Steve “Fast” Jackson Ends Championship Year with Victory during E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod action at Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, NV – November 4, 2019 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Stevie “Fast” Jackson capped off one of the most impressive seasons in E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service history, wrapping up his championship season with a victory over Todd Tutterow in the final round on Sunday.
The series was presented by Elite High Performance in Las Vegas and served as the final event of the 12-race 2019 season.
Jackson clinched his first career world title in the class at the previous event in Charlotte, but added one more dominant performance in his remarkable season. He qualified No. 1 in his blown Bahrain1 Racing Chevrolet Camaro, and then finished off the year by going 5.788-seconds at 247.84 mph in the finals to beat Tutterow. It gave Jackson his fourth victory this season and the ninth in his career.
“I never minced words,” Jackson said. “When I came to run NHRA in 2017, I said I was coming to win a championship. (Crew chief) Billy Stockiln is a magician running this car. He’s got this thing on a string. All my boys are killing it. I love racing here.
“Todd is my mentor. He taught me how to run a blown engine. Todd crushed me on a holeshot in the first race of the year at Gainesville. When I lit the top bulb in the final, Billy said, ‘Do not let this man wear your butt out. Bring your ‘A’ game.’ It worked out good for us and we’ve just got a bad hot rod.”
Jackson beat defending world champ Mike Janis, Scott Oksas and Mike Castellana to reach his eighth final round this year. With the win, Jackson also finished the year with the most points in class history.
Tutterow, who ended the year a career-best second in points, beat Bob Rahaim, Jim Whiteley and Steve Matusek to reach his fifth career final round.
LAS VEGAS, NV — Final finish order (1-16) at the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the final of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
PRO MODIFIED:
1. Steve Jackson; 2. Todd Tutterow; 3. Mike Castellana; 4. Steve Matusek; 5. Steven Whiteley; 6. Scott Oksas; 7. Jim Whiteley; 8. Eric Latino; 9. Brandon Snider; 10. Khalid alBalooshi; 11. Michael Biehle; 12. Alex Laughlin; 13. Bob Rahaim; 14. Mike Janis; 15. Doug Winters; 16. Clint Satterfield.
LAS VEGAS — Sunday’s final results from the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the final of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Pro Modified — Steve Jackson, Chevy Camaro, 5.788, 247.84 def. Todd Tutterow, Camaro, Foul – Red Light.
LAS VEGAS, NV — Final round-by-round results from the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the final of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
PRO MODIFIED:
ROUND ONE — Jim Whiteley, Chevy Corvette, 5.817, 243.77 def. Khalid alBalooshi, Chevy Camaro, 5.802, 253.04; Scott Oksas, Ford Mustang, 5.815, 251.67 def. Michael Biehle, Mustang, Foul – Red Light; Steve Jackson, Camaro, 5.767, 247.34 def. Mike Janis, Camaro, 6.000, 223.73; Eric Latino, Camaro, 5.798, 247.11 def. Brandon Snider, Corvette, 5.753, 248.43; Steven Whiteley, Camaro, 5.775, 249.53 def. Doug Winters, Chevy Chevelle, 8.547, 107.34; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.725, 249.76 def. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 5.836, 252.61; Steve Matusek, Mustang, 5.784, 253.75 def. Clint Satterfield, Camaro, 8.783, 125.59; Todd Tutterow, Camaro, 5.765, 248.57 def. Bob Rahaim, Camaro, 5.959, 227.57;
QUARTERFINALS — Jackson, 5.784, 249.26 def. Oksas, 5.798, 251.72; Tutterow, 5.816, 247.16 def. J. Whiteley, 5.831, 243.50; Castellana, 5.751, 249.35 def. S. Whiteley, 5.774, 249.21; Matusek, 5.813, 252.33 def. Latino, 5.846, 246.98;
SEMIFINALS — Tutterow, 5.804, 246.89 def. Matusek, 6.299, 176.51; Jackson, 5.770, 250.00 def. Castellana, 5.777, 248.66;
FINAL — Jackson, 5.788, 247.84 def. Tutterow, Foul – Red Light.
LAS VEGAS, NV — Point standings (top 10) following the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the final of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Pro Modified
1. Steve Jackson, 1,017; 2. Todd Tutterow, 805; 3. Mike Janis, 683; 4. Mike Castellana, 615; 5. Rickie Smith, 580; 6. Jose Gonzalez, 527; 7. Sidnei Frigo, 517; 8. Khalid alBalooshi, 514; 9. Brandon Snider, 507; 10. Steven Whiteley, 402.
About NHRA
Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 24 national events featuring the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, and E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. NHRA also offers NHRA Jr. Street program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 5 to 17. In addition, NHRA owns and operates four racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Source: National Hot Rod Association
####