me . I can ’ t thank my crew and the whole Salemi crew enough for what they did to get me ready for the final round .”
The team got the everything buttoned up and pushed the car back to the staging lanes , where Halsey and his Brandon Switzer-led team were patiently waiting . Both cars fired up and the drivers did their burnouts . Ward followed Halsey into the pre-stage beam . Halsey lit his stage bulb , then Ward flickered and fully lit his . The Christmas tree dropped and Ward was away first with a . 047 reaction time to Halsey ’ s . 073 . The two were together at the 60-foot mark , but Halsey ’ s brand-new ’ 68 Camaro started chattering the tires as it got up on the wheelie bars . Ward crossed the finish line first with a 3.625 at 208.17 . Halsey followed with a 4.304 at 126.09 .
“ It was an unbelievable feeling ,” Ward says as he thinks back to the moment his win light came on . “ We took off and I didn ’ t see the orange car at all . It was awesome . I was very happy , screaming in my helmet . My guys were screaming at me through the radio . It was an unbelievable feeling , that ’ s for sure .”
Ward ’ s team , including girlfriend Mindy Miller , Mike Sawyers , Henry George Jr ., and Dale Gilbert , went wild back on the starting line . After rounds of high-fives and hugs from the crowd gathered on the starting line and staging lanes , the team made their way down to the top end to collect Ward and the Firebird . The group then
AFTER MONTHS OF PLANNING AND PREPARATION BY BOTH , THE WSOPM WINNER ’ S CIRCLE PHOTO WAS A VICTORIOUS MOMENT FOR BOTH WARD AND PROMOTER WES BUCK .
MOMENTS AFTER SEEING HIS WIN LIGHT COME ON IN THE FINAL ROUND , WARD CELEBRATED WITH HIS FIANCÉE , MINDY MILLER , AND HIS TEAM MADE UP OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS .
drove back through the pits and through the staging lanes to reach the winner ’ s circle , where the celebrations rolled on .
“ It was a hell of a celebration ,” Ward laughs . “ There was champagne and money flying everywhere . It ’ s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience . It was a good night .”
Ward , who bracket raced for years before moving up to Pro Mod several years ago , has learned how to tune and maintain his screwblown hot rod with guidance from Jon Salemi , a noted blown alcohol specialist .
“ I maintenance the car at my house by myself ,”
Ward says . “ My girlfriend helps me and a couple of my guys can come sometimes to help me do a couple heavy things , but I do most of it myself at the house . Jon has his car and his other customers . Sometimes it gets to be too much , but at World Series , I gotta give all the credit to him and Evan because they did the eliminations for me . The car hauled ass .”
Salemi is back on board with Ward this weekend at the East Coast Nationals . Later in the day , Ward will take on Hyde in a special final-qualifying-session grudge match between the two most recent WSOPM champions . Ward charged to a 3.555 at 211.76 to win the grudge match , set a new Pro Boost national E . T . record , and take the No . 1 qualifier award over a field that saw eight other drivers dip into the 3.50s .
“ I give a lot of credit to Jon ,” Ward continues , also thanking G-Force Race Cars and MSR Performance . “ I know how to get the car down the track and tune it , but not to the degree that those two do . They know a lot . One day , I might know as much as them . It ’ s a lot to drive it , maintenance it , and tune it . Having somebody else that just tunes and can look at the racetrack , it ’ s a better combination , I think .”
Between the 2023 NEOPMA championship , the WSOPM win , and the record performance in Pro Boost at the PDRA season opener , it ’ s clear Ward is making big moves in the increasingly competitive world of Pro Mod . He ’ s proving his mettle as a driver , and with support from people like the Salemis , he has a car that can help him carve out his own chapter in the history books .
“ This is all I ’ ve ever dreamed of since I was a kid ,” Ward says . “ I grew up drag racing and I ’ ve always wanted to drive a Pro Mod and be one of the top guys in the sport . I would love to take it to the next level , and it looks like we ’ re on the way to that .” DI
108 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 188