Team News
Rob Atchison returning to upcoming PMRA Pro Modified season
Former IHRA champ looking for good 2012 after first year learning curve
LONDON, ONTARIO (February 2, 2012) – One of Canada’s most successful drag racers will be returning to the Pro Modified Racing Association in 2012.
After his first PMRA racing last year, London’s Rob Atchison will be behind the wheel of the Atchison Racing Corvette Pro Modified, and said he hopes his short time last season will bear fruit.
“We’re going to try to make the next step up,” said the three-time IHRA Funny Car Champion, who believes the team has made the transition from the Alcohol-powered Flopper to a door-slamming Pro Modified. “We’ve made some changes, and I think I’ve learned how to drive the new car.”
Atchison was a dominate force in the IHRA Funny Car wars, winning 21 events, world records in elapsed time and speed, and the three titles in 2003, 2004, and 2005. With only 20 runs on the Corvette last year, he believes he has made the needed driving style adjustments.
PMRA Champion Vito Montesano “They all put in a lot of hard work and it paid off this year.”
MAPLE, ONTARIO (November 17, 2011) – For Vito Montesano, winning the 2011 Pro Modified Racing Association Marydel Homes Championship Point Award Series presented by Magnum Auto Parts, Patio Passport and Global Emissions Systems Inc. was a nail-biter right until the last race in the last event, but the Maple, Ontario-based driver held on to win his first PMRA championship.
And he won the title by a mere margin of only one point.
“This has been a great year,” said the driver of the 1969 Chevy Camaro Pro Modified. “We are very happy,” he continued. “Not only did we win our first PMRA race, we also won the championship. We are just ecstatic.”
In his second year of PMRA competition, Montesano stayed at the top of the points race throughout the six-race season, but it was close as second-place finisher Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario, and third-place Eric Latino of Whitby, Ontario, whittled into Montesano’s lead. When Boland won over Latino in the final of the last race at Cayuga, the points were tallied, and Montesano won over Boland 1534 points to 1533.
Top Five for 2011 Bruce Boland and the B&B Team Willys
Number Two
HAMILTON, ONTARIO (November 11, 2011) – The most victorious driver in PMRA history came within one point of winning his fourth championship in the Pro Modified Racing Association Marydel Homes Championship Point Award Series presented by Magnum Auto Parts, Patio Passport and Global Emissions Systems Inc.
Bruce Boland, driver of the B&B Racing 1941 Willys Pro Modified, lost the title to Vito Montesano of Maple, Ontario. Boland tallied 1533 points to Montesano’s 1534 in a see-saw championship battle all season that was not determined until the last race of the final event.
“We started good and ended good,” noted Boland, who won the PMRA title through 2007-09. “We had some shifter issues midway through the season, or we would have made it.”
One of the original PMRA members since its inception in 2004, Boland has always started his season with a new race car, and 2011 was no exception, as he traded his 1963 Corvette in for a 1941 Willys, a car he said has been top-notch.
The Pro Modified Top Five for 2011 The Pro Modified Team of Eric Latino and the Team Green Camaro – Number Three
WHITBY, ONTARIO (November 4, 2011) – A new car and a new partner gave Eric Latino a fast and winning combination, placing the Whitby, Ontario driver third in the Pro Modified Racing Association Marydel Homes Championship Point Award Series presented by Magnum Auto Parts, Patio Passport and Global Emissions Systems Inc. this year.
Trading in his 1938 Chevy coupe for a new G-Force Race Cars 1969 Camaro, Latino qualified number one at three of the PMRA meets, and second in two other events in 2011. He was only eight points behind PMRA champion Vito Montesano of Maple, Ontario when the season ended at the Cayuga Dragway in September.
Driving the Team Green Camaro, Latino consistently put down laps in the sub six-second range after he teamed up with prominent Pro Modified car owner Rob Sporring.
The Pro Modified Team of Roth Racing with driver Jeff Roth – Number Four
KITCHENER, ONTARIO (October 28, 2011) – Long-time Pro Modified Racing Association competitor Roth Racing worked with a new combination in 2011, and placed fourth in the Pro Modified Racing Association Marydel Homes Championship Point Award Series presented by Magnum Auto Parts, Patio Passport and Global Emissions Systems Inc.
For team head and owner Jim Roth, the year was successful with the 1941 Willys-bodied Pro Mod.
“All in all we had a pretty good year,” he noted. “We were shooting for and worked hard to get into the fives, and we came close. But we’re getting a handle on it now. There is no end to what you can learn with these cars.”
Driven by Jim’s son Jeff Roth, the Alan Johnson 526-cubic inch Atchison Racing Supercharged engine in the Willys received a new PSI Superchargers screw blower for 2011, and the team of crew chief Dave Bankes along with Larry Summerfield, Marc McCrae, and the Roths worked to get the right set-up with the Lowdown Hot Rods-chassied car.
