Steve Engel was seriously injured during a qualifying attempt last night, fracturing six vertebrae, and he had no feeling in his legs according to series spokesman Scott Woodruff. He is in surgery as this is being written and nothing further is known about his condition. We will keep you informed as we get the information.

This year marks the first time since the 2005 season, when Annette Summer and Mike Moran were invited, that we have two turbocharged cars. Brad Personett and Moran both use turbocharged powerplants for power at this year’s event.

There are just 22 invitees this year, the lowest number of entrants in the history of the race. Part of the reason for the lack of cars is that several invitees dropped out late and there wasn’t time to replace them. This year there are fewer nitrous-injected cars than at any other race in U.S. Nationals history. Eighteen of the 22 total entries are either supercharged or turbocharged.

First timers in the class this year include Mike Knowles (supercharged) and Taylor Lastor (nitrous) and Nitro Funny Car team owner Roger Burgess (supercharged). There are five past U.S. Nationals Pro Mod class winners trying to qualify this year.

In a drivers meeting on Friday the JEGS folks made it very, very clear that they would have to get some help from other sponsors and the racers if JEGS were going to continue to be involved in the series next year.

Eighteen of the 22 cars entered in Pro Mod this year are either supercharged or turbocharged, and nd the Top five qualifiers after the third round are supercharged entries. For the first time since 2001 a Jim Oddy-tuned Pro Mod is in the number one slot (Joshua Hernandez), so any reasonably intelligent bettor would have to bet on a supercharged car to win. Well, nobody has ever mistaken the Burkster for an intelligent bettor but, nonetheless, here are my picks. (And remember, this is for entertainment purposes only, No wagering, please.)

1-1 Josh Hernandez:  Jim Oddy has won everything there is to win in Pro Mod racing except this race. He wants this bad and he will be at his best. In the last three years Hernandez has been to the finals of this race, winning once and twice runner-up. Hard to bet against this team.

2-1a Mike Castellana and
2-1b Shannon Jenkins: History has proven that nitrous cars at Indy in September often have a performance advantage over blown cars. This team has Reher-Morrison power, Shannon Jenkins tuning and driving, and Al-Anabi money. Shannon has won here before. Castellana can be a dominant driver at times. This is the best value bet.

3-1 Rickie Smith:  Best Value bet on the board. Smith has won this race before. Close enough in performance to the top supercharged cars that his driving and clutch tuning ability could make the difference. Nitrous cars have advantage at starting line.

4-1 Jay Payne: Veteran driver and excellent tuner makes this team a threat to win it again. Payne won’t be fazed by pressure and Brad Anderson has unlimited parts to feed the engine. Worth taking a flyer.

5-1 Harold Laird: Came from nowhere to cover the field last year. No one has ever repeated as champ at this race. He faces a difficult task.

6-1 Mike Knowles: An unproven driver and untested team at this level. Has the power; obviously can he take the Indy heat.

6-1 Tim Tindle: Another veteran driver and team. If they can get hold of the track for four laps they could contend.

6-1 Danny Rowe: Best parts, All-star tuner, streaky driver. Has been to the finals at this race early in his career so he has the experience. My long-shot pick to win!

7-1 Scott Ray: Team needs to step up performance a little but track could come to them.

8-1 Taylor Lastor: Relative newcomer to the NHRA Pro Mod series. Excellent driver but team short on national event experience. Nitrous a plus for this driver and team used to driving in hot weather and on slick tracks.

There are many more great drivers and teams in the field, but you’ll have to figure the rest of the odds on your own. I don’t want to get too many more drivers and team owners mad at me for not ranking them higher.

Photos by Ron Lewis

The 2005 U.S. Nationals Pro Mod race was full of firsts. Thanks to the efforts of Kenny Nowling and Dave Wood, it was the first 16-car field. It was the first time that the first round of eliminations for Pro Mod was on Sunday. It was the first U.S. Nationals Pro Mod race where a touring pro based in Australia came to the event to race. Ben Bray (above) and his dad, Victor, came from Australia just to race at Indy. (Aussie driver Troy Critchley doesn’t count because he long ago moved to the States to race.)

Annette Summer was not only the first woman driver to compete at this race but also one of the first to race a turbocharged car. Mike Moran (above) joined her at this event as the first ever turbo-charged cars.

There were 26 entries and two of them were nitrous cars and one of those, Shannon Jenkins, made the 16-car field while Mike Castellana did not.  The day of the nitrous cars winning at Indy seemed to have passed as apparently so had their participation in any numbers. 

One final note: 2005 was the year they finally took the ET record away from Fred Hahn and Jim Oddy, lowering the record by almost a full tenth.

