Mohegan Sun Racing sweeps New England Dragway Shootouts
(8-15-2006) EPPING, NH - In the end, horsepower was not the deciding factor for Paul “Red Eagle” Athey and the Mohegan Sun Racing Team on Saturday night at New England Dragway. A trip to the winners’ circle was made possible by their wheelman deftly guiding the 1941 Willys down a slippery track against a tough competitor.
“That was a wild run to finish off a wild night,” Athey said. “It was a classic pedal fest out there between me and Scott Filkins. I was just inches off of the wall before I had to shut it off. I could not hear Scott coming so I thought I had enough to beat him to the stripe.”
After dealing with some gremlins like an open overflow petcock and a dead battery earlier in the evening, the team kept its focus and maintained their icy grip on the Pro Mod Shootout series at NED.
“The racetrack was packed and we had a really good response from the fans in the pits,” Athey explained. “When we ran in the final we brought about two dozen of our guests from the casino to the starting line and they got to see a classic, edge of your seat, Pro Mod run. They could not believe it!”
During the final qualifying session of the Chicago-style eliminator, Athey’s car developed a leak from an overflow line. The crew hastily remedied the problem behind the startling line, only to find that the battery was dead. Help came from the team that the Mohegan Sun Willys would eventually best in the final, Filkins Racing.
“Lonnie from Scott’s team had a jump pack and some gas to get us started and it was pretty cool that they did that and we ended up racing them in the final,” Athey said. “My crew even tried push starting the car when the battery died. It’s that kind of dedication and those kinds of situations that people love about match races. I’m sure that stories from Saturday night’s race will be flying around for a while.”
The final round will not be remembered in New England drag racing memory banks because of record setting numbers, instead it will be remembered as an intense drivers duel that saw both teams hanging on for dear life as they slid and sashayed towards the finish line.
“Thankfully a 6.64 was good enough to win, because I really had to work for it in the car,” Athey said with a laugh. “It would have been great to run the car straight down the track and put up a big number for the crowd, but I’m sure they enjoyed Scott and me fighting our way down for the trophy.”
While relishing their second victory in their second shootout appearance, the team now enters the calm before the proverbial storm known as the IHRA Amalie Oil North American Nationals, to be held in Epping, next month.
“We are going to be doing a lot of appearances with the car over the next month and freshening up just about everything for the nationals,” Athey explained. “We are attending several 10th anniversary events for Mohegan Sun in the coming weeks as well as a few car shows. After that we are going to go over the car with a fine tooth comb and get it ready for a premium performance at the Nationals.”
Paul Athey and the Mohegan Sun Pro Mod team are not ready to rest on their laurels. They are hitting their stride at just the right time and would love nothing more than to be able to play the role of spoiler against the baddest Pro Mod competition in the world. Can they do it? As the old expression goes, “You never bet against the house.”
Photo courtesy of Jay Spinella - Action Racing Photos
