Indy ORP: Raymond Commisso Final report

Commisso takes new R2B2 Racing-built Pro Mod car to Indy semis

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 6) -- R2B2 Racing's Raymond Commisso guided his new ProCare Rx Firebird Pro Mod to the semifinals of the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series race Monday at the 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

"I think we had a great weekend," Commisso said. "It was the first national event with the new in-house chassis we built. We went two rounds and took out the No. 1 qualifier in the first round, so we ran about as good as can be expected."

After advancing to the quarterfinals Sunday afternoon, Commisso faced Rickie Smith, who had taken out Commisso's teammate Melanie Troxel in Round 1.

Commisso got a measure of revenge for the R2B2 group by cutting a .004 light and cruising to a holeshot win. Commisso's ET was 6.023 seconds at 242.15 mph, which was slower than Smith's 5.988 at 234.98 mph. Fortunately for Commisso, he enjoyed a .040 second advantage off the line, which earned him the upset win.

In the semis, Commisso pushed the tree too far against Joe Baker and fouled out by -.144 seconds.

"I took a shot at the tree in the semis, and I beat myself," Commisso said. "The car couldn't really make it though the run anyway. It shook the tires really bad and went across the centerline.

"It's the way it goes. We're still really happy. It's a brand new racecar, and we went to the semis with it. We made some good runs, got some great data, and we'll take that to Charlotte."

Commisso is now in ninth place in the season standings, 13 points out of eighth.

Next for the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series is the Sept. 13-16 O'Reilly Auto Parts Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway outside Charlotte.

-source: r2b2 racing