KENNY LANG WINS $20,000 IN TORCO’S COMPETITIONPLUS.COM PRO MODIFIED SHOOTOUT

MARTIN, MI. – Kenny Lang had 20,000 reasons to smile Saturday evening. 20,000 reasons in U.S. dollars was more than enough to keep the Canadian drag racer grinning after winning the $56K Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Pro Modified Shootout.

Lang singled to the victory when Jim Halsey’s Camaro broke prior to the final round of the prestigious annual event hosted by Knoll Gas Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.

For Halsey, this major payday is a welcomed one.

“The money is definitely going to help us out,” Lang said. “We’ve been trying to go fast all year and go rounds and it’s really come together for us this weekend. We had some tough laps today. It’s too bad Jim had to break there. We would have given him a good run and that’s why I made the full pass on the solo. We’re fortunate, we’ve got a lot of power from Al Billes, and I’ve got an awesome crew that comes with me and without those guys this wouldn’t happen. This is the biggest race we have ever won so we’re happy.”

Lang entered the eight-car event based on qualifying points tabulated since August 2006 as the third-seeded entry and stopped Mike Janis and Danny Rowe for the opportunity to reach the final round. Today’s victory was the culmination of a gradual performance increase dating back to last season.

“We’ve just got everything coming together,” Lang said. “Al Billes horsepower is huge and the car is working great, so we just set out from the beginning of this year to be a contender in the points and for the championship.”

Halsey entered the Torco’s CompetitionPlus Pro Modified Shootout as the only nitrous-injected entry. The fourth-seeded Halsey eliminated Quain Stott and Scott Cannon, Jr. to reach the final.

Halsey’s never made it to the burnout box when the burst panel blew out of the manifold when the Street, Md.-based driver fired for the final round.

Point accumulation for the 2008 Torco’s CompetitionPlus Pro Modified began this evening and Mike Janis scored the early lead by qualifying No. 1 this evening.