The dragstrip where Billy Glidden won his first NHRA Pro Mod event this past weekend is the same track where his father, legendary Pro Stock Driver Bob Glidden, won his last race in 1995. Billy Glidden raised the Wally at the J&A/NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by Smithfield Foods at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ.
“I’ve been in racing for 51 years and this track holds so many memories for me… So many milestones in my family were reached at this place,” said Glidden. “A fun memory I have was when I was young and had to sit in the stands, because kids aren’t allowed in the staging lanes. Back in the day, fans would place wagers on the races up in the stands. Knowing what I did, I gave tips to guys on who to pick, and would take home some bonuses at the end of the day.”
Besides winning the race, another moment that brought up memories for Glidden was his second round match-up with Troy Coughlin. “We got into a little ‘staging duel’ at the lights. I didn’t intend for it to happen like that, especially with Troy running so well. But that just really stirred up memories of my dad racing Warren (Johnson) back in the Pro Stock days.”
Making this achievement even more incredible is that Glidden only has a two member crew: Glidden and his wife Shannon. “It is just the two of us and so we have to work double time. The racing conditions weren’t ideal for us during qualifying, but luckily after we got past first round we had all Saturday night to take the engine all apart and get it back together.”
This is also the third race of 2015 where Glidden won the Larry Jeffers Race Cars Best Reaction Time Award. He cut a .016 light in his first round match up against Steve Matusek. “When you’re slow – you gotta go,” quipped Glidden. “We usually find ourselves starting from the back of the pack, so we need to shoot for any advantage we can get.”
Dave Zeintara from Larry Jeffers Race Cars certainly wasn’t surprised to be giving this award to Glidden again. “After the second time he won the award, I knew he would be getting it again. I also don’t believe this is the last time he will pick up the award this year.”
Glidden went on to add, “Our goal has always been to win an NHRA Pro Mod race. We finally did it and it couldn’t have happened at a better place.”
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