brandon Stroud revealed the Bickel-built '69 Camaro debuted by the Frigo team in April was carrying a brand-new engine combination.

"It's a new generation AJ Hemi by Proline with FuelTech EFI and twin 88-mm Precision turbos that produce 36 pounds of boost -- NHRA makes sure of that," he said. "This is my first race with it and it is a little different. We have to learn what it likes, but it's showing some promise."

Bond, competing in his first NHRA Pro Mod event, defeated Keith Haney (who got loose and clicked off the car), Rickie Smith (5.767/256.02 to 5.787/250.55) and Todd Tutterow (5.770/255.82 to 5.848/245.23) to reach the finals.

Pro Stock driver Erica Enders just missed the cut, with her twin-turboed Elite Motorsports 2018 Camaro qualifying in the 17th spot of the 26 cars trying for the field.  (Jeff Burk photo)

E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series continues at the NHRA Carolina Nationals on Oct. 12-14 at zMAX Dragway located in Charlotte, NC, before their season ends in Las Vegas on Oct. 25-28.   [10/09/18]

Hannah Blevins and Jeff Bowman captured wins at the IHRA Summit Sportsman Spectacular finale at the Farmington Dragway in Mocksville, NC. Driving a No Box door car, Blevins of Jefferson, NC, won the Moser Engineering $10,000-to-win top prize. Jeff Bowman from Asheboro, NC, drove a Box door car to the win the Hank Thomas Performance $5,000-to-win race.

Hannah Blevins had a .016 reaction time matching her 6.11 dial-in at 112.75 mph to beat Box racer Taylor Davis from Thomasville, NC, in the final round. Davis had the losing run with a .004 reaction time 4.48-second pass at 151.82 mph. (IHRA photo)

Blevins added to her overall winnings by claiming the $1,000 No Box bonus defeating Ernie Humes of Troutman, NC. Blevins had a .013 reaction time 6.10 second pass at 110.02 mph. Humes had a .053 reaction time 5.82 second pass at 118.20 mph.

Cameron Whisnant of Dallas, NC, won on a holeshot in Junior Dragster with a .053 to .067 reaction-time advantage over runner-up Slade Kincer of Rural Retreat, VA.  Whisnant, won the $700 winner’s purse, with a 7.895-second pass at 82.60 mph. Kincer went down the track in 8.103 seconds at 79.72 mph.

Jeff Bowman took home the Hank Thomas Performance race win, over runner-up Chris McGuire of Christianburg, VA.  Bowman had a .031 reaction time coupled with a 5.71 elapsed time at 121.10 mph and a 5.70 dial-in. McGuire raced down the track with a 4.80-second pass at 140.36 mph. (IHRA photo)

Phillip Harrison of Sugar Grove, NC, won the $500 bonus as the final No Box racer on Sunday with a .053 reaction time with a 6.14 at 111.28 mph. Runner-up Todd McKinney of Elizabethton, TN, went down the track with a 6.77-second pass at 100.99 mph.

Dillon Goodnight of Landis, NC, took home the victory over Saylar Bustle of Sherrills Ford, NC, with a .007 reaction time and 7.95-second pass at 78 mph.  Bustle had a .097 reaction time with a 7.8- second pass at 81.07 mph.    [10/09/18]

Joey Severance, Woodburn, OR, and Sean Bellemeur, Placentia, CA, took home the wins in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car respectively at the NHRA FallNationals in Dallas.

Severance, defending NHRA Lucas Oil World Champion, was victorious with the quickest pass of the weekend at 5.236 seconds at 273.55 mph in his final round victory over Alan Bradshaw, Odessa, TX, who clocked in at 5.342 seconds, 270.00 mph.

Top Alcohol Funny Car points leader Bellemeur faced off against Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, CA, and posted a winning run of 5.513 seconds, 265.43 mph in his Chevy Camaro. Gordon, drove to a 5.513 second, 265.43 mph lap for his runner up finish. The win puts Bellemeur one step closer to clinching the NHRA Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Funny Car Championship. (Ron Lewis photos)

There was one scary moment in the second round when Colorado TAFC driver Annie Whiteley could not get her car stopped after a loss to Doug Gordon. Whiteley’s chutes did not blossom and although she was on the brakes, the Camaro ran through the sand trap and into the safety net. Whiteley was not hurt.

Clint Neff, Arvada, CO, in Comp Eliminator and Brandon Bakies, Alexandria, La., in Super Stock both ran against David Rampy, Piedmont, AL, who advanced to the final in both classes and was hoping for his 100thNHRA national event win this weekend. Neff had the starting line advantage and made a winning pass of 7.573 seconds, 172.36 mph to deny Rampy. In Super Stock Rampy had the starting line advantage, but Bakies chased him down to get the win with a pass of 9.688 seconds and at 132.88 mph.

STOCK ELIMINATOR: Brian McClanahan, 9.971, 124.58 def Jimmy Hidalgo Jr., 11.168, 117.87

SUPER COMP: Jackson Collier, 8.921, 177.88 def Steve Williams, 8.912, 185.13

SUPER GAS: Casey Plaizier, 9.921, 150.00 def Joseph Lokhaug, 9.884, 158.20

SUPER STREET: Val Harmon, 10.948, 143.38 def Barney Barnhart 10.980, 134.97

TOP SPORTSMAN: Lance Rutland, 7.664, 177.81 def Bryan Warr, 7.007, 197.42

TOP DRAGSTER: Darian Boesch, 6.112, 215.93 def Mallori Rodgers, 6.288, 211.26    [10/09/18]

If you’re lucky enough to be swapping a Hellcat into a vintage Mopar, you’ll find that plumbing the supercharger intercoolers to the air-to-water radiator can be quite a challenge. The thick factory intercooler manifolds just don’t bode well for custom applications, not to mention the unsightly rubber hoses used from the factory. The team at Schwartz Performance  decided to resolve this issue with their new Low Profile Intercooler Manifolds. Schwartz designed a very shallow housing that can mount to either side of the engine and directs the coolant through a pair of -10 AN fittings. This design, which is over an inch leaner than the obtuse factory units, allows the intercooler hoses to be routed on either side of the engine so best suit your application. The Billet Manifolds retain outlets for the factory temp sensor and bleeder valve for original functionality. The Billet Intercooler Manifold Kit is supplied with a left-hand and right-hand manifold, four -10 ORB AN adapters, an 1/8” NPT Allen plug, -10 to NPT adapter (for the temp sensor) and a -10 Allen plug. Schwartz also offers two optional -10 AN hoses to connect the manifolds together. [10/09/18]