(11-1-2008) LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Throughout the course of the 2008 racing season, the JEGS ProMod Challenge has seemingly reached another level of excellence via competitive fields of the nation’s best and brightest Pro Modified teams, new sponsors and unbridled popularity amongst fans of fastest quarter-mile door slammers on the planet. While the Hottinger Group/Embee Performance Pro Mod team of Danny Rowe and Kirk Kuhns went into the final race of the season outside of championship contention, they had secured their positions in the Top 5 of the point standings and for the newly formed multi-car operation – that’s a success in itself.
Danny Rowe, driver of the Hottinger Group ’67 Camaro, came onto the scene at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in fine fashion, posting a stellar 6.03-second, 237.96mph blast that catapulted him to the top of the qualifying charts Friday night. Unfortunately, Raymond Commisso and Joshua Hernandez upped the ante on Saturday, sliding Rowe into the No. 3 spot for Sunday’s elimination rounds – also marking the 10th time in 2008 that the Laguna Hills, California native qualified in the top half of the field.
In the first round of competition, Rowe was slated to meet Scott Ray in the Ohio Crank ’53 Corvette. This marked the second consecutive race that these two drivers had met in the first round and Rowe had an obvious score to settle; Rowe left first (.049) and never looked back, using a 6.091/239.91mph combination to defeat Ray’s (.071) quicker but losing 6.085/235.60mph.
After spending the necessary time testing the weeks prior to the race, Rowe and team were anticipating a big weekend in Vegas, but the fun came to an unexpected end in Rd. 2 when they met Taylor Lastor and team. In one of the closes races of the weekend, Rowe and Lastor left together (.057 to .067), then were welded together all the way down the track – Lastor’s 6.067 narrowly besting Rowe’s 6.070 by .0131-seconds, less than half a car length.
“Of course we would have loved to finish the season with a win here in Las Vegas,” said Rowe, “but we are very satisfied with what we’ve accomplished as a team this year. To finish with both of our cars in the Top 5 in the points is outstanding and a real testament to our commitment to this program, and the consistency we’ve shown all year. At this point in time, it’s a big accomplishment just to qualify for a JEGS ProMod Challenge event, so we’re definitely very excited that we’ve been able to do this well amongst the best racers in the country.”
Sunday’s race concluded a spectacular 2008 season that saw the emergence of Danny Rowe Racing as a force to be reckoned with, posting a combined 16 Top 8 qualifying efforts, three semi-final round finishes, eight quarter-final appearances and a host of performance milestones including breaking into the 5-second zone with both the Hottinger Group ’67 Camaro and the Embee Performance/General Plumbing ’41 Willys.
“We’re looking forward to 2009 with very high expectations for this team,” said Rowe, who receives additional support from Friction Unlimited. “We anticipate the continued growth and popularity of the JEGS ProMod Challenge and can’t wait to start competing for the ’09 world championship. I look to make an announcement as to the plans for Danny Rowe Racing in the very near future.”
Information regarding Danny Rowe Racing can be found at .: Danny Rowe Racing - Pro Modified :.
Danny Rowe, driver of the Hottinger Group ’67 Camaro, came onto the scene at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in fine fashion, posting a stellar 6.03-second, 237.96mph blast that catapulted him to the top of the qualifying charts Friday night. Unfortunately, Raymond Commisso and Joshua Hernandez upped the ante on Saturday, sliding Rowe into the No. 3 spot for Sunday’s elimination rounds – also marking the 10th time in 2008 that the Laguna Hills, California native qualified in the top half of the field.
In the first round of competition, Rowe was slated to meet Scott Ray in the Ohio Crank ’53 Corvette. This marked the second consecutive race that these two drivers had met in the first round and Rowe had an obvious score to settle; Rowe left first (.049) and never looked back, using a 6.091/239.91mph combination to defeat Ray’s (.071) quicker but losing 6.085/235.60mph.
After spending the necessary time testing the weeks prior to the race, Rowe and team were anticipating a big weekend in Vegas, but the fun came to an unexpected end in Rd. 2 when they met Taylor Lastor and team. In one of the closes races of the weekend, Rowe and Lastor left together (.057 to .067), then were welded together all the way down the track – Lastor’s 6.067 narrowly besting Rowe’s 6.070 by .0131-seconds, less than half a car length.
“Of course we would have loved to finish the season with a win here in Las Vegas,” said Rowe, “but we are very satisfied with what we’ve accomplished as a team this year. To finish with both of our cars in the Top 5 in the points is outstanding and a real testament to our commitment to this program, and the consistency we’ve shown all year. At this point in time, it’s a big accomplishment just to qualify for a JEGS ProMod Challenge event, so we’re definitely very excited that we’ve been able to do this well amongst the best racers in the country.”
Sunday’s race concluded a spectacular 2008 season that saw the emergence of Danny Rowe Racing as a force to be reckoned with, posting a combined 16 Top 8 qualifying efforts, three semi-final round finishes, eight quarter-final appearances and a host of performance milestones including breaking into the 5-second zone with both the Hottinger Group ’67 Camaro and the Embee Performance/General Plumbing ’41 Willys.
“We’re looking forward to 2009 with very high expectations for this team,” said Rowe, who receives additional support from Friction Unlimited. “We anticipate the continued growth and popularity of the JEGS ProMod Challenge and can’t wait to start competing for the ’09 world championship. I look to make an announcement as to the plans for Danny Rowe Racing in the very near future.”
Information regarding Danny Rowe Racing can be found at .: Danny Rowe Racing - Pro Modified :.
