Drag Illustrated Issue 137, October 2018 | Page 84
DANNY ROWE
Danny Rowe made it up to
the winner’s circle celebra-
tion to congratulate Carl
Stevens Jr., and perhaps
partly to witness what he
just missed out on. Rowe
maintained a smile on his
face through it all, an im-
pressive feat considering
minutes earlier he was
oh so close to winning
$100,000 at the World Se-
ries of Pro Mod at Bandi-
mere Speedway.
Rowe and his Jimmy Rector-led
team turned in what could very well
have been the run of their careers
on Thunder Mountain, leaving first
on Stevens and posting a 5.949 at
242.54 mph. It wasn’t quite enough
to top Stevens, yet Rowe had made
tremendous strides since the inau-
gural race a year ago.
So, perhaps the smile was war-
ranted after all. Rowe had just
debuted a new car earlier this
year and made one consistent
run after another in Denver. There
are no consolation prizes at the
WSOPM and only one person gets
the $100,000 check, but Rowe
knew there was plenty of merit to
what he was able to accomplish on
Thunder Mountain.
“It was absolutely amazing,” Rowe
said of his team. “The job they did
was fantastic. Just getting a com-
bination to go down the track was
part of the struggle and to do it five
times in a row is amazing. It was a
pretty cool deal.”
Rowe was one of a handful of
drivers to make exhibition runs
at Bandimere Speedway as part of
the track’s annual “Night of Fire
& Thunder” event just a few short
years ago. There, Rowe impressed
the crowd with passes in the 6.00s,
a seemingly monumental feat for a
Pro Mod car at an altitude of nearly
6,000 feet.
Rowe crept into the 5-second
range last year, and with turbo cars
venturing into the 5.80s in 2018,
Rowe’s 5.949 in a blower car was
every bit as impressive and a ca-
reer-best for him at Bandimere
Speedway.
That Rowe and company were
in that range the entire weekend
was even more noteworthy, further
signifying the rapid pace Pro Mod
is advancing these days.
But Rowe and his team are a
major part of that advancement, as
evidenced by the impressive job they
did in Denver.
“It was really, really a challenge to
run the numbers we did,” Rowe said.
“Right now, everybody in legal Pro
Mod has stepped up their program
and their performances. There’s a
lot of good teams doing great things
and it forces all of us to get better.
It’s good for everybody.”
Rowe performed at a high lev-
el in his RJ Race Cars Camaro in
Denver, taking out standout Shane
Molinari in the opening round, 2017
WSOPM runner-up Steven White-
ley in the second round and U.S.
Nationals winner Stevie Jackson in
the quarterfinals. A solo pass after
Brandon Pesz broke in the semifi-
nals sent Rowe to the final round,
where Rowe and his team knew
they had their work cut out for them
against Stevens.
While Rowe isn’t racing for moral
victories, the veteran did like how
his team rose to the occasion in a
big moment. It wasn’t enough for
a six-figure payday, but it was a run
worth remembering.
“The whole day has been a strug-
gle and a fight, and my crew did a
great job and I was able to drive a
good race car today,” Rowe said fol-
lowing the event. “We’ve got a great
foundation (for this race). The fans
were great and it was fun, and it’s
just a matter of building on it.”
That’s the proud papa in Rowe
talking when it comes to the con-
tinued rise of the WSOPM. Rowe’s
long-standing support, work eth-
ic and forward-thinking vision
when it comes to Pro Mod racing
has been an important factor in
the impressive rise of the class,
and that has carried over to the
WSOPM as well.
The lure of $100,000 is a major
carrot for fans and drivers alike,
but the class has provided staying
power on Thunder Mountain. The
fan turnout was strong in 2018,
and Rowe had fans coming to his
pits this year wearing shirts from
the inaugural race. It’s that aspect
that has Rowe excited for the future
of the WSOPM, hopeful that next
time the winner’s circle celebration
takes place at Bandimere Speed-
way he’s the one being showered in
champagne.
“I think what the WSOPM is
doing is bringing it back to the
roots,” Rowe said. “To see more ex-
citement, more cars in the second
year, it shows how strong the Pro
Mod class is. It says a lot about the
quality of people and teams involved
in what we’re doing, and I’m happy
to be part of it.
“The one thing I really noticed
and thought was interesting to me
was how thankful the fans were.
They were just excited to be a part
of something. I love the fan appeal
of what’s going on and they’re all
engaged and want to be a part of
it. It’s building a fan following.”
- JOSH HACHAT
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84 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 137
WORLD SERIES OF PRO MOD 2018