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Boniferro Wins PMRA Final Round/Championship to Boland
Bruce Mehlenbacher - September 3, 2007
Joe Boniferro takes PMRA final at Grand Bend, first two-time winner in PMRA history - Bruce Boland takes 2007 PMRA Championship in tight points battle
 GRAND BEND, ONTARIO - (September 2, 2007) – The Pro Modified Racing Association has provided exciting action on the track throughout its existence, and the 2007 PMRA final at the Grand Bend Motorplex over the Labor Day weekend certainly provided a dramatic finish to the season.
With the running of this final event, the PMRA finally has a repeat winner, as a different team won each of the previous 13 events.
Joe Boniferro of Niagara Falls, Ontario, beat Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario in the final round to become the PMRA’s first repeat winner. Boniferro, driving the Smokin’ Joe’s 1999 Dodge Avenger, ran a 6.625-sec, 216.86-mph pass over Boland’s 6.780-sec, 213.06 effort.
“I’m just ecstatic to become the first two-time winner of this series,” said a pleased Boniferro after the race. “All my four sons are here today, along with the whole crew”, he went on. “We came here with a whole new combination, and I would have been content just to have qualified. But everything went our way, and I’m very happy.”
Boniferro won the 2006 PMRA event at the Grand Bend Motorplex. If Boland had won the race, he also would have been the first two-time PMRA winner, as he won at Lancaster Raceway Park in 2005.
However, Boland was all smiles after the final, knowing he had won the 2007 PMRA Points Championship sponsored by Wix Filtration Products, Valvoline, Uni-Select, and Moen Incorporated. Driving the B & B Racing 1953 Corvette Pro Modified entry, Boland’s consistency, and attendance paid off for the 52-year old automotive shop owner.
“This title is for Kevin,” explained Boland. “This one’s for him. He was my biggest fan and came to all our races.” Kevin, 12-year old son of crewmember Brad Short, passed away earlier this year.
With so many variables in the championship points race, each round shook up the points between the top four leaders. Going into the final, leader Matt Guenther of Livonia, New York, and Ike Maier of Tottenham, Ontario, who was in second place, both failed to qualify for the eight-car show, but held a slim lead going into round one.
That disappeared in first-round action, when Boland pulled the upset of the weekend on number one qualifier Gary Irving of Toronto, Ontario. Irving, in his 1937 Chevy, paced the field with a 6.267-second, 228.94 mph benchmark, but Boland eliminated him with a 6.296-sec, 216.76-mph pass over Irving’s round-losing 6.343-sec, 226.58 run.
Boniferro took out number two qualifier Terry Brown of Caledonia, Ontario, in an-all Mopar round, Scott Wildgust ran a straight and true first round to eliminate Larry Sinke of Welland, Ontario and number three qualifier Sam Andreacchi of Toronto, Ontario fell victim to a red light, giving the round to Dave Earhart.
In the semi-final, Earhart was not settled in the grove before his pass, succumbing to tire shake and losing to Boniferro as the Smokin’ Joe’s team ran 6.486-sec, 218.18-mph over Earhart’s 13.419-sec, 72.03 mph pass. In the other semi, Wildgust had Boland off the line, but broke a blower belt midway down the track in the NitroMoose/Ajax Engines 1957 Chevy as Boland powered to a 6.311-sec, 216.19-mph win.
The top five in the 2007 PMRA points race place Bruce Boland number one with 1228 points. Matt Guenther and Scott Wildgust tied, each with 1211 points, Ike Maier was next with 1202 points, and Sam Andreacchi rounds out the top-five with 1124 points.
SPECIAL AWARDS
Auto Meter Products - Low Qualifier Contingency Award – Gary Irving
Auto Meter Products - Event Winner Contingency Award – Joe Boniferro
Bear's Performance Products - Consistent Qualifier Bonus – Scott Wildgust
Competition Tire Canada/Goodyear Racing Tire - Event Winner Contingency Award – Joe Boniferro
ERD (Engine Research and Development) - Event Winner Contingency Award – Joe Boniferro
Gulfway Insurers www.racensur.com - Best Reaction Time & Round Winner - Scott Wildgust
Lowdown Hot Rods - Low Qualifier Award – Gary Irving
Moen Incorporated - PMRA Point Series
Needles At Work - Voted by Officials – Matt Guenther
Parts Pro - Crew Chief of the Race Award – Smokin’ Joe’s
The Trailer Shop - Longest Tow Award – Matt Guenther
Uni-Select Inc. - PMRA Point Series
Valvoline, a division of Ashland Inc. - PMRA Point Series
Wix Filtration Products - PMRA Point Series
Now in its third year of operation, The Pro Modified Racing Association continues to enjoy strong fan popularity and for 2007 presented some of the best in Pro Modified drag racing in North America.
The PMRA traveled to several drag strips in 2007, including two dates at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario, Lancaster Raceway Park in New York State, Sanair in Quebec, and a season-closer at the Southwestern Ontario track of the Grand Bend Motorplex.
In 2006, the tour was a great success, and during the past two seasons of the PMRA, each event finished with a different winner. Joe Boniferro and Kasey Janzen tied in points last year and were crowned co-champions over the other Ontario, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania teams. The PMRA is pleased to have Wix Filtration Products, Valvoline, a division of Ashland Inc., Uni-Select, and Moen Incorporated as sponsors of the 2007 points series.
For more information, contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher- mehlenbacher@ProModifiedRacing.com
About the Pro Modified Racing Association:
The Pro Modified Racing Association, (PMRA) www.ProModifiedRacing.com, started late in 2004 and is entering its third year of operation. The PMRA is a self-governing organization, with technical and safety rules as outlined by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). Cars in the PMRA capture the true spirit of hot rodding, and the class is one of drag racings most exciting and volatile classes, offering a diverse group of racecars with different types of 2,000-horsepower engines. Combining classic body styles and modern equipment, constructors are permitted, within established rules and parameters, to modify and enhance the cars in both appearance and performance. The cars are fuelled by gasoline or methanol, propelling them down the quarter-mile in low six-second times at over 200 miles per hour. The PMRA provides drag race fans the opportunity to see, hear, and experience the popular Pro Modifieds, known as "the world's fastest door slammers".
Photo credit: MG Digital Media - www.mgdigital.ca
For more information contact:
Bruce F. Mehlenbacher
Director of Operations
Telephone: 905.772.1800 Ext. #22
Fax: 905.772-1799
Cellular: 905.517.5345
E-mail: mehlenbacher@ProModifiedRacing.com
Tim Miller
Media Director
Telephone: 905.870.1456
E-mail: tmiller@ProModifiedRacing.com
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