Bristol: Raymond Commisso final report

Commisso advances to semis, gains valuable championship points

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 20) -- For a second straight race, Raymond Commisso guided his R2B2 Camaro to the semifinals of a Get Screened America Pro Mod Series race.

The Canadian restaurateur beat No. 1 qualifier Mike Castellana in the second round on Sunday before falling to points leader Von Smith in the semifinals of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

"It feel pretty good, not too shabby," Commisso said. "I don't come here to just go to the semifinals though. I'm coming here to win these races."

Against Castellana, Commisso's car was strong in Bristol's blistering heat. He ran a 6.012 second lap at 242.80 mph, which walloped Castellana, who limped across the finish line in 7.505 at 124.76 mph.

The R2B2 team felt like they had to be aggressive against Smith and pushed the envelope a little too far.

"The car shook really hard and I had to get out of the gas," Commisso said. "We gave it our best shot and we came up a little short. We'll get them next time."

In that semifinal round, Smith ran a 6.033 second pass at 241.37 mph, while Commisso coasted across with a 8.520 at 109.28 mph.

Commisso said he's going to hang around in Bristol another day to get some test runs ahead of next weekend's race in Norwalk, Ohio.

"Every lap we make down the track just gives us more and more information," Commisso said. "My crew chief Al Billes has a couple of new combinations he wants to try, just to see what the car does."

Next for Commisso and the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series is the June 25-27 Summit Racing Equipment Nationals from Norwalk, Ohio.

-source: r2b2 racing