Special Section
THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST FIRST APPEARED IN DRAG ILLUSTRATED IN JULY OF
2018 AS AN EVER-CHANGING LIST OF THE BIGGEST NEWSMAKERS AND
POWER PLAYERS IN THE PDRA’S PROFESSIONAL CLASSES. THIS MONTH’S
EDITION, REPRESENTING PERFORMANCES FROM THE PDRA MID-ATLANTIC
SHOWDOWN PRESENTED BY MODERN RACING AT VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS
PARK, DOES NOT REFLECT THE CURRENT POINTS STANDINGS, THOUGH
MOST OF THE DRIVERS WHO APPEAR ON THIS LIST CAN ALSO BE FOUND NEAR THE TOP OF THE POINTS STANDINGS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE CLASSES. AS DRIVERS
BATTLE BACK AND FORTH FOR NO. 1 QUALIFYING SPOTS, EVENT WINS AND NATIONAL RECORDS OVER THE COURSE OF THE 2019 SEASON, THIS LIST WILL CHANGE TO
REFLECT THOSE ACCOMPLISHMENTS. (NOTE: THUNDERSTORMS FORCED PDRA OFFICIALS TO STOP RACING AT THE MID-ATLANTIC SHOWDOWN JUST BEFORE THE
FINAL ROUNDS IN ALL PRO CLASSES EXCEPT PRO OUTLAW 632, WHICH WAS DOWN TO THE SEMIFINALS. THE REMAINING ELIMINATIONS WILL RUN DURING QUALIFY-
ING AT THE NORTH-SOUTH SHOOTOUT PRESENTED BY LINE-X AT MARYLAND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, MAY 30-JUNE 1.)
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER
PRO BOOST
1. TOMMY D’APRILE
2. KEVIN RIVENBARK
3. MELANIE SALEMI
The champ is back! Defend-
ing Moroso Pro Boost world
champion Tommy D’Aprile
and his Al Billes-owned-and-
tuned ’69 Camaro raced to
another final round after
taking down Kevin Rivenbark
in the dominant GALOT Mo-
torsports ’69 Camaro in a
3.720-to-3.733 quarterfinal
match, then used a slick .005
light and 3.708 to defeat
Melanie Salemi in the semi-
finals. Rivenbark, who won
the season-opener, qualified
No. 2 with a 3.716 in his Pro-
Charger-boosted entry. Sa-
lemi’s supercharged “Purple
Reign” ’68 Firebird won first
round with a 3.77, then fired
off a pair of 3.73s. D’Aprile
will take on Jerico Balduf in
the Batman-themed ’69
Chevelle in the final round.
44 PDRA660.com
PRO NITROUS
1. JIM HALSEY
2. TOMMY FRANKLIN
3. JASON HARRIS
In just two races, longtime
nitrous Pro Modified runner
Jim Halsey has made it clear
his Fulton-powered ’68
Camaro is one to be feared
by the Switzer Dynamics Pro
Nitrous field. His first-round
3.729 in the heat of the day
was low of the round by
three hundredths, then
tuner Brandon Switzer
lowered the boom with a
3.668 over Lizzy Musi and a
3.67 to defeat Jay Cox in the
semifinals, allowing Halsey
to advance to his third con-
secutive final, counting the
2018 World Finals. Halsey will
face two-time world cham-
pion Tommy Franklin in the
Musi-powered “Jungle Rat”
’69 Camaro. Franklin simi-
larly stepped up when it
mattered, going from a 3.695
in the second round to a
3.668 to defeat defending
world champion Jason Harris
and his 3.712 in the semis.
Harris’ “Party Time” ’69
Camaro improved quickly
through eliminations, but
just didn’t have enough to
win the battle of two of the
strongest drivers in the class.
EXTREME PRO STOCK
1. JEFF DOBBINS
2. TOMMY LEE
3. TODD HOERNER PRO OUTLAW 632
1. JOHNNY PLUCHINO
2. TONY GILLIG
3. JORDAN ENSSLIN PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE
1. CHRIS GARNER-JONES
2. TRAVIS DAVIS
3. RONNIE SMITH
After sitting in the pre-stage
beams for just over four
minutes in an incredible first-
round staging duel, Liberty’s
Gears Extreme Pro Stock
driver Jeff Dobbins grabbed a
sizable holeshot advantage
over 2016 world champion
John Pluchino, an advantage
he held through the eighth
mile in a 4.16-to-4.12 decision.
Dobbins picked up to a 4.088
in his Bear’s Performance ’14
Avenger over defending world
champion Steven Boone’s
4.12 in his ’07 Cobalt in the
semifinals. Dobbins’ opponent
in the final round will be
Tommy Lee, who was driving
the ’19 Camaro he usually
tunes for John Montecalvo.
Lee qualified on the bump
spot in an incredibly tight field
and used a 4.115 to defeat Todd
Hoerner and a 4.126 to JR
Carr’s identical 4.126. Hoerner
ran low ET and top speed of
the event, 4.075 at 177.95, to
qualify No. 1 atop an eight-car
field where just four thou-
sandths of a second separated
the top half and three hun-
dredths separated No. 1 and 8. The first pair of the Schwing
America Pro Outlaw 632 pre-
sented by Precision Chassis
semifinals was ready to pre-
stage when rain drops
started to fall on the Virginia
Motorsports Park starting
line. Young gun Jordan
Ensslin was lined up along-
side doorslammer drag
racing veteran Tony Gillig,
while defending world
champion and low qualifier
Johnny Pluchino was set to
race Mike Oldham in the
second pair. Pluchino’s 4.244
on a second-round single
was low of eliminations, fol-
lowed by Oldham’s 4.269.
Gillig’s throwback Olds
Cutlass was locked in the low
4.30s to reach the semis,
while Ensslin used a holeshot
advantage and 4.298 to take
down 2017 world champion
Dillon Voss and his 4.278 in
the second round. With a new nitrous-only
rules package and a fitting
new name, Drag 965 Pro
Nitrous Motorcycle, the
PDRA’s two-wheeled class
made its season debut at
Virginia. Perennial champi-
onship contender Chris Gar-
ner-Jones was the star of the
show, recording a career-
best 3.984 to lead qualifying
and passes of 4.073 and
4.046 to reach the final
round. He’ll face 2017 world
champion Travis Davis in the
final, as the Georgia native
qualified No. 2 with a 3.997
and uncorked a 4.057 and
4.034 in eliminations to
advance to his first final
round since his champion-
ship season. Defending
world champion Ronnie “Pro
Mod” Smith kicked off his
title defense with a No. 3
qualifying effort and two
consistent mid-four-teens
on race day.