BRADENTON, Fla. — Montana native Derek Menholt’s success during the Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service continued Thursday night when he raced to the provisional No. 1 spot in Pro Mod at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by Red Line Oil.
Behind the wheel of his Harts Charger-boosted ’19 Corvette, Menholt recorded a 3.568-second pass at 211.66 mph down the Bradenton Motorsports Park eighth mile to lead a list of 64 drivers attempting to break into the 32-car field.
Thursday’s on-track action also included two qualifying sessions in Pro 10.5, as well as a shakedown session for True 10.5 and Lil Gangstas. Jerry Morgano is the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Pro 10.5 with a 3.829 at 203.98.
Menholt, who was the runner-up at the most recent Winter Series race, the U.S. Street Nationals, tested extensively at Bradenton between races with his Scott Tidwell Racing teammates. Those efforts paid off when he came out strong in the first qualifying session at WSOPM, as Menholt posted a 3.579 at 207.46 to qualify No. 2. In the final pair of the second session, he improved to a 3.568 at 211.66 to take the No. 1 spot.
“It’s huge for us just to even get to race with the guys we race with,” Menholt said. “PRC built a great car. [Tuner] Steve Petty, Pro Line, everybody that’s touched this car has been good since we came out for the Snowbirds, so I’m excited to see how it finishes up here. I mean, we were expecting to run well, but probably not number one. I think tomorrow morning, when the conditions are really good, we might see some numbers shift a little bit, but we’re glad with where we’re at right now.”
Menholt swiped the top spot from Bradenton Motorsports Park co-owner Victor Alvarez, who ended the first qualifying session as the provisional No. 1 qualifier. His 3.571 at 210.80 in his Harts Charger-boosted Right Trailers ’69 Camaro gave him the $5,000 Pro Line Racing “Off The Trailer” Bonus. He came back in the second session and improved by a thousandth, a 3.570 at 210.73, to sit second.
Stevie “Fast” Jackson, winner of the $75,000-to-win U.S. Street Nationals, qualified No. 3 with a 3.571 at 210.24. He rolled into WSOPM with a completely different car than the one he drove to victory at Bradenton a month ago. After winning in his screw-blown Motion Raceworks “Shadow 3.0” ’68 Camaro, Jackson and his Killin’ Time Racing team converted the car over to NHRA-legal trim to chase a third NHRA Pro Mod world championship.
Crew chief Jeff Pierce and his father, Dave, offered up their M&M Transmission “Purple Heart” ’68 Firebird for Jackson to finish out the Winter Series. He moved up to No. 2 in the points standings with his U.S. Street Nationals win.
Johnny Camp, who qualified No. 1 at the first WSOPM at Bradenton in 2023, went to the No. 4 spot with a 3.577 at 210.67 in his ProCharger-boosted “Hells Bells” ’69 Camaro. Past NMCA Pro Mod champion Eric Gustafson, who’s also contending for the Winter Series championship, rounded out the top five in his ProCharged Coast Packing Company “Lard Machine” ’69 Camaro with a 3.581 at 209.23.
In Pro 10.5, Jerry Morgano also continued what’s turning into a hot streak at Bradenton. The longtime Outlaw 10.5 proponent earned his first win in seven years at the U.S. Street Nationals last month, and like Menholt, tested extensively since then. After a parts issue plagued his first qualifying attempt, he came back in the second session and threw down a 3.829 at 203.98 – one of the quickest passes in Outlaw 10.5 history – to distance himself and his turbocharged, small-block-powered ’02 Cobra from the rest of the field.
“It’s a lot of work. For the guys that are behind me – Anthony DiSomma and guys like that – this is awesome,” said Morgano, who’s No. 2 in Winter Series Pro 10.5 points. “Wade [Rich] did a great job with the track there. My guy went up and I said, ‘How’s the track look?’ They said, ‘It’s pretty damn good, so if you got a run you want to put in it, put it in it.’ I clicked the boost controller one more and we made a great lap. That’s the best lap the car’s ever made. Best 60-foot the car has had in five or six years. I knew these cars can run low 3.80s in this class; you just gotta get lucky and put it all together. It came together on that one. So it was really, really cool.”
Pro 10.5 points leader Nick Agostino qualified No. 2 in his turbocharged, small-block “Cannoli Express” ’69 Camaro with a 3.899 at 202.39. Carson Baker, No. 1 qualifier at the U.S. Street Nationals, ended up third with a 3.917 at 197.39 in his Harts Charger-equipped Polaris Offroad ’24 Camaro.
