Newsletter by Bob Johnson 877-221-1419 March 2018 Lang, Wiechmann open 2018 Pro Gas Season with wins at Fontana Mike Lang defeated Val Torres Jr in the Russ Harris Memorial Pro Gas Race final round.
Lang Wins Russ Harris Memorial Race to open 2018 Pro Gas Season By Bob Johnson Auto Club Dragway Fontana, Calif. Feb 3, 2018 Mike Lang opened the 2018 Southern California Pro Gas Association race season with a victory in the Russ Harris Memorial Race, sponsored by Harris Family Motorsports. Lang defeated Val Torres Jr in the final round at Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, Calif. Pro Gas, celebrating its 40 th season of drag racing, opened the year with thirty cars entering the event. Val Torres Jr., driving the Conroy Brother s 57 Corvette for the first time, not only went to the final round, but was the number one qualifier of the race. Pro Gas President Ray Cordeiro was the second-best qualifier, with Kevin McClelland third and Greg Bonds fourth. Torres Jr., opened the third round of racing with a perfect.000 reaction time to defeat Brad Pierce, Hector Zermeno advanced as Karen Comstock broke-out with her 57 Chevy after cutting a.001 light, Hollis Colleasure used a.012 light and 9.907 to beat Joe Galati, and Lang ran.009 of the index to beat Val Torres Sr. Torres had a superior light to Zermeno s Pontiac to open the semifinals, and Lang moved on as Colleasure s 27 Ford roadster went -.004 red. The final round was a double-breakout affair, with Lang getting the win After winning the final Pro Gas race of 2017, Mike Lang opened the new year with a win with his Chevy Corvette. Val Torres Jr drove the Conroy Brothers Corvette to the number one qualifying spot and runner-up finish in Race 1. 2
Wiechmann s perfect light wins Champion Cooling Pro Gas race By Bob Johnson Auto Club Dragway February 4, 2018 Paul Wiechmann has been racing with the Southern California Pro Gas Assoc., for almost as long as the group has been established 40 year ago. Paul has won his fair share of Pro Gas races, and he opened the new season by winning the Champion Cooling Systems Super Sunday Pro Gas drags at Fontana, using a perfect light in the final to stop Kevin McClelland. Hollis Colleasure was the top qualifier for the event with his 27 Ford roadster, with Karen Comstock second, Mike Lang third, and Mike Boner fourth. Wiechmann put his Meziere Enterprise Chevy Corvette into the final with wins over Greg Martin in round one, he ran 9.901 in the second round to stop rookie Brandon Harris, Paul got a bye in round three and in the semifinal, he stopped Ray Cordeiro. Kevin McClelland used this race weekend as a tune-up for the next weekend race, the NHRA Lucas Oil Winternationals at Pomona. In round one he used an.008 light and ran.008 off his index to beat Greg Bonds, in round two he beat Matt Treadway, and in round three he cut a.001 light to put Mike Boner s Thunderbird on the trailer. KMac used a.006 light in the semifinal to beat Ray Cordeiro. The final round paired two of the finest Pro Gas racers in the region, with Paul Wiechmann recording a perfect.000 reaction time and running.013 off the index to McClelland s.009 light and 9.936 elapsed time. It was a big win for Paul, as Kevin saved his final round win light for the next Sunday at Pomona, where he claimed the Winternationals Super Gas title, defeating Phil Unruh for the trophy. The win by Wiechmann puts him in second place in the Pro Gas standings, behind points leader Hollis Colleasure. Mike Lang is third, and McClelland is fourth. Races number 3 and 4 will be June 16-17 at Auto Club Dragway. Hollis Colleasure went to two semifinals in two days, but didn t advance to the final. Kevin McClelland won this match on Sunday. Paul Wiechmann won his semifinal race with Ray Cordeiro, running 9.918 to a too quick 9.885 for Cordeiro. Paul Wiechmann defeats Kevin McClelland. The Wiechmann Family Congratulations! Rookie Pro Gas racer Brandon Harris. Special Thanks to Champion Cooling Systems And the Harris Family For sponsoring the Champion Cooling Systems Super Sunday Pro Gas Drags 3
