Champions Crowned As Arabian Series Concludes Season In Qatar

IMG_0336_filtered

Photos courtesy Arabian Drag Racing League

The Arabian Drag Racing League wrapped up its 2014 season last Friday at the Qatar Racing Club in the city of Doha with the sixth and final race of the annual series that runs from January through February, crowning champions in each of its eleven heads-up and index categories. 

IMG_1830_filteredWhile he didn’t close out the season with a win in Pro Nitrous or Pro Modified, it was New York-based racer Mike Castellana and his Al-Anabi Racing team that stood tallest at the close of the ADRL season with a pair of championships in in the two door slammer eliminators. Castellana had the car to beat in both eliminators, and was able to stave off a late season charge from the record-setting EKanoo Camaro and driver Khalid Mohammed to earn the Pro Nitrous title by more than 200 points. At the season finale, however, it was Al-Anabi teammate Stevie Jackson that walked away victorious in the Pro Nitrous category, benefitting from a pair of red-light starts — including a foul start by Mohammed, who made the quickest run of eliminations in the loss — and Qatar native Mahana Al Naemi in the final. Jackson cruised to the win with a slowing 4.03 at just 178 MPH.

JS5A4145_filtered

In Pro Extreme, Alex Hossler bookended his dominating season with another win — his fourth in six races — to seal the title, driving his Frank Manzo-tuned, supercharged Camaro to victory over teammate Von Smith in the final round with a stout 3.526 at 216.41 MPH to Smith’s 3.575 that was paired with a stellar .008 reaction time. Hossler had ousted fellow American Eric Dillard in the opening stanza with a 3.54, while Smith advanced on to the money round after besting Brandon Snider’s Corvette with a 3.58.

JS5A4643_filteredCastellana, with an insurmountable lead in the standings, skipped the season’s final event in Pro Modified, and when the dust settled, it was his closest challenger for the title, Khalil Alansari, who took home the hardware. Alansari advanced past Mohd Hussein in the opening round, laid down a 4.01 on a competition single in the second, and then blasted to a 3.88 at 189.12 MPH in the final to edge out opponent Bader Khoursheed, who was much quicker on the race track with a 3.81 but was dead late off the starting with a .135 light that left him with too much real estate to make up.

In 4.50 Index, the championship was on the line between the two challengers, Hisham Al Mola and Tariq Hadi, and as it should be, the two met in the final round in their first-gen Chevrolet Camaro’s. With Al Mola’s final round appearance, his championship fate was sealed, as even with the loss he’d close out the standings with a scant four point lead, and that’s exactly how it played out, as Hadi ran dead-on the 4.50 index against a slowing Al Mola for the win.

JS5A3547_filtered

In Outlaw 10.5, Kuwaiti racer Hussain Al Shammari powered his ’89 Ford Mustang to victory over Abdullah Shamsi’s ’99 mustang in the final, his 4.36 easily handling Shamsi’s 4.66. in the Dragster eliminator, incoming points leader Nasser Al Shatti from Kuwait ended the season with a victory to go along with the championship hardware, running 4.99 for the win as his opponent, Majed Al Kumaiti, slowed on the top end of the race track and posted just a 5.52 elapsed time.

JS5A3767_filteredIn Super Street 8, Hassan Yousaf from Qatar took an easy win when opponent Stevie Jackson was unable to make the call. Kuwaiti Jassim Al Muqahwi had been the racer to beat during eliminations, posting a 4.34 in the second round and a 4.32 in the semifinals, but in that match, he surrendered nearly four-tenth at the starting line to Jackson’s supercharged Al-Anabi mount and couldn’t make up the lost ground.

Mohd Haji, the newly crowed Super Street 6 champion, raced to victory in the finale, defeating the race he’d traded blows with all season long — American Chad Morgan — 4.53 to a 4.61. Other winners at round six included Mohd Bourashid (Pro Bike and Street Bike) and Mashari Al Turki (Super Street Bike).

JS5A3363_filtered

About the author

Andrew Wolf

Andrew has been involved in motorsports from a very young age. Over the years, he has photographed several major auto racing events, sports, news journalism, portraiture, and everything in between. After working with the Power Automedia staff for some time on a freelance basis, Andrew joined the team in 2010.
Read My Articles

Drag Racing in your Inbox.

Build your own custom newsletter with the content you love from Dragzine, directly to your inbox, absolutely FREE!

Free WordPress Themes
Dragzine NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

We'll send you the most interesting Dragzine articles, news, car features, and videos every week.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Dragzine NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...


Street Muscle Magazine
Hot Rods & Muscle Cars
Diesel Army
Diesel Army
Engine Labs
Engine Tech

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...

  • Streetmuscle Hot Rods & Muscle Cars
  • Diesel Army Diesel Army
  • Engine Labs Engine Tech

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Dragzine

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Loading