In the final round Jay Payne (above) got the win defeating Josh Hernandez when Payne cut a light on Hernandez and then steadily drove away for the victory. Jay Payne, in the left lane, had a .086 RT and ran 6.104/ 234.29 to Hernandez’s .123 RT that he coupled with a 6.128/229.94.

2005 Qualifying

1 Joshua Hernandez, Conroe, TX, *’57 Bel Air 6.089 231.40
2 Jay Payne, Claremont, CA, *’05 Stratus 6.105 235.93
3 Mike Ashley, Melville, NY, *’67 Mustang 6.127 231.95
4 Rick Stivers, Lexington, KY, *’63 Corvette 6.141 233.92
5 Glen Kerunsky, Priddis, AB, *’57 Bel Air 6.144 229.94
6 Troy Coughlin, Delaware, OH, *’67 Mustang 6.147 231.36
7 Steve Engel, Shandon, OH, ‘63 Corvette 6.149 232.15
8 Mike Bell, Asheboro, NC, *’66 Mustang 6.158 232.43
9 Ed Hoover, Gilbert, SC, *’63 Corvette 6.159 231.44
10 Thomas Patterson, Houston, TX, *’41 Willys 6.176 227.84
11 Troy Critchley, Wylie, TX, *’41 Willys 6.179 227.34
12 Shannon Jenkins, Tuscaloosa, AL, ‘68 Camaro 6.198 228.46
13 Bryan Seward, Naples, FL, ‘04 Mustang 6.221 229.20
14 Doug Palmer, Prairieville, LA, *’63 Corvette 6.248 225.30
15 Ben Bray, Queensland, AU, *’93 Corvette 6.269 227.42
16 Zach Barklage, Eldon, MO, *’37 Chevy 6.269 227.00

------------ Not Qualified ------------

17 Mike Castellana, Westbury, NY, ‘04 Cavalier 6.270 226.92 *
18 Brandon Pesz, The Woodlands, TX, ‘53 Corvette 6.270 226.01
19 Frankie Taylor, Dickinson, TX, ‘58 Corvette 6.298 223.88
20 Chip King, Semora, NC, ‘02 Avenger 6.328 222.84
21 Cody Barklage, Eldon, MO, ‘05 GTO 6.351 224.25
22 Brian Daniels, Jackson, OH, ‘63 Corvette 6.359 220.84
23 Scott Ray, Greenville, OH, ‘63 Corvette 6.372 221.71
24 Mike Moran, Taylor, MI, ‘99 Monte Carlo 6.459 229.27 **
25 Kirk Kuhns, Yorba Linda, CA, ‘63 Corvette 6.482 183.79
26 Annette Summer, Aiken, SC, ‘63 Corvette 8.455 127.07 **

* = Supercharged Engine

By Scott “Woody” Woodruff
Photos by Chris Haverly

Four pairs into Saturday evening’s third round of professional qualifying for the JEGS ProMod Challenge, this year’s 54th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals took a decidedly nasty turn when Bristol winner Steve Engel lost control of his ‘63 Diamond Heavy Haul Corvette and impacted the left-side retaining wall at a high rate of speed.

Engel was reportedly alert and conscious when he was extracted from the wreckage and airlifted to a local hospital. The wreck caused so much damage to the retaining wall that the remainder of the day’s racing action was called off.

By rule, the drivers that didn’t get a chance to make a pass during the session will not get a chance to make up the missed run. Josh Hernandez, who moved into the qualifying lead earlier in the day with a 6.010 at 240.98 mph in his Team Rage Camaro, ended the day on top.

“My mind is on Steve Engel and his family,” Hernandez said. “Racing doesn’t mean much when one of your buddies goes through something like that. We’re all praying he’s going to be okay.”

Hernandez and several other racers picked up considerably in Saturday’s first session of time trials where the bump spot dropped by more than three tenths of a second.

“I think we all kind of went up there (Friday) with a conservative mindset just to get a feel for the racetrack,” said Hernandez, the defending series champion. “Once we got an idea of what it would hold we were able to tune from there and that’s why you saw so many people step it up in Round 2.

“Our car responded very well to the changes we made and we ran about what we expected in that session. I think we would have seen a bunch of guys go into the fives tonight but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

There is one more round of Pro Mod qualifying scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday. The first round of eliminations is slated to begin at 5:10 p.m.

Troy Coughlin did not qualify on Saturday, but hopes Sunday will be better for his ’68 Camaro.

Mike Knowles of Grand Junction, Colorado ran a 6.055/240.17 in Saturday qualifying.

Rickie Smith launches his ’63 Corvette. As of Saturday, Smith, Castellana and Taylor Lastor were the only nitrous cars qualified for the 16-car field.

Von Smith drives a ’57 Chevy Bel Air for the Awesome Al-Anabi team while Mike Castellana is at the wheel of a ’68 Firebird.