Dirt
Twice is Nice
Aaron Wells claims second MWDRS Pro Mod championship By Craig Cook
Veteran Pro Mod driver Aaron Wells officially clinched his second Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Drag Racing Series presented by J & A Service championship – adding to his first from 2019 – at the season finale Throwdown in T-Town at Tulsa Raceway Park, piloting his screw-blown‘ 67 Mustang. The achievement moved him into rare company, as Wells joined Keith Haney as the only multi-time MWDRS Stroud Safety Pro Mod champions.
“ Back in 2019, it was pretty cool because we had struggled in 2018,” says Wells.“ It was just a Cinderella story. This year was a little different, especially with my son [ Tyler ] starting to drive. My focus was on other things than just worrying about a championship. It goes to show the quality of team I have and what they’ re capable of. They’ re the ones who drive the car to a championship, not me.”
Tulsa proved to be the backdrop for Wells’ most important moments of the season. After winning the spring Throwdown event, Wells would runner-up at the season finale and receive his second series championship.
Although Haney and Kallee Mills remained in contention for much of the year, as the season wound down, it became clear the championship would be decided by Wells and Jacob McNeal, who was competing in his very first Pro Mod season. It was ultimately clinched when Wells earned a first-round victory over Todd Martin, while McNeal fell in the opening round to Bob Glenn.
“ I’ ll tell you, McNeal may be new to Pro Mod, but he’ s definitely no stranger to drag racing,” says Wells.“ We knew he was going to be difficult to get around. He was on point as a driver, and I give him full credit for that. For me, I don’ t worry about the points. My crew talks about it, but they leave me alone. I’ m competitive enough as it is. I want to win every single race, regardless of some championship. But as soon as we clinched it, it was party time.”
Wells leaned heavily on the elite tuning support that has become a necessity in the current Pro Mod landscape. With Mark Savage and Darren Mayer handling tuning and engine responsibilities, the team operated with confidence throughout the season.
“ Mark and Darren have been extraordinary,” Wells says.“ There’ s a lot of knowledge and experience that each of them brings to the table. When you’ re running these cars on the ragged edge like we are, you gotta have that. They’ ve really got a handle on the car, and I let them do their thing. I just jump in and steer the wheel. It’ s a fun dynamic.”
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAMON STEINKE AND KYLE CHRIST
40 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 198