Commisso in command after opening day action in Englishtown

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Canadian Ray Commisso has only made one full pass down the quarter-mile in his new ProCare Rx Firebird but he made it at the right time, vaulting to the provisional qualifying lead in the JEGS ProMod Challenge Friday night at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Commisso's run of 5.989 at 239.36 mph was good enough for the No. 1 position in the lone session of qualifying on the Day 1 schedule. Due to time constraints and a strict curfew, only one round of action took place, placing a premium on track time.

"We've been struggling since Houston and after crashing two weeks ago in testing it's great to finally get back on track," Commisso said. "Since we crashed we've made probably 15 or so attempts to get this new car down the track and we never did, so we were a little nervous coming in here. But then we went right out and had a successful pass to get us to number one, so we're real happy."

John Russo of Middletown, Mass., was close behind in second with a 5.993 at 242.80 mph. Only Commisso and Russo posted five-second passes on the day.

Kirk Kuhns (6.018) and Roger Burgess (6.045) rounded out the top four.

Racing on the JEGS ProMod Challenge for the first time, NMCA star Vinny Budano opened with a 6.293 at 222.11 mph, good enough for 10th place. Nick Montana, who like Budano hails from New York, is also in the mix with a13th-best 6.447.

Ohio Crankshaft racer Scott Ray got crossed up at the launch and spun completely around two times, yet somehow Ray managed to keep the car from hitting anything and he's ready to continue the race.