SoCal Pro Gas 2017 Awards Banquet 2017 SoCal Pro Gas Champion John Ross with dad Gary Ross and mother Kathy Ross. The 2017 Pro Gas banquet had a great turnout of racers and friends, plus lots of great food. Mark Fenton had his finest season of Pro Gas racing, ending the year in fourth place. 2017 Southern California Pro Gas champion John Ross was very appreciative of the Pro Gas series and its sponsors. Paul Wiechmann finished fifth in the standings, and thanked all the racers and sponsors for their support on Pro Gas racing. Kevin McClelland ended 17 in third place. He and wife Lisa were very active in the series and organizing the awards banquet. 4
Driver Race 1 Race 2 2018 Pro Gas Points R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 Drop Race 1 Drop Race 2 1 Hollis Colleasure 603 619 1222 2 Paul Wiechmann 401 808 1209 3 Mike Lang 805 314 1119 4 Kevin McClelland 314 711 1025 5 Val Torres Sr 502 502 1004 6 Ray Cordeiro 315 605 920 7 Matt Treadway 411 413 824 8 Michael Boner 308 515 823 9 Karen Comstock 507 315 822 10 Joe Galati 502 310 812 11 Brad Pierce 502 305 807 12 Rodney Scarlett 403 401 804 13 Steve Parsons 401 401 802 14 Larry Bradshaw 401 401 802 15 Gene Carter 300 502 802 16 Val Torres Jr 720 720 17 Randy Kersey 311 407 718 18 Mark Fenton 405 309 714 19 Dennis Keck 401 308 709 20 Bob Harris 306 311 617 21 Greg Bonds 313 300 613 22 Kenny Snow 312 300 612 23 Hector Zermeno 603 603 24 Gary Hesselbrock 300 301 601 25 Brandon Harris 401 401 2018 Shoot Out Points Position Position Driver R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 R 5 R6 R 7 R8 Total 1 Matt Treadway 10 12 22 2 Kevin Mcclelland 14 7 21 3 Michael Boner 8 13 21 4 Karen Comstock 5 15 20 5 Ray Cordeiro 15 2 17 6 Randy Kersey 11 6 17 7 Bob Harris 6 11 17 8 Val Torres Jr 16 16 9 Hollis Colleasure 16 16 10 Mike Lang 14 14 11 Greg Bonds 13 13 12 Mark Fenton 4 9 13 13 Kenny Snow 12 12 14 Joe Galati 10 10 Total 5
Pro Gas Scoreboard Race Date Winner Runner-up #1 Qualifier Event Sponsor 1 02/03/2018 Mike Lang Val Torres Jr Val Torres Jr Harris Family Motorsports 2 02/04/2018 Paul Wiechmann Kevin McClelland Hollis Colleasure Champion Cooling Systems 3 06/16/2018 4 06/17/2018 5 07/07/2018 Meziere Cool Down Nationals 6 07/08/2018 7 09/15/2018 8 09/15/2018 Shootout 09/15/2018 Southern California Pro Gas Champions 1980 ED SIGMON 1981 RONNIE MARCUM 1982 ALAN FILLEBROWN 1983 RICK ABOOD 1984 SCOTT KENDIG 1985 SCOTT KENDIG 1986 CRAIG COVE 1987 SKIP BELK 1988 ROGER FILLEBROWN 1989 GARY MIGNACCA 1990 SKIP BELK 1991 JED BOURQUIN 1992 ED SELLNOW 1993 RICK WEBB 1994 BILL WELCH 1995 BOB HARRIS 1996 RAY CORDEIRO 1997 PETE BOTHE 1998 GARY MIGNACCA 1999 PETE BOTHE 2000 DAVE MEZIERE 2001 DAVE COAPSTICK 2002 GREG VENTURA 2003 GARY MIGNACCA 2004 MIKE BLODGETT SR. 2005 ALAN HOEFER 2006 JIM ISRAEL 2007 PETE BOTHE 2008 PETE BOTHE 2009 GLEN SMITH 2010 VAL TORRES SR. 2011-2013 Did not complete 2014 VAL TORRES JR. 2015 MIKE BLODGETT JR 2016 VINCE CAMPA 2017 JOHN ROSS Southern California Pro Gas Association 6
Pro Gas Sponsors www.knfilters.com www.lucasoil.com Harris Family Racing Les and Jeannette Harris B & B Electric Gary and John Ross 7