MARK MICKE ’ S 3.598 LEADS THE WAY IN PRO MOD QUALIFYING
Many fans of outlaw doorslammer racing connect Mark Micke with the drag radial classes due to his barrier-breaking , record-setting accomplishments in those classes in recent years . But he ’ s also an experienced Pro Mod driver who went into the World Series of Pro Mod with the best car he ’ s ever had . His twin-turbocharged M & M Transmission ’ 69 Camaro “ shop car ” set the pace with a 3.598 at 220.94 on Friday , then followed that up with passes in the low 3.60-second range in every other session .
“ These are the baddest drivers on the planet ,” said Micke , who collected a $ 10,000 low qualifier bonus from Pilot Electric and Red Line Oil , as well as a custom baseball bat from Victus Sports . “ I told my guys , who are a bunch of young guys , they don ’ t understand what we did . This is the pinnacle of anything I ’ ve ever done in racing . I ’ ve done a lot of shit and this is more impressive . I don ’ t know what else to say . I was blown away .”
Micke likely would ’ ve went even quicker than 3.598 in Friday ’ s night session , which also counted as the Rivals Night session . He was due to face fellow turbo driver “ Turbo ” Todd Moyer , but Moyer had to withdraw after suffering critical breakage . Instead , he faced the nitrous-assisted “ Dark Knight ” Camaro of John Vergotz , whose
superhero-themed Rivals Night opponent , Ed “ The Iron Man ” Burnley , also had to back out due to breakage . Vergotz took his time staging against Micke , who ended up hurting some parts due to the staging incident .
“ It lit a fire under my ass ,” Micke said . “ If I have a bad run , it just motivates me harder . I ’ ve got all the confidence in the world .”
As the No . 1 qualifier , Micke was the first driver to pull a poker chip out of the bag in Saturday night ’ s chip draw . He pulled the No . 1 chip along with fellow radial racer Lyle Barnett , meaning the two were the first pair out after the national anthem on Sunday .
“ I love the chip draw because you don ’ t know – it ’ s just a roll of the dice ,” Micke said . “ I ’ m ready . It ’ s gonna be on in the first round . Who knows what ’ s gonna happen ? To win a World Series of Pro Mod , that ’ s the top of my career . That ’ s all I ’ ve ever wanted to do .”
The first round of eliminations went Micke ’ s way , as he set low E . T . of the round with his 3.645 at 220.48 to beat Barnett , who slowed to a 4.149 at 186.51 . Micke was upset in the second round , though , when 2023 semifinalist and reigning PDRA Pro Boost world champion Jason Harris left first and ran a 3.686 to beat Micke ’ s 3.695 at 220.30 . — NATE VAN WAGNEN DI
PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUKE NIEUWHOF , ROBERT RICHARD
128 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 188