AL-BALOOSHI SHOWED OFF HIS DRIVING SKILLS WITH THE NEW MANUAL SHIFTING RULES IN PRO MOD AND DIDN ’ T SKIP A BEAT IN ORLANDO .
Personett was also quick to praise Al-Balooshi for the job he ’ s done on the car , too , namely when it comes to shifting . In fact , the versatile driver has proven to be a natural at it , which is a total surprise considering Al-Balooshi ’ s success in multiple styles of racing .
“ He ’ s a machine . He ’ s getting almost Pro Stocklike where he ’ s hitting it as the light is turning on . He ’ s just amazing as far as his feel and touch in the car . It ’ s a neat deal ,” Personett said .
Laughlin made a valiant effort with his new Elite Motorsports ProCharger-equipped Mustang , making dramatic strides in the car ’ s debut , but he couldn ’ t hold off Al-Balooshi despite a strong run , as the Bahrain 1 Racing team was stellar from start to finish .
It was also a motivated group following the loss of a number of close friends in the offseason . Al-Balooshi dedicated the victory to the late engine builder Sonny Leonard , suspension consultant Adam Lambert ’ s father , Timothy , and close friend Salah Bin Eidan , calling it a special moment to win for them .
“ This winter has been a difficult one ,” Al-Balooshi said . “ We lost a lot of friends , starting with Sonny [ Leonard ]. We miss Adam Lambert ’ s dad and , two weeks ago , I lost one of my friends . We grew up together and raced together . He ’ s from Kuwait , and it ’ s just been a difficult winter . This is good to win for all of them and I hope they ’ re watching us . This trophy is for those people .” DI
80 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 166