CRITCHLEY WINS FIRST CAREER AMS NHRA PRO MODIFIED EVENT

LAS VEGAS - It took a trip to Las Vegas to change Troy Critchley's fortunes on the NHRA AMS Pro Modified tour. The Aussie-born driver of Dave Wood's AMS Staff Leasing Barracuda outran newly christened world champion Jay Payne in the final round.

Critchley firmly entrenched himself between the 6.08 to 6.12 range during the course of eliminations and that consistency was enough to secure his first national event on the tour.

"This is an incredible experience," Critchley said. "When you work as hard at winning as we do, it's always good to see the rewards of the hard work. This is a hard-working team and I am proud to be a part of it. Howard Moon and the crew gave me the best car every time I came to the line."

Critchley qualified second in the sixteen-car field with a 6.091, 236.22.

Photo courtesy of CompetitionPlus.com

In the first round, Critchley produced his best elapsed time of the weekend by knocking off Chip King. He laid down a 6.084, 236.55 to win that match.

Critchley used lane choice to his advantage in the second round by taking out the fourth ranked Shelly Payne. Payne was slightly quicker out of the gate but that couldn't deter Critchley as he thundered by with a 6.122 and the event's top speed of 237.17 MPH.

Critchley reached his second final round of the season by stopping Cody Barklage on both ends of the track with a .05 holeshot and a 6.132, 235.23 victory.

Critchley's teammate Josh Hernandez, who ironically qualified on the pole, fell in the semis to Jay Payne. Critchley was able to exact revenge by running a 6.098, 235.35 to snag the win-light. Payne was disqualified when he crossed the center-line.

The monumental victory enabled Critchley to conclude the season as the 5th place finisher in the top ten.

Photo courtesy CompetitionPlus.com