Courtesy Jeff Burk, Summit Racing Equipment Team
The Summit Racing Equipment-backed Pro Mod team of owner/tuner/engine builder Jim Oddy and Canadian driver Al Billes used the IHRA National Event at Grand Bend -- the first of three IHRA National Events held in Canada -- to move into the lead in the chase for the IHRA Hooter's Cup World championship for Pro Modifieds.
"I've devoted this season to winning the IHRA World Championship for my sponsor Summit Racing Equipment and getting my new driver and friend Al Billes his first World Championship, so it's nice to be leading the points right now," said team owner Jim Oddy, "I think IHRA Pro Modified is the toughest circuit in drag racing right now and with a lot of races left this season we know it's going to take everything this team's got plus some racing luck to win the World Championship."
The team went into Grand Bend in second place and with their new supercharged Dodge Stratus still being sorted out. The team qualified in the No. 2 spot with a 6.240 and managed to get the Top Speed of the meet with a 233.08 clocking. (The team set the new IHRA national speed record for Pro Mods at 236.22 at the last IHRA event in Virginia with consecutive laps of 234-plus, 235-plus and a final 236.22.)
In eliminations Al Billes drove to the win over supercharger racer and Privateer Eddie Ware in the first round with another 6.24. In the second round Oddy stepped the power up a bit defeating the nitrous entry of driver Jim Halsey with a 6.22/233 pass. The win over Halsey put them into the semi-finals against nitrous racer Billy Harper.
"We felt we were going to have to step it up against a premier car and driver like Billy Harper and his Viper," Oddy said, "So we did and it bit us. We shook the tires, Al had to lift, and we were done."
The team will now spend the next couple of weeks working on some small problems they found in the new Dodge Stratus and preparing for the 100 hour round trip from upstate New York to the high country of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
"We'll have to try and come up with something to deal with the high altitude there," Oddy said. "It'll be a whole new experience for me since I've never been to that track. But if you are going to win an IHRA Pro Mod championship you have to be able to race under a lot of different conditions. That's why it is so hard to win a championship on this circuit."
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