Billy Glidden Brings Home His 2nd Pro Mod Wally in Norwalk!
It was only a matter of time before the unstoppable Billy Glidden got his hands on another Wally, only this time it would be in the Precision Turbo Powered Pro Mod. Harry and the entire PTE crew have been working relentlessly to insure that the Precision Turbo, Mickey Thompson, HPL, twin turbo Camaro is a dominant force.
The last three weekends have been back-to-back races leaving very little time for testing. Therefore, it’s been quite the roller-coaster ride for Billy since taking the driver’s seat for the first time in New Jersey. Billy and the PTE crew went from blowing everyone away by making it to the finals in Englishtown, to struggling to qualify in Bristol.
Third time must be a charm because Billy’s first qualifying run put him in the number 2 spot with a 5.899 at 249.67 MPH. The PTE Camaro suffered some unlikely mechanical issues, forcing Billy to be a spectator for Q2. Fortunately, Glidden’s performance in Q1 allowed him to qualify in the #10 spot. A special thanks goes out to Bob Fox and the team at Diamond Pistons for going the extra mile, their willingness to help racers in need allowed Billy to make the call for Q3, and Billy was the quickest of the entire round on Saturday! Round 1 of eliminations, Glidden got around Eric Latino for the win with a 5.880 at 250.83 to Latino’s 5.946 at 243.72.
Round 2 of eliminations on Sunday, Billy faced Von Smith and his supercharged ’16 Corvette for the first time. Smith was quicker on the tree but it wasn’t enough, Billy was first to the stripe with his 5.891 at 250.37 to Smith’s 5.941 at 243.77. In the semi-final round of eliminations, it was battle of the Camaros. Norwalk’s defending champion Mike Janis was out front at the 1000 foot mark in his supercharged ’13 Camaro, but Glidden’s huge top end charge allowed him to get it done in the last 300 feet for the win, with a 5.895 at 251.81 to Janis’ 5.938 at 245.36.
Glidden moves onto the finals to face off against the #1 qualifier, Bob Rahaim, in his nitrous powered Corvette. Rahaim is 3-1 against Glidden in prior events; with this being the first time they face each other in a final round. Rahaim red-lit with a -0.061 reaction, which automatically gave Billy the win. After clicking it off early Billy still managed to run a 5.893 at 245.63 MPH and in the end Billy Glidden became the 2016 NHRA Summit Nationals Pro Mod Champion!
The Precision Turbo, Mickey Thompson, HPL champ has made it to the finals 2 out of 3 times since their partnership was announced! This is Billy’s second Pro Mod Wally in four final rounds. The dream team is definitely living up to its name by continually making their presence known, and this past weekend in Norwalk has definitely amped up the competition!
