K.A. BALOOSHI POISED FOR NHRA PRO MOD DEBUT; PERLEY AND ELKES TO LEAD NEW AL-ANABI RACING SUPERCHARGED ENTRY
Al-Anabi Racing Group March 9, 2010 Contact: Wes Buck, 660.216.9779 cell; wesbuckinc@gmail.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE K.A. BALOOSHI POISED FOR NHRA PRO MOD DEBUT; PERLEY AND ELKES TO LEAD NEW AL-ANABI RACING SUPERCHARGED ENTRY (3-10-10) DOHA, Qatar – Having claimed two world championships in the last six months, to say Dubai’s Khalid Al-Balooshi is on a roll would be a tremendous understatement. The three-time Arabian Gulf Region Pro Mod world champion, 2009 American Drag Racing League Pro Nitrous titleholder, and recently crowned 2009-10 Arabian Drag Racing League Pro Nitrous champion has accomplished much in his racing career, but is embarking on yet another new journey within the incredibly competitive Get Screened America NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. On the heels of the announcement that the NHRA would begin to classify Pro Modified as an official professional category in 2010, the Al-Anabi Racing group swiftly put a plan into motion that would insert one of their most decorated native drivers into arguably the toughest doorslammer series the sport has to offer. Leading the charge alongside driver K.A. Balooshi will be Al-Anabi Racing’s Jeff Perley and Justin Elkes, best known for their multiple championship-winning seasons with NHRA Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson, who will be calling the shots on the team’s Al-Anabi Racing supercharged Pro Modified ’68 Chevy Camaro. “It’s been really exciting, but a tremendous amount of work,” said Elkes, checking in from South Georgia Motorsports Park where the team had spent the day testing prior to the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. “We’ve been working 15-hour days every day for weeks now to put everything in place for this season opener in Gainesville. We’ve essentially formed our own team; we brought on some new guys – Duane Radcliff, Ricky Calloway, and Jim Robbins – spent a lot of time assembling the necessary parts and pieces, and are just now getting some track time.” Elkes continued, “We’re heading into uncharted territory here, but we’re teamed up with Howard Moon and the Barwa Racing team, so we’re confident that we will be able to accelerate the learning curve. They’ve been instrumental in getting us up to speed and we’ll be running very similar setups going into these first few events. It’s going to take a few races, but we feel things are already going very well.” Balooshi, who has primarily driven nitrous oxide-injected Pro Modified style cars throughout the course of his professional racing career, besides licensing in an A/Fuel Dragster early in 2009, is also taking on a new challenge with the supercharged, methanol burning combination. “He’s did very well,” said Elkes of Balooshi’s first day of testing behind the wheel of the new car. “He is a very good driver, so he is adapting quite quickly to the various differences between the two cars. The burnout process, staging, etc…there’s a lot of things he is doing different, but it’s going really well and we’re hoping to make a few full passes tomorrow.” The team, which will be based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, will focus their efforts on the Get Screened America NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series in 2010, hoping to come into stride early in the season and contend for the championship right out of the gate. The Al-Anabi Racing Pro Modified team will get to work later this week, starting with the opening two rounds of qualifying for the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Florida on Friday, March 12th, with a final session slated for Saturday afternoon and Round 1 of eliminations that evening. Final eliminations will get underway on Sunday the 14th at 11:00 AM. For more information on the Barwa Racing Pro Modified team and Al-Anabi Racing, log onto www.qrczone.com