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Picking
Up Speed
Mountain Motor Pro Stock veteran JR Carr
is off to a hot start with his new Camaro
BY NATE VAN WAGNEN
JR Carr has been a steady competitor
in the PDRA’s Extreme Pro Stock
division since joining the series in 2017,
but a standout performance has escaped
him prior to this season. But with a brand-new RJ
Race Cars-built 2020 Camaro, Carr raised more
than a few eyebrows when he qualified No. 1 and
won the event – both first-time accomplishments
– at the PDRA Carolina Showdown at Darlington
Dragway in early June.
“I’ve had wins in other series, but this series is
tough,” Carr said in the winner’s circle. “I’m not an
eighth-mile guy. They had to kind of convert me.
Tommy and Judy [Franklin, PDRA co-owners]
and Tyler [Crossnoe, series director], they’re good
people and they do a great job. These are topnotch
cars. The competitors, they want to tear
your head off every time you line up. This is just
a brutal deal. We won today, and I’m tickled pink.”
Carr’s gamble to move to a new car for the season
started paying off immediately. He and crew
chief Frank Gugliotta had one of the quickest
cars on the property at the season-opening East
Coast Nationals at GALOT Motorsports Park,
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER AND JOE MCHUGH
18 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated.com Issue 158