Special Section
I think we’re headed in the right
direction, just gotta stop making
mistakes driving. The tuning part is
right, the driver’s just not right.”
Weatherford is one of numerous
drivers in Pro Nitrous who tunes
and drives his car. He sees the all-
encompassing role as a break from
his work as the president of WS
Construction, a North Carolina-
based firm specializing in pre-en-
gineered building sales and erec-
tion. Whether he’s building middle
schools and warehouses or coming
up with the tuneup for a final round,
Weatherford is driven by the chal-
lenge of crunching the numbers.
“I’ve been racing nitrous cars all my
life,” Weatherford points out. “It’s
a fascinating class because we’re
mixing nitrous oxide with gas. The
tuning aspect of it is exciting to me.
It all has to do with flow numbers.
I’m pretty good at math because I
run a pretty good-sized business.
That’s what makes me interested
in it because it’s all about numbers.
How do I blend the timing in? How
much nitrous can I flow? How much
“I’VE WON THE QUICK 8 CHAMPIONSHIP
AND THE EOPM CHAMPIONSHIP,
BUT THIS ONE WOULD BE AT THE
TOP OF THE LINE.”
fuel can I burn? It relaxes me away
from work and gives me a challenge
to achieve something with it.”
A challenge is what awaits Weath-
erford as he chases his first PDRA
Pro Nitrous world championship.
His first-round losses at the season
opener and Virginia have him sitting
sixth in points heading into the
PDRA Super Strip Nationals at Ohio’s
National Trail Raceway, July 19-21.
Ahead of Weatherford are two-time
and defending world champion
Tommy Franklin, nitrous racing
veteran Jim Halsey, consistent late-
round finisher Lizzy Musi, season
opener winner Jay Cox, and after
two consecutive victories, points
leader and 2014 world champion
Jason Harris.
Weatherford expects nothing less
than a challenge, as he believes Pro
Nitrous is one of the most competi-
tive classes in drag racing. He wants
to win races and secure a champi-
onship, but only if it means he beat
the best of the best to get there.
“It would mean the world to me to
win the championship,” Weather-
ford expresses. “I’ve won the Quick
8 championship and the EOPM
championship, but this one would
be at the top of the line. It would
just mean a lot to me. I’ve got a lot
of time dedicated to this. Winning
the Pro Nitrous championship
would rank up there. I’m pushing
hard for it.”
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