NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Number 1 qualifier Mike Casteallana was upset by No. 16 qualifier Danny Rowe in the first round of eliminations at the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by JEGS.com, is the ninth of 12 events on the 2017 schedule.

Castellana’s Friday night track elapsed-time record 5.709-second pass at 252.52 mph in his Al Anabi Racing Chevrolet Camaro secured him his third No. 1 qualifier of the season. Rowe raced to a 5.851 pass at 247.88 in his Agave Underground Tequila 1968 Chevrolet Camaro to defeat Castellana’s 6.177 pass at 183.62 in the first round.

"It was awesome. It was a great run,” Rowe said. “Mike (Castellana) and the whole crew over there did an unbelievable job; they should be really proud. But this is racing. We don't race on paper; we all go out there and do our best. We didn't know if we could go out there and run with him, but we were going to go down the best we could and that's what we did. The car went down and we were able to get around him. It's exciting - the entire team is excited. It's been a long time since we started going rounds and a great place to start turning around your program is Indy, so I'm excited."

Rowe will take on Richie Stevens, husband to Pro Stock champion Erica Enders, in the second round on Monday. Troy Coughlin, who set the track speed record in qualifying, defeated Jim Whiteley in the first round and will face Johnny Gray, uncle of rookie standout Pro Stock racer Tanner Gray, in round two.

Eliminations in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series continues Monday at approximately noon.