Stan Shelton Get First Career Win in Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Series at St. Louis

Media Box of the Pro Mod Final Round from Sunday: PRO MOD MEDIA BOX

ST. LOUIS – September 30, 2024 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – For the second straight race, a first-time winner found the winner’s circle in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+, as Stan Shelton defeated Mason Wright in the final round on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway as part of this weekend’s NHRA Midwest Nationals.

The event was the third in the category’s four-race “Road to the Championship” playoffs and was powered by M&M Transmission and Jerry Bickel Race Cars. It also marked the ninth of 10 races during the 2024 season.

Advancing to his second career final round after defeating Michael Stavrinos, Lyle Barnett and defending event winner Jordan Lazic, Shelton went 5.786-seconds at 245.58 mph in his Culp Lumber Ford Mustang to hold off Wright’s 5.806 at 234.66.

After qualifying 11th, Shelton posted reaction times of .010, .013 and .011 in the first three rounds, setting up a memorable final round and a thrilling first victory in the NHRA Pro Mod category.

“This is very difficult to win. This class is so challenging and today was the day,” Shelton said. “My crew did an awesome job and this feels great. We’ve got such a great thing going on in Pro Mod and driver is such a small part in getting one of these. The crew are the ones doing everything behind the scenes and I just had to do my job.”

On a wild weekend in St. Louis, Khalid Al Balooshi moved into the points lead, despite losing in the second round. Justin Bond jumped all the way to second and is just 12 points out of first heading into the final race of the NHRA Pro Mod season. Lazic is in third, 24 points out of first, while Ken Quartuccio is 26 points behind the leader.

Wright advanced to the final round for the second time in his career by defeating Chip King, defending world champion Mike Castellana and Bond.

The Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+ closes out its 2024 season at the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals on Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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MADISON, IL — Final finish order (1-16) at the 13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. The race is the ninth of 10 events in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+.

PRO MODIFIED:

1. Stan Shelton; 2. Mason Wright; 3. Justin Bond; 4. Jordan Lazic; 5. Mike Castellana; 6. JR Gray; 7. Lyle Barnett; 8. Khalid alBalooshi; 9. Billy Banaka; 10. Mike Stavrinos; 11. Kevin Rivenbark; 12. Nick Januik; 13. Dmitry Samorukov; 14. Chip King; 15. Doug Winters; 16. Kris Thorne.

MADISON, IL — Sunday’s final results from the 13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. The race is the ninth of 10 events in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+.

Pro Modified — Stan Shelton, Ford Mustang, 5.786, 245.58 def. Mason Wright, Chevy Camaro, 5.806, 234.66.

MADISON, IL — Final round-by-round results from the 13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. The race is the ninth of 10 events in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+.

PRO MODIFIED:

ROUND ONE — Mike Castellana, Chevy Camaro, 5.738, 249.76 def. Kevin Rivenbark, Ford Mustang, 5.821, 246.98; Jordan Lazic, Camaro, 5.777, 248.98 def. Nick Januik, Chevy Corvette, 5.904, 242.19; JR Gray, Camaro, 5.769, 248.98 def. Dmitry Samorukov, Camaro, 6.064, 241.07; Justin Bond, Camaro, 5.772, 245.23 def. Billy Banaka, Camaro, 5.740, 249.03; Lyle Barnett, Camaro, 5.805, 244.74 def. Kris Thorne, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Stan Shelton, Mustang, 5.766, 245.99 def. Mike Stavrinos, Camaro, 5.781, 245.27; Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, 5.796, 249.95 def. Doug Winters, Chevy Chevelle, 8.061, 115.59; Mason Wright, Camaro, 5.728, 250.32 def. Chip King, Dodge Charger, 7.158, 128.10;

QUARTERFINALS — Shelton, 5.811, 244.92 def. Barnett, 5.818, 244.65; Lazic, 5.741, 249.39 def. Gray, 5.766, 250.51; Wright, 5.744, 249.53 def. Castellana, Foul – Red Light; Bond, 6.768, 150.11 def. alBalooshi, Broke;

SEMIFINALS — Shelton, 5.841, 244.92 def. Lazic, 6.744, 146.42; Wright, 5.742, 249.35 def. Bond, 5.792, 244.83;

FINAL — Shelton, 5.786, 245.58 def. Wright, 5.806, 234.66.

MADISON, IL — Point standings (top 10) following the 13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. The race is the ninth of 10 events in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+.

Pro Modified

1. Khalid alBalooshi, 956; 2. Justin Bond, 944; 3. Jordan Lazic, 932; 4. Ken Quartuccio, 930; 5. Mason Wright, 921; 6. Kris Thorne, 918; 7. Kevin Rivenbark, 906; 8. Billy Banaka, 887; 9. Dmitry Samorukov, 881; 10. Mike Castellana, 876.

About M&M Transmission

Founded in 1996 by Mark Micke, M&M Transmission specializes in race-winning and record-setting drag racing transmissions, torque converters and shifters with trusted reliability and top technology. Today, M&M Transmission is based out of Jefferson City, Missouri. A comprehensive array of in-house machinery and equipment, such as a SuperFlow transmission and torque converter dyno, state-of-the-art lathes, mills, and more, allows the talented team to manufacture and assemble its performance drag racing transmissions, torque converters, shifters, and more with a commitment to upholding a strong “Made in the USA” standard of quality. Established by a diehard racer and staffed with a group of drag racing enthusiasts, Mark Micke’s M&M Transmission knows what it takes to win. Head over to mandmtransmission.com to join the race-winning team!

About Jerry Bickel Race Cars

Jerry Bickel Race Cars are synonymous with quality built, fast door cars around the world. Established in 1985, Jerry Bickel Race Cars created a new generation of innovative techniques and procedures that would continue WINNING races for over 35 years. In 2000, JBRC built a state-of-the-art building designed to engineer, fabricate, paint, and complete race cars from start to finish. JBRC also carries a full line of racing components to make Jerry Bickel Race Cars a “one stop chassis shop”. For more information visit www.jerrybickel.com

About NHRA

NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 20 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™, NHRA Holley EFI Factory X and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With 110 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Source: National Hot Rod Association

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