VICTOR ALVAREZ SHINES IN PRO MOD DEBUT
Victor Alvarez, Pro Mod rookie and Bradenton Motorsports Park co-owner, didn’ t want to just waltz into the World Series of Pro Mod. He wanted to work for the coveted invite and dive head first into the shark-infested waters. Alvarez did just that and didn’ t waste any time getting acclimated to the intensity that comes with competing at the WSOPM.
“ To make my first run ever in competition at BMP, at the World Series of Pro Mod, was a dream come true,” states Alvarez.“ Just being there with the best boys and girls in doorcar racing is flattering, but to get the chance to line up with them was the highlight of my drag racing journey.”
With the goal in mind of just to qualify in the biggest Pro Mod field ever, Alvarez fired a shot heard around the facility during Thursday’ s round two of qualifying. He powered his way to the provisional No. 1 position with a 3.611 at
219.94 mph, which was his first full pass under power in his newly built, turbocharged RJ Race Cars’ 69 Camaro.
“ I was so fired up to go No. 1 in a brand-new race car,” Alvarez says.“ I had the right team, the right tuner and the right car – I had everything I needed.”
Also notable during Alvarez’ s second qualifying pass, the parachutes did not deploy. However, the experienced import racer stopped the car and made the turnoff safely at the top end.
“ It happened so fast, but I went through [ the finish line ], and I was like,‘ Man, this thing is going really fast, and I don’ t feel my chutes,’” Alvarez explains.“ Then I was like,‘ Maybe I just haven’ t been this fast yet, so I just don’ t realize that the‘ chutes are out.’ Then I realized they weren’ t out. I started pumping the brakes because I was not going to put my brand-new race car in the dirt.”
Alvarez’ s number held for most of the session, and when qualifying was said and done, he ended up landing in the No. 15 spot. During the firstround chip draw, he drew Australian John Ricca.
On Saturday, Ricca’ s 3.626 at 207.59 defeated the 3.632 at 217.95 of Alvarez, who shook the tires in the middle of the pass, which caused him to move out of the groove, though he stuck with it until the finish line.
“ We left holding our heads pretty high. My guys that I’ ve been racing with forever – Troy, Dennis, Tyler, Bradley – killed it all weekend long,” Alvarez says.“ We came out with a little 34-foot trailer and wanted to prove that we could hang with the baddest 80-plus Pro Mods. I was really happy because we did exactly what we wanted to do – we qualified for the quickest Pro Modified field in history.”— KAYLA ZADEL DI DI DI
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124 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 194