BRADENTON, FL – The cash bonuses for racers at the 2023 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod continue to grow, as Mike Janis Superchargers announced today a $10,000 low qualifier award for the Bradenton Motorsports Park event on March 3-5, 2023. The quickest of 40 invited drivers in qualifying will collect the $10,000 before chasing the $100,000 winner-take-all prize on race day.

“I’ve always said if I had the opportunity to help somebody, I would. I have that opportunity now,” said Mike Janis Jr., CEO/owner, Mike Janis Superchargers. “When Wes [Buck] started this deal a long time ago, I told him I’d support him from here to Alaska if we could. When he came out with this race, I just thought it was over the top. I wanted to be a part of it. We look forward to making a big bang. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a low qualifier bonus like this before. We wanted to do something a little different for everybody.”

A passion for Pro Modified racing runs in the family for Janis, the son of three-time Pro Mod world champion Mike Janis. The father-son duo fielded two NHRA Pro Mod entries in 2022 with drivers J.R. Gray and Mike Thielen. While Janis Sr. has taken a step back from driving for the last couple seasons due to health issues, he’s been cleared by his doctors to return to competition.

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BRADENTON, FL – Racers at the 2023 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod will be racing for more than just the $100,000 winner-take-all prize thanks to event sponsors like Red Line Synthetic Oil. The lubricants brand signed on to create the Red Line Oil Race Day Performance Bonus Program, putting up $5,000 for five different awards that reward performance and showmanship at the Bradenton Motorsports Park event on March 3-5, 2023.

Red Line Oil Brand Director Mark Beatty has been involved with Drag Illustrated events since the inaugural World Series of Pro Mod at Bandimere Speedway in 2017. After the success of the three WSOPMs and two World Doorslammer Nationals, Beatty knew he had to get involved with the 2023 WSOPM.

“Sometimes events are put on just because they seem like the next thing to do,” Beatty said. “When it comes to the events that Drag Illustrated does, it’s not that. They’re putting on events because they matter. It’s bigger than DI. It’s bigger than all of us. It’s always done for the right reason. That’s rare.”

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BRADENTON, FL – Long known for his exploits in radial racing with Chevy Corvettes, Mark Woodruff more recently stepped up into the Pro Mod game when he purchased a 1969 Camaro Pro Mod from B&B Race Cars. Since then, he’s had Mark Micke and Craig Sullivan drive the car in both Radial vs. the World and Pro Mod trims, but Woodruff’s entry into the 2023 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod is set to be his driving debut in the Pro Mod category.

“I love the format on it, the invitation, the 40 cars, the top 32 qualified go in,” Woodruff said. “Once you’re in the field, you throw the qualifying out because it’s a chip draw – It’s a unique situation. Most of the people that have been invited to this deal have never raced like that before.”

Woodruff noted that his racing experience over the past 25 years includes quite a bit of grudge racing and cash days-type of street racing that involved a chip draw or just random pairings, so he’s rather familiar with the format.

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BRADENTON, FL – Pro Mod drivers won’t be the only ones racing for big money at the 2023 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, March 3-5, at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Event promoters announced today the $25,000-to-win $hameless Racing Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational presented by Seminole Paving, with 16 drivers getting invited.

“My passion for Pro Modified drag racing is no secret, but I’m also very passionate about Mountain Motor Pro Stock,” said Wes Buck, Drag Illustrated founder and WSOPM promoter. “Like Pro Mod, this class has a rich history and a rabid fanbase. With massive, naturally aspirated engines, hood scoops, clutches, and hard-leaving launches, what’s not to like? The $hameless Racing Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational presented by Seminole Paving is the perfect complement to the $100,000 winner-take-all World Series of Pro Mod.”

The MMPS Invitational was spearheaded by longtime class enthusiast and media member Scott “the Limo Guy” Soucy. He’s covered MMPS extensively over the last few seasons through his Real Pro Stock series, showcasing the action and the unique personalities that make the class so special. He worked with multiple racers and sponsors to put together the funding and participation for the MMPS Shootout.

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BRADENTON, FL – As one of the original stars of PDRA’s Pro Nitrous eliminator, Jay Cox knows what it takes to throw down with a big-inch, nitrous-fed Pro Mod. He’s going to lean on that knowledge base to “swing for the fences” at the $100,000-to-win 2023 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, an outlaw eighth-mile Pro Modified celebration March 3-5 at Bradenton Motorsports Park. The former professional baseball player is one of the 40 drivers invited to take part in the winner-take-all event.

Cox is excited about the challenge that lies ahead of him and the rest of the WSOPM field. Racing against a mix of roots-blown, screw-blown, ProCharged, and turbocharged cars in addition to other nitrous cars, Cox realizes it’s going to be a max-effort scenario.

“It’s going to take a lot of pistons and a lot of engine parts,” Cox said. “I ain’t scared to work on ’em. Everybody knows I’ll work just as hard, if not harder than anybody when it comes to tearing a nitrous motor down and putting it back together at the racetrack.”

