PHOENIX — Mike Stavrinos enjoyed a spectacular Saturday at a sold-out Firebird Motorsports Park, winning his first career Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series race, defeating Rickie Smith in the final round of the postponed NHRA Gatornationals and also qualifying No. 1 for this weekend’s Arizona Nationals in Phoenix.
The Gainesville event marked the opener for the category and was powered by FuelTech, as Stavrinos went 5.752-seconds at 247.52 in his AAP Camaro to take down Smith’s 5.796 at 249.81. It gave Stavrinos his first victory in NHRA Pro Mod, as well as a standout performance against a multi-time world champion in the category.
“It really doesn’t feel real right now. I’ve wanted one of these (Wallys) since I was a little kid,” Stavrinos said. “I can’t tell you how much this means. I’m a little emotional right now. It’s awesome and the guys worked so hard on this. We thrashed on these cars all winter just getting them ready. We didn’t have great results testing, but everyone just pulled together. Everyone involved in this whole deal is phenomenal. To be No. 1 qualifier and win the Gatornationals, hats off to all my guys. They deserve this.”
Stavrinos took down Kevin Rivenbark, Justin Bond and J.R. Gray to reach the final round.
As if the victory wasn’t good enough, Stavrinos also qualified No. 1 for Sunday’s race, which is powered by LAT Racing Oils. He went 5.725 at 248.61 to headline a loaded field in Phoenix. Stavrinos opens eliminations against Dymtry Samorukov on Sunday.
To advance to the final round, Smith defeated Billy Banaka and Gainesville No. 1 qualifier Jason Scruggs.
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