AL-BALOOSHI WAS REMARKABLE FROM START TO FINISH , GOING AS QUICK AS 5.613-SECONDS AT 254.76 MPH , THE QUICKEST RUN IN PRO MOD HISTORY .
ett unleashed something special in the Camaro , making the quickest run in the history of the class with a pass of 5.613-seconds at 254.76 mph to beat Laughlin ’ s 5.698 at 250.46 . It came just hours after Al-Balooshi first set the E . T . record in the opening round of eliminations and it put a fitting stamp – along with a $ 50,000 prize – on his dominant winning weekend .
In his post-race interview , Al-Balooshi referenced that 2011 campaign , getting a similar feeling to what has already taken place in 2021 .
“ The car got the job done this week and Brad has given me a badass car ,” Al-Balooshi said . “ We ’ ve got some new stuff in the car and we ’ ve made a lot of good runs . In my opinion , we ’ re comfortable with the car . I still don ’ t shift perfectly with the new [ manual ] shifter , but I ’ m more comfortable with it .
“ We changed some things around and I think we learned a lot over [ in Bahrain ]. Brad has given me a great car since last year and I think we ’ ve got a good shot to do even better this year . We couldn ’ t have asked for anything more than what we did . I ’ m living the dream .”
It ’ s a dream that never gets old for Al-Balooshi , who has enjoyed incredible success in Pro Mod across the globe . In Orlando , against the best of the best , he again proved his name belongs in the conversation .
Al-Balooshi going 5.61 on two different occasions was seemingly an alternate reality , but the Bahrain 1 Racing team was on another level in Orlando .
He qualified No . 1 with a 5.659 at 251.25 , but that was just a preview of what was to come in eliminations . Al-Balooshi opened elimination Sunday with a massive statement , going a then-record 5.617 at 253.18 to knock off Kris Thorne .
He stayed in the low 5.60s , going 5.634 at 228.85 against Jerico Balduf in the second round and following it up with a 5.625 at 230.06 to beat class newcomer J . R . Gray and advance to the final round . Considering Al-Balooshi was shutting it off before the finish line , the numbers were simply stagger .
Laughlin was quicker off the starting line in the championship round , but Al-Balooshi hit his shift points perfectly and drove by him en route to the world record and the impressive $ 50,000 victory . The team put significant runs on the car in the offseason in Bahrain and it translated almost flawlessly to open 2021 .
“ What we learned in Bahrain was big . To get the chance to race over there , we learned a lot . We made almost 40 runs and that gave us the chance to start the year with a great car ,” Al-Balooshi said .
Overseas , Personett saw a car come into its own over the winter and the payoff in Orlando was undeniable .
“ We ran it all winter long ,” Personett said . “ This is probably the best car I ’ ve worked on and it just prints tickets , and Khalid just keeps better and better as a driver . When the conditions change here , it ’ s Disney World . It ’ s a confidence-builder for all of us .”
The addition of manual shifting into the Pro Mod class was a major change , but the early results have been incredible for Al-Balooshi . He was impeccable throughout qualifying and eliminations , and despite it being a new challenge for the talented driver , it ’ s something Al-Balooshi has loved .
“ This is what I ’ ve been excited to do . This is fun ,” Al-Balooshi said . “ This the best thing that could have happened for the class .”
78 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 166