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BRADENTON, FL – PDRA Pro Boost standout Melanie Salemi has accepted her invitation to the World Series of Pro Mod at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Salemi currently holds the PDRA Pro Boost E.T. record at 3.568, which she set during the season opener. Her dominating force in Pro Mod racing has earned her an invitation to compete for the $100,000-winner take-all cash prize, March 3-5.

“We wouldn’t miss it. It’s going to be a really great event,” said Salemi. “The World Series of Pro Mod is what drag racing needs right now – something different and something to get the fans involved.”

Salemi has had a successful drag racing career, winning $40,000 in Pro Mod at the Shakedown Nationals in 2018, then claiming the $50,000 cash prize at the 50th Snowbird Outlaw Nationals at BMP in December 2021. Plus, she claimed back-to-back wins in Radial vs. the World at the World Street Nationals in 2019 and 2020.

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BRADENTON, FL – Former Outlaw 10.5 star Mike Decker Jr. has had an incredible 2022 season in Pro Mod competition, winning some of the biggest independent races as well as a second consecutive Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) series championship. His efforts earned him an invitation to the $100,000-to-win Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, March 3-5, 2023, at Bradenton Motorsports Park.

“We’ve been sitting on the edge of our seats like everybody else waiting for that call,” Decker said. “It feels like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, getting that golden ticket, to get the opportunity to go and compete against the best in the country. We’re excited and humbled to get it, especially since it’s our second year running Pro Mod.”

Piloting his screw-blown Decker’s Salvage “Big Change” ’18 Camaro, Decker started the 2022 NEOPMA season by defeating his son, Mike “Hollywood” Decker III, in the final round of the season opener at Maryland International Raceway. He also won NEOPMA’s Empire Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Challenge II at Empire Dragway. Additional victories followed at the Yellowbullet Nationals, a NEOPMA points race, at Cecil County Dragway, as well as the $25,000-to-win 20th annual Shakedown Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.

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BRADENTON, FL – The most dominant driver in PDRA Pro Nitrous history, Jim Halsey, has accepted an invitation to compete in the 2023 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, March 3-5, at Bradenton Motorsports Park. With four consecutive world championships behind the wheel of the world’s quickest nitrous-assisted big-tire Pro Mod in the eighth mile, Halsey will be a serious contender for the $100,000 winner-take-all prize.

“You can’t have a Pro Mod race on this level and not include Jim Halsey,” said Wes Buck, founder and editorial director, Drag Illustrated. “From his rookie season in 1991 to his recently secured fourth consecutive Pro Nitrous world championship, ‘Jimmy Winlights’ as I like to call him, has been a crucial player in the Pro Modified world. He’s as dedicated as you can get, and his whole team shares that attitude. They’re a perfect fit for the kind of event we’re trying to create with the World Series of Pro Mod.”

Driving his Fulton-powered “Daddy Shark” ’68 Camaro, Halsey has been the driver to beat in Pro Nitrous competition for the last four seasons. He’s racked up numerous wins, low qualifier awards, and four world championships.

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BRADENTON, FL – Coming off a successful 2022 season in which he secured four NMCA wins and the Xtreme Pro Mod championship, Glen Allen, Missouri’s Randy Merick was invited to participate in the 2023 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod to be held March 3-5, 2023 at Bradenton Motorsports Park.

“Wes [Buck] called me and congratulated me and asked me if I would come, and you can’t turn that down,” Merick said of the coveted invitation to the WSOPM race.

Owner of the Twin Lakes Whitetails hunting ranch and a farmer as well, Merick is a longtime, big-tire racer who has raced Pro Modified since 1997. He also competed in the wild Super Chevy Nitro Coupe class from 1999 throughout the early 2000s, and set both E.T. and speed records for the class and doorslammers worldwide.

While he didn’t intend to run for NMCA championship in 2022, he hit five of the six races, and after winning the St. Louis event mid-season, he kept the throttle down and was able to sweep the remaining three races despite considerable challenges from Derek Ward, Jim Widener, and defending champion Chip King.

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BRADENTON, FL – As a co-founder of the PDRA and a two-time Pro Nitrous world champion in the series, Tommy Franklin has made a lasting impact on the eighth-mile Pro Mod scene over the last 10 years. Now, Franklin is hoping to add another title to his resume – World Series of Pro Mod winner.

Franklin, driver of the Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro, was the second driver invited to compete in the 2023 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, March 3-5, at Bradenton Motorsports Park. The winner of the 32-car, invite-only race will walk away with $100,000.

“First and foremost, I’m gonna go for that $100,000, but if it’s not me, I’ll definitely be pulling for one of my PDRA teams for sure,” said Franklin, who owns the PDRA and Virginia Motorsports Park along with wife Judy. “I want one of my guys to win that deal. I want to be arrogant and say one of my guys is going to win it. I’ve said it many times, I’ll stack our racers up against anyone.”

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