{"id":3496,"date":"2025-08-27T22:58:03","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T22:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/?p=3496"},"modified":"2025-08-28T00:14:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T00:14:43","slug":"michael-neal-captures-outlaw-pro-mod-glory-at-dragcoverage-night-of-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/?p=3496","title":{"rendered":"Michael Neal Captures Outlaw Pro Mod Glory at DragCoverage Night of Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_4271.jpg\" class=\"size-full\"><\/figure>\n<p>Steele, Alabama \u2013 Michael Neal etched his name, again, into the history books at DragCoverage\u2019s Night of Fire by claiming the Outlaw Pro Mod victory in just the second outing with this car. The win was more than just a race result\u2014it was a family moment, a milestone, and a reminder of why Neal loves the sport. This is his second DragCoverage Night of Fire Victory, defeating Joe Baker in the final round of competition. Neal ran a career best with the new hot rod, lighting the scoreboard up with a 3.75, 200.53 MPH.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_4332.jpg\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3513\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1600\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>DragCoverage Events: A Destination for Racers<\/strong><br \/>\nNeal spoke highly of DragCoverage and the community it fosters. \u201cAll the DragCoverage events are races I look forward to going to,\u201d he said. \u201cThe fans really turn out, and it\u2019s the most Pro Mod cars you\u2019ll see in one place. TJ makes the racers feel wanted, and that\u2019s important. These days I\u2019m picky about what races I go to, but it\u2019s always the DragCoverage events.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_4328.jpg\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3503\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1600\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Final Qualifying Order after 3 Sessions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. Hank Stubbs 3.656, 206 MPH<br \/>\n2. Michael Neal 3.751, 198.36 MPH<br \/>\n3. Tim Segars 3.819, 195.10 MPH<br \/>\n4. Paul Gibbs 3.819, 194.25 MPH<br \/>\n5. Joe Baker 3.826, 198 MPH<br \/>\n6. Jason Collins 3.856, 196.33 MPH<br \/>\n7. David Mallory 3.905, 194.13 MPH<br \/>\n8. Bil Clanton 3.922, 186.68 MPH<br \/>\n&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<br \/>\n9. Kelvin Brow 3.997, 183.63 MPH<br \/>\n10. Jim Bracket 4.043, 180.28 MPH<br \/>\n11. Bart Morris 4.271, 181.92 MPH<br \/>\n12. John Sullivan 4.340, 130.26 MPH<br \/>\n13. Jamey Adams 4.408, 182.77 MPH<br \/>\n14. Mike Decker 4.528, 123.49 MPH<\/p>\n<p>After 3 qualifying sessions, Hank Stubbs, David Mallory, and Bil Clanton were unable to make the call, placing the alternates Kelvin Brown, Jim Bracket, and Bracket Morris into competition.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_4341.jpg\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3502\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1600\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>A Special Win with a New Car<\/strong><br \/>\nTaking a new car to victory lane is no small task, and for Neal, it was a defining moment. \u201cThis was only the second time I\u2019ve been out with this brand-new car. Pretty special to me that I got to the winner\u2019s circle this fast,\u201d Neal said. But with a grin, he admitted it also raised the bar. \u201cNow what am I gonna do? The expectations are high.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_4270.jpg\" class=\"size-full\"><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Racing as Family<\/strong><br \/>\nMore than trophies and time slips, Neal emphasized how much racing means to him as a <a href=\"https:\/\/dragcoverage.com\/?p=3061\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">family affair<\/a>. He thanked his mom and dad, noting that the operation is 100% family-run, with his wife and kids by his side at every event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpending time with my family at the track is what makes this so special,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe track is my happy place. Racing with everyone feels like being with family. We\u2019ll fire up a <a href=\"https:\/\/dragcoverage.com\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=2782&#038;action=edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shrimp boil<\/a> in the afternoon, and it\u2019s just a great time. Honestly, I have more friends at the track than around my hometown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_4330.jpg\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3501\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1600\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Acknowledgments<\/strong><br \/>\nAlong with his family, Neal gave special thanks to John Fahr and Tom Ashley for their support. Their help, combined with the dedication of his tight-knit team, made this victory possible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking Ahead<\/strong><br \/>\nWhile Neal admits that an early win with a new car adds pressure, it also proves the potential of both driver and machine. With momentum on his side and family at his back, Neal\u2019s 2025 season is shaping up to be one to watch.<\/p>\n<p>DragCoverage congratulates Michael Neal on his Outlaw Pro Mod victory at Steele\u2019s Night of Fire and looks forward to following his journey throughout the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steele, Alabama \u2013 Michael Neal etched his name, again, into the history books at DragCoverage\u2019s Night of Fire by claiming the Outlaw Pro Mod victory in just the second outing with this car. The win was more than just a race result\u2014it was a family moment, a milestone, and a reminder of why Neal loves [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[55],"class_list":["post-3496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_4270-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_4270-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Kline Whitley","author_link":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/author\/klinewhitley"},"authors":[{"term_id":55,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"klinewhitley","display_name":"Kline Whitley","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Me.png","url2x":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Me.png"},"first_name":"Kline","last_name":"Whitley","user_url":"http:\/\/www.DragCoverage.com","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3496"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fppma_author&post=3496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}