Best of the Best in 2020 Part 3
/Good Friday everyone! This morning we move on to part three of our continuing series that highlights some of the “Best Of” in 2020.
Jim Halsey Goes 3.59
You would think by now that there aren’t really many barriers left in the drag racing world. Technology has come a long way in the last 20 years, and yet we had not seen a nitrous powered pro mod break into the 3.50’s in the eighth-mile yet. All that went out the window this year though. At his final race of the season, Jim Halsey, the 2x back-to-back, PDRA Pro Nitrous World Champion, nitrous Pro Mod laid down a 3.59 pass in competition. This feat means that everyone will be gunning to be the next, but not the first, to break the barrier. Congratulations to Jim and his entire team on the historic milestone.
Frank Paultanis Coyote Stock dips into the 9’s
Apparently, Bradenton Motorsports Park is the place for barriers to fall. In March of this year, Frank did what we all imagined was coming, and it finally did. For those that don’t know, NMRA Coyote Stock is a Mustang class that combines skill and ingenuity to make these cars run the numbers. You are not allowed to touch the engine, which is a factory sealed Coyote 5.0 from Ford. The same engine that is found in today’s Mustangs. Most all the cars are Manually shifted as well, and to add to that, you must use a spec provided tune. None of this stopped Frank from ripping off one of the most impressive passes of the year when he went a 9.96 and then continued to run 9’s throughout qualifying at the NMRA season opener. While we will certainly see many more do this in 2021 with the new Gen 3 engine, Frank will always be the first to accomplish this feat.
Tommy Cunningham Captures First Pro Mod Win
You are never guaranteed anything in the sport of drag racing. I don’t care how long you’ve been at it, how much you spend, or how good you are, and that’s why we race on the pavement and not on paper. Tommy Cunningham, the owner of Cunningham Machine and Stroud Safety is out there week after week trying to perfect his craft and his program. It is a family affair with his wife Anita by his side, along with his parents Larry & Susan. It is their constant dedication to the sport that made this victory so sweet. Earlier this year in St. Louis he was matched up against young gun Joey Oksas in the final and ripped off a stellar pass to seal the deal.
Stevie Fast Makes it a 2x deal
Listen, if you have ever followed NHRA Pro Mod you know that it is the definition of “Any Given Sunday” because it doesn’t matter if you are #1 or #16 on the ladder you have a chance of taking home a wally. Only two men that I know of have three NHRA Pro Mod Championships and that is Rickie Smith and Troy Coughlin. It appears as though Stevie is going to be gunning for that rarified air in 2021 as well. 2020 marked the year that Stevie went back to back with his NHRA Pro Mod titles. In the four seasons that Stevie has competed in NHRA Pro Mod, if memory serves me correct, which it usually does, Stevie has never finished lower than #4 in the final points. In 2017 he was #3, in 2018 he was #4 and took home the championship in 2019 and 2020.
Stay tuned as we continue to look back at 2020 and some of the highlights that made it a great year.