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Upset Stomachs and Endless Smiles
Lyle Barnett recounts first-ever Pro Mod passes BY JOSH HACHAT
On the morning of his first testing session driving a Pro Mod for Elite Motorsports , drag radial star Lyle Barnett admitted to being a little queasy due to nerves .
By the end of the second day , though , the team already knew they had a driver capable of making waves in the NHRA Pro Mod scene in 2021 .
In fact , tuner Justin Elkes knew it almost immediately .
“ When he did his first burnout , I said , ‘ We ’ ve got a driver .’ He made nine runs and he was exceptional in every run ,” Elkes says .
Barnett impressed in every way imaginable during the December two-day test session , from that first burnout to his final time slip – a sterling run of 5.678 seconds at 253.09 mph in the Elite Motorsports ProCharger-equipped , Rick Jonesbuilt , late model Chevy Camaro . “ It was such an unbelievable feeling ,” Barnett says .
Barnett surely ran the gamut of emotions , from the massive nerves leading up to the first pass to the surreal exhilaration after an extremely successful first foray into the class .
Along the way , he put together his first 60-foot pass of less than a second , his first 200 mph pass , his first full pull to the quarter mile in a Pro Mod
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