Drag Illustrated Issue 137, October 2018 | Page 80

WORLD SERIES OF PRO MOD 2018
I
DREAM REALIZED
The World Series of Pro Mod final round was every bit a cele-
bration for race founder Wes Buck and Bandimere Speedway
general manager John “Sporty” Bandimere III as it was for
winner Mike Bowman and his team. Buck had envisioned an
event of this caliber for years, and the hard work and expertise
displayed by Bandimere and his team made the dream a reality.
“THE PEOPLE PROBABLY HEARD
SCREAMING INSIDE THE CAR AS I
WAS TURNING OFF THE TRACK.
I WAS PRETTY PUMPED UP.”
high-performance engines at their
Xtreme Race Cars facility.
Still, among observers, fans and
media members heading into the
race, Stevens likely wasn’t consid-
ered a favorite, though he kept a qui-
et confidence about him throughout
the week. After watching the inau-
gural race a year ago, Stevens sim-
ply wanted to be part of the event
in 2018 and he didn’t disappoint,
laying down a strong run in the
5.80s in his final Summit Racing
Equipment Shakedown run. With
the scoreboard turned off, it didn’t
send a direct message to the all-star
lineup of Pro Mod competitors, but
it was enough for Stevens to realize
he had potentially had something
big in store for eliminations. There
was nothing to compare it to in
terms of time, but he felt good and,
ultimately, that’s all that mattered.
“It was hard to gauge because we
couldn’t see anybody’s numbers, but
we knew what it ran and we knew
it was really fast, and we knew we
could go a little faster if we needed
to, so we were pretty confident,” Ste-
vens confessed. “I think people were
pretty aware we were fast. We’ve just
been trying to connect the dots and
put it all together, and what better
place to put it all together than
(Bandimere Speedway).”
Stevens didn’t disappoint in that
regard, and on the strength of one
incredible performance after anoth-
er in Denver, he was the last one
standing on Thunder Mountain,
capped off by the quickest run in
the two-year history of the World
Series of Pro Mod.
To get to that point, Stevens
eliminated a who’s-who list of com-
petitors, starting with Marc Caru-
so in the opening round. Stevens
went 5.93 at 245.94, setting up a
must-see matchup with two-time
NHRA Pro Stock world champion
t was unlike anything
Stevens had achieved in
his standout Pro Mod
career. Driving the tur-
bocharged ’69 Camaro
owned by Jim Bell, the
North Haledon, New Jer-
sey, native waded through
deep waters at the biggest and rich-
est Pro Mod race in the history of
the known universe, ultimately
knocking off Danny Rowe with a
blistering 5.856 at 246.26 mph to
claim victory at the second annual
World Series of Pro Mod.
The custom WSOPM champion-
ship belt was around his waist, the
champagne was cracked – errant
cork and all – the check was held
high in the air and Stevens had se-
cured his ultimate moment among
the Pro Mod elite.
He had accomplished a great deal
in his Pro Mod career, including a
marvelous, record-breaking 230-
mph run in the PDRA in 2015 and,
most recently, a victory in June at
the NEOPMA Doors Warz event at
Maple Grove Raceway.
But the victory on Thunder
Mountain was unlike anything the
skilled tuner, engine builder and
driver had ever won. Even in the
midst of an enjoyable celebration
and still floating on the sheer emo-
tion of the biggest victory of his
career, Stevens had no problem
relaying exactly what this accom-
plishment meant.
“This is easily the