JEFF RUDOLF MAKES THE MOST OF DNQ
After two days of qualifying , nearly three dozen Pro Mod drivers from across the country were on the outside looking in . Jeff Rudolf and Mike Decker III were two of the drivers outside of the 32-car field , but on race day , they got one more shot at taking home a big check in the $ 10,000 Pro Mod Chicago-Style Shootout . All the non-qualified Pro Mods got one shot at the track Sunday morning , with the two quickest race cars came back to run for $ 10,000 in the final round .
When the field was set , Rudolf was the No . 33 qualifier with his 3.665 at 205.29 – just one thousandth of a second away from making the field . His 3.734 at 204.32 in the first round of the Chicago-Style Shootout sent him to the final , where his ProCharged “ Ghetto Sleigh ” ’ 69 Camaro ran a 3.652 at 205.72 to defeat Decker ’ s
3.664 at 206.85 in his screw-blown Decker ’ s Salvage Camaro . Standing in the WSOPM winner ’ s circle , Rudolf was all smiles .
“ Winning this $ 10,000 takes a lot of the sting out of not making the Top 32 ,” said Rudolf from the winner ’ s circle . “ We had a car . I don ’ t know if we could run a 3.63 , but we had a car that competed . We just struggled with some tires and got behind testing this whole entire week . We ’ ll take this one all day long . This crew is bad ass and I can ’ t say enough about [ tuner ] Brandon Stroud . He ’ s a bad man . He is hands down the humblest person I ’ ve ever met in my life . Everyone as a team worked great together . No failures , no screw ups . That ’ s why we ’ re here in the winner ’ s circle .”
Rudolf was thrilled to be a part of the biggest Pro Mod race in the country . The driver from Brownsburg , Indiana , did not let the magnitude of the event overwhelm him , but he was excited to be a part of the race .
“ It ’ s an honor to even be here ,” said Rudolf . “ I won ’ t be the last one to get invited next year . It ’ s a big deal . These guys are amazing . Every one of these guys have championships under their belt , or multiple wins . These guys are amazing . Rickie Smith was parked next to me . That ’ s crazy .” — ELON WERNER DI
PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUKE NIEUWHOF
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