Rick Hord First NHRA Legal 260 MPH (UPDATE, Run has been Removed from Qualifying)
/An update to this story. About an hour ago it appears as though NHRA has revised the Q2 sheet and disallowed Rick's Q2 run. We are in the process of gathering further information in regards to this and will bring it to you when we receive it.
The NHRA rolled into Charlotte today for the start of the 4 Wide race. While it took a little time to get the track ready because of all the rain the south has had lately, once things got rolling it was well worth the wait.
In 2018 Pro Mods are now getting four rounds of qualifying and doing all their eliminations on Sunday. After two rounds of qualifying today, there are thirty one cars on the sheet, with times ranging from a 5.711 all the way to a 10.089. The big news was a shot that most turbo tuners and drivers are not going to be happy with though.
During Q2 of Pro Mod, where they are running 4 wide, Rick Hord put up a number that has people shaking their head. He did in fact drop the first ever 260 MPH NHRA legal pass in competition. In the process, his Xtreme Racing Engines powered Vette shot up to the number one spot with a 5.711. While this isn't the quickest turbo pass in history, it is certainly the fastest.
This shouldn't come as a huge surprise though. Carl Stevens has been known to make huge power and it was only a matter of time before we saw someone crack the 260 MPH mark. The question now is going to be "what will NHRA do to the turbo combo's, if anything?" With the blower cars high 240's and low 250's along with nitrous combos sitting in the mid 240's to low 250's a 260 MPH pass is a huge deal.
About a third of the qualified field are turbo combos, and of those, Jose Gonzalez is the only one close, yet still 5 MPH behind Rick's car. Time will tell what NHRA is going to do with a 260 MPH pass. When we saw turbo cars breaking the 250 MPH barrier they attempted to slow them down by taking two pounds of boost away. I am not sure that will be the answer this time. Either way, congratulations to Rick Hord and the rest of his team on this accomplishment!!
Here is the entire qualifying order after Q2:
NHRA Pro Mods 4-wide Charlotte Q2:
1 Rick Hord 5.711 @ 260.91
2 Khalid Al Balooshi 5.729
3 Steve Jackson Racing 5.752
4 Mike Janis 5.756
5 Jose Gonzalez 5.767
6 Jeremy Ray 5.771
7 Michael Castellana 5.775
8 Todd Tutterow 5.775
9 Danny Rowe 5.799
10 Pete Farber 5.803
11 Dan Stevenson 5.808
12 Brandon Snider 5.816
13 Sidnei Grandao Frigo 5.825
14 Rickie Smith 5.832
15 Michael Biehle 5.838
16 Bob Rahaim 5.840
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17 Shane Molinari 5.845
18 Steve Matusek 5.859
19 Richie Stevens Jr 5.871 (hit a bird on the top end!)
20 Doug Winters 5.875
21 JeffreyandLindsey Barker 5.885
22 Chip King 5.891
23 Jim Whiteley 5.911
24 Melanie Salemi 6.129
25 Chad Green Motorsports 6.135
26 Steven Whiteley 6.325
27 Mike Bowman 6.341
28 Clint Satterfield's "Turbo Pig" 6.491
29 Harry Hruska 7.301 (oildown penalty)
30 Eric Latino 8.502
31 Chuck Little 10.089
