Mike Stavrinos eyes big sophomore season in NHRA Pro Mod with Al-Anabi Racing By Madelyn Marconi

of the most competitive classes in the NHRA. The rigorous race schedule and travel also proved to be quite demanding for the Fort Lauderdalebased driver. However, the opportunity to race at facilities throughout the country against elite drivers from around the world was Stavrinos’ biggest takeaway from his first season. The Pro Mod class has a large international presence and includes racers from countries like Brazil, Bahrain, and Sweden, adding to the significance of competing on a professional stage.

“ When you race with this group, everything has to be on that professional level. There are cameras everywhere, you’ ve got to have proper attire, and interacting with fans is a lot different, but I love it,” Stavrinos says.

While the team struggled during the first half of the 2024 season, enduring multiple DNQs, things turned around at the halfway mark. After amicably parting ways with Mike Janis Racing, Stavrinos found himself at the right place at the right time and secured a new partnership with Sheik Khalid Al Thani. In a whirlwind turnaround, a new car was pulled from Qatar and shipped to Modern Racing, where it underwent a complete overhaul by Justin Elkes. The new partnership debuted at the U. S. Nationals and almost finished with a storybook ending. Stavrinos made it to the final round against heavy hitter Ken Quartuccio, but fell just short of his first NHRA Pro Modified win.

“ We never fired up the car until the first round of qualifying at the U. S. Nationals, and then that weekend was almost a Cinderella story,” Stavrinos reflects.“ We runnered up, so it was still a great weekend.”

With new momentum, the team solidified its plans for 2025 during a test session in Qatar this past January. With primary support from Sheik Khalid Al Thani( KH) this year, the team’ s championship run will include Todd Tutterow and Mark Savage as head crew chiefs and Stavrinos and J. R. Gray as drivers, with Mike Castellana behind the wheel of AAP’ s third entry. The team’ s fleet of cars will run 4.9 Noonan engines built by WYO Motorsports, paired with screw blowers. Halfway through the season, the team will unveil a fresh, yet familiar to many, look as they bring back the original Al-Anabi Racing theme.

“ KH has a huge passion for this program. He’ s very hands-on and will jump on the laptop him-

With his rookie season behind him, Stavrinos admits it took time to adjust to the drivability of quarter-mile racing on a big slick tire compared to eighth-mile racing on radial tires. With nearly two decades of experience in the heads-up outlaw racing scene, he expected a smoother transition into the professional category, but instead faced a steep learning curve.

“ I thought my past experience in small-tire racing would have helped me jump into Pro Mod and immediately start going rounds, but I had a reality check and realized that this has to be looked at from a whole different perspective,” Stavrinos admits.

Separated by just hundredths of a second, Stavrinos learned quickly that Pro Mod is one

PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICK BELDEN AND MIKE STAVRINOS

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