(HOLT,FL) -- Dominating an entire weekend of drag racing is never easy to do, but Joe Baker made it appear that way at the 1st Annual Heads Up Outlaw Nationals at Emerald Coast Dragway, Holt, Fl. The 2008 JEGS Promod Challenge Rookie of the Year captured the No.1 qualifying position and then blew through the field with consistent 3-second passes, nearly breaking the track record every pass. In the final round Baker matched defeated Edmund Hall's nitrous powered GTO.
Starting and ending the year with a win is what Baker accomplished during his rookie season of promod racing. The Milton, FL based racer shocked the promod set when entered the first event of the 10-race JEGS ProMod Challenge as a last-minute alternate and then went on to win the second series event in Houston. The Heads Up Outlaw Nationals marked Baker's third victory for the 2008 season.
"You know it was just a good weekend," said Baker. "We have been traveling all year long and to win the final race with family makes it even more exciting."
"We came out aggressive on the first pass with hopes of breaking the track record but we also wanted to win. We backed it down and managed to get down the track every pass. But, it's a team effort. Chuck Ford and my team (Dennis and Jeremy) made this happen."
Baker is ending the season on this high note and plans to compete in the JEGS Promod Challenge in 2009. Competitors in the JEGS ProMod Challenge will be making a record 12 stops in 2009 as they battle for the most prestigious trophy in Pro Modified drag racing.
2009 JEGS ProMod Challenge Schedule
ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals - Gainesville, Fla. (March 12-15)
JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals - Belle Rose, La. (March 20-22)
O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals - Houston (March 27-29)
O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals - St. Louis (May 1-3)
O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals - Bristol, Tenn. (May 15-17)
O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals - Topeka, Kan. (May 29-31)
NHRA SuperNationals - Englishtown, N.J. (June 11-14)
Mac Tools U.S. Nationals - Indianapolis (Sept. 2-7)
NHRA Carolina Nationals - Charlotte (Sept. 17-20)
JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals - Columbus, Ohio (Sept. 24-27)
Virginia NHRA Nationals - Richmond, Va. (Oct. 9-11)
ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals - Las Vegas (Oct. 29-Nov.1)
