NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The inaugural NHRA Texas Stampede of Speed Shootout concluded with John Baker, driving Jim Whiteley’s ’63 Corvette Pro Mod, taking top honors and $25,000 for winning the Pro Mod Shootout. Stevie “Fast” Jackson was the No. 1 qualifier of the event with a 3.593-second pass at 215.86 mph during qualifying.

J.R. Baxter, of Waxahachie, Texas, won $5,000 in Top Dragster, and Lance Abbott, of Midland, Texas, won $5,000 for his Top Sportsman win before Abbott claimed the head-to-head shootout bonus of $5,000 driving his ’98 S-10 pick-up to his second winner’s circle of the night.

 
“We witnessed some outstanding Pro Mod action tonight, and the final round battle between John Baker and Bubba Stanton was worth the price of admission,” said Andy Carter, Texas Motorplex general manager. “The Top Sportsman and Top Dragster competitors also brought their A game all night. The Shootout between Lance and J.R. for the extra $5,000 was something we would like to do more of over in the future. Tonight was about celebrating some of the wild and unique classes in drag racing leading up to the Texas NHRA FallNationals.”

The 16-car qualified field of Pro Mods started the night battling round by round for a chance to race for the $25,000, but it was Baker with Bubba Stanton, the eventual runner-up, outlasting the field. For his runner-up efforts, Stanton pocketed $10,000. Stanton was able to avenge his Monday-night loss to Jackson in the $140,000 grudge race with a semifinal round win to advance to the big-money round.

The Stampede of Speed event calendar will feature ticketed and non-ticketed events leading up the Texas NHRA FallNationals. Fans can visit www.texasmotorplex.com or www.stampedeofspeed.com for more information.