Drag Illustrated Issue 137, October 2018 | Page 89

WORLD SERIES OF PRO MOD 2018

MICHAEL BIEHLE

If there was a “ Top Performer ” award for the driver who averaged the best performance over the course of the three days of testing , three shakedown sessions and eliminations , it would be hard to argue against presenting the award to Michael Biehle . He and his stunning Biehle Motorsports ‘ 67 Mustang laid down lap after lap in the range of low-5.90s to high-5.80s , culminating with a semifinal finish .
Tuned by Pro Line Racing Engines ’ Jamie Miller , Biehle kicked off eliminations with a 5.927 at 247.61 to defeat Jeffrey Barker , then made a major statement on his competition single in the second round when he lit up the scoreboard with a 5.877 at 249.12 . Biehle repeated the performance , nearly to the thousandth , with his 5.879 at 246.17 over Rick Hord in the quarterfinals .
“ Jamie Miller and my crew had this thing lined out ,” Biehle asserted
. “ They did a phenomenal job all week . We were able to go an . 87 in testing , so we had confidence and we knew what it could take . Starting out in the afternoon for the first round of eliminations , the track and the air were hot . We had to slow it down and run what we had to run to get by first round , which is why we came out with that 5.92 . As the night went on and the air got better and the track cooled down , we were able to apply more power to it . The track was killer and we were able to go fast . That ’ s all Jamie Miller . He ’ s the man behind the numbers .”
The North Vernon , Indiana-based driver went even quicker - a 5.868 at 249.07 - in the semifinals next to Carl Stevens Jr .’ s 5.863 at 245.90 , though Biehle ’ s - . 018 red light promised the win to Stevens at the starting line .
“ Jamie and the guys gave me a great car all weekend . I ’ m the one that messed it up in the semis , but when you ’ re trying hard you ’ re eventually going to make that mistake ,”
Biehle pointed out . “ I had killer lights ( ranging from . 009 to . 037 in prior eliminations ) all weekend , I just got a little too greedy .”
Such a finish at the World Series of Pro Mod has Biehle itching to return to Thunder Mountain to try for another late-round finish , but more than anything , he ’ s just excited for the good times that come with the one-off Pro Mod race .
“ I wish it was next year already ,”
Biehle said . “ I ’ m ready to go back . It ’ s a killer race - fun , awesome , great atmosphere . The competition is tough , too . We compete against a lot of those guys every weekend in the NHRA Pro Mod Series , but being up there on the mountain and not knowing what everybody is running going into eliminations brings a fun element to it . It ’ s definitely a blast .” - NATE VAN WAGNEN DI
PHOTOS : JOE MCHUGH

RICK HORD

Former NHRA Comp Eliminator standout Rick Hord threw his hat into the ring for the second annual World Series of Pro Mod as a firstyear competitor . Extensive preparation for the one-of-a-kind event had the Belle Isle , Florida , resident feeling confident that even if his “ Maximum Effort IV ” ‘ 16 Corvette didn ’ t end up in the winner ’ s
circle Saturday night , at least it wouldn ’ t be for a lack of effort .
“ We spent quite a few weeks in the ‘ think tank mode ’, trying to figure out the mountain , the altitude , the air conditions ,” Hord said . “ We brought some extra pieces that we ’ re not used to running . We got here early in the week , did a lot of testing , and it took all three days to get the car where we wanted it to be . It ’ s just
about making the effort .”
Hord ’ s preparation paid off , as he wheeled his Xtreme Racing Engines-powered Corvette to a 5.92 at 232.23 to deny Chad Green the first nitrous-equipped round win in the opening round .
“ This format is a little different ,” Hord said , referring to the scoreboards being kept off for testing and shakedown runs , then turned on for
eliminations . “ You have no idea what your competitor is going to run . You only know what you ’ ve run in testing . That certainly makes for a lot of pit talk . I ’ ve run against Chad Green on a handful of occasions this season - he ’ s a great competitor - but we had no idea what he could do there .”
Hord and tuner Carl Stevens Jr . took the consistency approach for their second-round bout with the supercharged Camaro of Steve Matusek , who left the starting line just seven thousandths of a second too soon . Hord was ready for a race , though , with a 5.933 at 218.65 .
A 6.018 at 198.20 wasn ’ t enough to beat the low-of-the-round 5.879 pass from Michael Biehle in the quarterfinals , but Hord still found his way to the winner ’ s circle , as he was quick to congratulate Stevens on his monumental victory .
“ We ’ ve worked with Carl Sr . and Carl Jr . all year ,” Hord pointed out . “ They ’ re great people and they help us a lot . We work together in a collaborative effort . I think they ’ ve learned a little from us and we ’ ve certainly learned a lot from them .”
- NATE VAN WAGNEN DI
October 2018 DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 89