Jones clinches Pro Mod win

By Wendy Curling

The Extreme Outlaw Pro-Mods made their first appearance at Northeast Dragway this year last Saturday promising earth-shaking, heart-stopping runs and did not disappoint.

Fans lined both sides of the track to see these highly engineered, mechanical marvels attempt to break the track record of 4.12 set last fall by James Cecil.

R. B. Smith of Roxboro made the fastest pass during time runs with a 4.15 followed closely by local racer Mack Copeland, who made his fastest pass ever of 4.17 at over 170 mph.

The eight car field narrowed down to two for the final with Glenn Jones of Elizabeth City facing the “Pirate Ship” of Kevin Mayer.

Jones lit up the night in his 1963 split window Corvette with a fire breathing final pass of 4.22 to take the win. Mayer’s night ended when his transmission let go on the launch giving Jones a solo pass.

Roger McCullough dominated the Quick 8 Pro Bike class besting Big Kev Richardson in the final round. McCullough was first off the line and first to the finish line with an elapsed time of 5.24 at the stripe.

Kent Sessoms of Ahoskie topped the Top Eliminator field for the second straight week defeating Jeff Moore of Elizabeth City. Sessoms posted a .009 reaction time and ran 5.55 on his 5.54 dial while Moore fouled with a red light start.

Anthony Griekspoor of Belhaven collected his second win of the season in the Modified class in his deadly consistent Chevy Nova. Griekspoor’s final round opponent, Dave Reilly, had the best reaction time off the line but Griekspoor ran closest to his 6.03dial to take the win.

Rich Walker picked up his third win of the year in the Street Class collecting points for every round. Walker ran dead on his 7.76 dial while his opponent, Jon Moore of Elizabeth City, broke out on top end.

Luke Boykin picked up his third win of the season in the Pro Bike class. Boykin did not have the advantage off the line but was able to drive around his opponent, Willie Warren, on top end for the win.

Jacob Baker of Yorktown (Va.) put his Junior Dragster in the Winner’s Circle for the first time this year as he took the win over David Wayne Light in the final round. Baker posted an impressive .518 reaction time and ran 8.71 on his 8.70 dial to win by a margin of .061.

To round out the Memorial Day weekend racing activities, on Sunday competitors in all five regular classes will compete for the coveted IHRA Iron Man trophy while 4.90 and 5.90 Index will hit the pro tree for great side by side, heads up racing.

Log onto www.northeastdragway.net for track info, schedules, racing chat, and more.