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Shane Molinari wins first career NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series event at Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals

by Mike Haag | Posted on Sunday, June 25th, 2017

Courtesy of the NHRA

NORWALK, Ohio – Shane Molinari raced to his first career NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series victory Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by the Real Pro Mod Association, was the eighth of 12 events on the 2017 schedule.

The finals were a re-match from the race in Bristol where Molinari faced off against Troy Coughlin who took that event win. In Norwalk, Molinari was able to reverse the outcome for the victory.

Coughlin had an early advantage off the line but lost traction past the 330 foot mark and Molinari posted a winning run of 5.779-seconds at 257.09 mph in his S&T Truck Repair Inc. ’68 Firebird to the trailing run of 11.743 at 69.91.

“It’s unbelievable, it’s way cool,” said Molinari. “I mean, all my guys worked super hard and it’s just an awesome feeling.”

Mike Castellana retained the points lead in the category with a 82 point lead over Coughlin.

NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing visits Indianapolis, Ind. for the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, Aug. 30-Sept. 4.

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NORWALK, Ohio — Final finish order (1-16) at the 11th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.  The race is the eighth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

PRO MODIFIED:

  1. Shane Molinari; 2.  Troy Coughlin; 3.  Rickie Smith; 4.  Mike Castellana; 5.  Michael Biehle; 6.  Shannon Jenkins; 7.  Steve Jackson; 8.  Jonathan Gray; 9.  Eric Latino; 10.  Steven Whiteley; 11.  Doug Winters; 12.  Danny Rowe; 13.  Khalid alBalooshi; 14.  Sidnei Frigo; 15.  Pete Farber; 16.  Steve Matusek.

NORWALK, Ohio — Sunday’s final results from the 11th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The eighth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Pro Modified — Shane Molinari, Pontiac Firebird, 5.779, 257.09  def. Troy Coughlin, Chevy Corvette, 11.743, 69.91. 

NORWALK, Ohio — Final round-by-round results from the 11th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the eighth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

PRO MODIFIED: 

ROUND ONE — Michael Biehle, Ford Mustang, 5.842, 255.00 def. Sidnei Frigo, Chevy Corvette, 8.170, 113.25; Jonathan Gray, Chevy Camaro, 5.835, 249.44 def. Steven Whiteley, Cadillac CTS-V, 5.933, 247.25; Shane Molinari, Pontiac Firebird, 5.803, 256.21 def. Eric Latino, Camaro, 5.857, 249.49; Troy Coughlin, Corvette, 5.751, 258.42 def. Danny Rowe, Corvette, 6.274, 178.71; Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.875, 246.44 def. Steve Matusek, Camaro, Foul – Outer Boundary; Steve Jackson, Camaro, 6.537, 166.60 def. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 10.185, 93.75; Shannon Jenkins, Mustang, 5.860, 246.66 def. Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, 8.083, 109.83; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.914, 248.57 def. Doug Winters, Chevy Chevelle, Foul – Red Light; 

QUARTERFINALS — Castellana, 5.804, 249.07 def. Jenkins, 5.857, 247.07; Smith, 6.354, 227.50 def. Gray, 19.662, 39.45; Molinari, 5.787, 257.24 def. Jackson, 6.437, 174.64; Coughlin, 5.729, 258.67 def. Biehle, 5.802, 256.11; 

SEMIFINALS — Molinari, 5.839, 254.42 def. Smith, 5.862, 247.70; Coughlin, 5.745, 257.33 def. Castellana, 5.903, 248.75; 

FINAL — Molinari, 5.779, 257.09 def. Coughlin, 11.743, 69.91. 

NORWALK, Ohio — Point standings (top 10) following the 11th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the eighth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Pro Modified

  1.  Mike Castellana, 659; 2.  Troy Coughlin, 577; 3.  Shane Molinari, 503; 4.  Steven Whiteley, 460; 5.  Steve Jackson, 435; 6.  Steve Matusek, 400; 7.  Sidnei Frigo, 380; 8.  Jonathan Gray, 375; 9.  Khalid alBalooshi, 305; 10.  Rickie Smith, 299.
About the Author

Mike Haag has covered motorsports in San Antonio and South Texas for more than 35 years. In addition to covering motorsports for the San Antonio Express-News for nearly 28 years, Mike also has co-hosted TrackSmack with Dawn Murphy for 18 race seasons. In addition to being a writer, Mike taught high school English and Journalism for 30 years before retiring in May, 2020.