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Castellana Back in Winner’s Circle
2005 Knoll Gas-Torco Pro Mod World Champion wins Torco Pro Mod Shootout in Martin, Mich.
 Mike Castellana flexed his muscles with great regularity last season, winning four of the last six IHRA national events en route to his first career Knoll Gas-Torco Pro Modified World Championship.
This season Castellana has found the going a little tougher as he had not visited the Winner’s Circle before the 25th Annual Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park. Things all came together for Castellana during the Torco Pro Modified Shootout, however, as the Westbury, N.Y. resident topped Quain Stott in the final to collect the $20,000 winner’s check. It was the first significant victory for Castellana this season and, he hopes, a springboard toward better things the rest of the season. His 6.141 at 232.31 mph put him in front as Stott posted a 6.161/232.96.
“This feels great,” Castellana said. “We’ve kind of struggled this year and it has nothing to do with nitrous cars or blower cars, we just kind of struggled to find our combination that we had last year. Things really came together at the right time this weekend. We’re thrilled with this. We needed a little shot in the arm to get things going, now we feel like we have things headed in the right direction. Hopefully we can keep it going.”
Castellana, one of two nitrous-powered cars in the field, went from the #3 seed to the championship. In the first round he squared off with the ’53 Corvette of Rick Distefano. He took advantage of lane choice against the seventh-seeded Distefano, posting a 6.177 pass at 231.12 mph to top Distefano’s tire-shaking pass.
Stott might want to think about adding Mike Janis to his Christmas list after the first-round gift he received on the other side of the ladder. Stott’s ’63 Corvette shook its tires hard at the hit of the throttle, forcing him to pull out of the run. Janis, in the other lane, had smooth sailing into the second round with nothing but clean track in front of him. The problem for Janis, however, came at about half-track when his ’06 Cobalt started drifting towards the center line. Janis could not recover and ended up crossing the center line, handing the victory to Stott.
In the second round Castellana knocked heads with Scotty Cannon, Jr., who took out defending Shootout champion Carl Spiering in the first round. Castellana won this semifinals match-up at the tree, throwing a holeshot at Cannon to advance to the final. Castellana used a .035 reaction time to back up his 6.145/232.27 pass. Cannon’s .055 6.140/234.66 package took him out of the running.
In the semifinals Jim Halsey made a strange choice. With lane choice over Quain Stott, Halsey put Stott into the right lane…the lane of choice of most drivers during the day. Halsey must have been banking on Stott being set up for the left lane, but in the end it did not matter as Stott’s 6.199/232.11 pass eliminated Halsey, who drifted towards the wall at the 330-foot mark and lifted.
This set up the nitrous vs. blower match-up in the run for the money, a battle that many have speculated nitrous could not win. Castellana enjoyed proving everyone wrong.
“We just kind of lost our combination a little bit earlier in the season and we seem to have it back,” he said. “Hopefully we can hang on to it, keep tweaking and improving on it. We’ve had our problems, now we’re just going to keep moving forward.”
In front of the largest single-day crowd in the history of US 131 Motorsports Park, Castellana got a charge out of performing in front of a huge audience. He also wanted to express his appreciation towards Evan Knoll, the owner of Knoll Gas and Torco Racing Fuels, for putting the program together.
“It’s awesome what Evan does for this class and for racing in general,” Castellana said. “The Shootout really gives us Pro Mod racers something to look forward to other than just the points chase. You lean on it as hard as you can at every race because you really are looking for those Shootout points. You give it everything you have.”
$51,000 Knoll Gas – Torco Racing Fuels Pro Modified Shootout Headlines Northern Nationals
By Travis Reynolds I IHRA Communications
NORWALK, Ohio (July 28, 2006) – Known to many as the birthplace of Pro Modified racing, it’s no surprise the IHRA eMax Drag Racing Series offers one of the biggest shootouts for the class. With a total purse of $51,000 - $20,000 going to the winner – the Knoll Gas – Torco Racing Fuels Pro Modified Shootout, held during the Northern Nationals, August 4-6 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Mich., will feature the “great eight” of IHRA’s Pro Modified contingent, and give them the chance to race-off to see who’s best.
Leading the competitors this year is the 2005 Shootout winner Carl Spiering. The Ontario, Canada-native suffered a car-destroying crash at the first race of the season, but was able to rebuild his race program and not miss a beat. He’ll face-off in the first round against Scotty Cannon, Jr., son of multiple-time world champion Scott Cannon, Sr. Ironically, like Spiering, Cannon suffered a devastating crash in his new GTO to kick off the season, but has been running well since.
On the same side of the 8-car ladder will be Mike Castellana, the defending IHRA Pro Modified world champion. He’ll take on Alberta, Canada-native Rick Distefano, who’s qualified and ran good all year, with a number one qualifier at the Suzuki Motor City Nationals.
Former world champion Mike Janis will take his second-place position on the opposite side of the ladder to face off against Quain Stott, who won earlier this season at Edmonton’s Castrol Raceway. Rounding out the field is Jim Halsey, who finished second in last year’s shootout. Halsey’s first-round opponent is Holland, Michigan-native Steve Bareman, who calls U.S. 131 Motorsports Park his home track.
About the Torco Race Fuels Pro Mod Shootout
The Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified Shootout will be contested in Martin, MI, during the Torco Race Fuels Northern Nationals. The winner will receive $20,000; the runner-up will earn $9,000. The semi-finalists will pocket $2,500 and the quarter-finalists net $1,500. Each national event will pay out the following: #1 qualifier $400, #2 qualifier $300, #3 qualifier $200, and #4 qualifier $100.
In order to qualify for Torco Series points or prize money, IHRA Pro Stock and Pro Modified competitors must (For Pro Stock ONLY-- in addition to using Torco Race Fuel without additives):
1) Prominently display the selected Torco Race Fuels special program decal on the front end or hood scoop of the car in a highly visible place as viewed from the side of the entry.
2) Display no competing fuel decal or identification on the racecar or driver's uniform.
3) Execute a standard promotional and advertising release.
Other terms and conditions for the Torco Race Fuels Showdowns are as follows:
Qualifying positions for the showdowns will be determined from the final qualifying positions of the event.
Shootout Points System |
Qualifying Position |
Points |
1 |
160 |
2 |
150 |
3 |
140 |
4 |
130 |
5 |
120 |
6 |
110 |
7 |
100 |
8 |
90 |
9 |
80 |
10 |
70 |
11 |
60 |
12 |
50 |
13 |
40 |
14 |
30 |
15 |
20 |
16 |
10 |
17 |
9 |
18 |
8 |
19 |
7 |
20 |
6 |
21-25 |
5 |
26-30 |
4 |
31-35 |
3 |
36-40 |
2 |
41 and up |
1 |
For more information about Torco Racing Fuels visit www.torcoracefuels.com
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