Special Section
THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST IS 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 CAROLINA SHOWDOWN PRESENTED BY
PROCHARGER AT DARLINGTON DRAGWAY, JUNE 11-13,
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 2020 SEASON, THIS
LIST WILL CHANGE TO REFLECT THOSE ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER
PRO NITROUS PRO BOOST EXTREME PRO STOCK PRO OUTLAW 632 PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE
TOMMY FRANKLIN
JIM HALSEY
CHARLES CARPENTER
JOHN STRICKLAND
JASON HARRIS
KEVIN RIVENBARK
JR CARR
ELIJAH MORTON
JOHNNY PLUCHINO
WES DISTEFANO
DILLON VOSS
WALTER LANNIGAN JR.
TRAVIS DAVIS
CHRIS GARNER-JONES
BRUNSON GROTHUS
Two-time Switzer Dynamics
Pro Nitrous world champion
Tommy Franklin didn’t miss
a beat after winning the
East Coast Nationals, as his
Musi-powered “Jungle Rat”
’69 Camaro charged
through the 3.60s en route
to another win. He posted
a weekend-best 3.648 in the
final to beat defending
world champion Jim Halsey.
Halsey looked strong in
qualifying – he qualified No.
1 –and the first two rounds,
then encountered issues in
the late rounds. Pro Modified
pioneer Charles Carpenter
earned his spot on
this list by doing more with
less: he qualified No. 5 with
his 908ci-powered Camaro
and was fourth-quickest of
first round, behind only the
959s of the likes of Franklin
and Halsey.
For the first time since their
dominant 2016 season,
GALOT Motorsports teammates
John Strickland and
Kevin Rivenbark squared off
in the Penske/PRS Pro Boost
presented by WS Construction
final round. Strickland
left first and fired off his
second-consecutive 3.66 to
defeat the defending world
champion’s 3.68. Rivenbark
moved past three fellow
ProCharger-boosted drivers
in prior rounds, including No.
1 qualifier Jason Harris in the
semis. Harris, new to Pro
Boost after winning two Pro
Nitrous titles, was on his way
to his first final in the class,
but he left .002 seconds too
soon and slowed to a 3.69
next to Rivenbark’s 3.67.
JR Carr’s brand-new, Frank
Gugliotta-tuned Camaro
showed promise at the
season opener, but it absolutely
came alive in Liberty’s
Gears Extreme Pro Stock at
Darlington. His first-round
4.053 in the heat of the day
was nothing short of stunning,
over .05 seconds
quicker than the next-quickest
driver. He kept the performance
rolling with a
4.036 over Johnny Pluchino
in the semis and a 4.035 over
Elijah Morton in the final
round. Morton wasn’t the
quickest driver, but he was
quick enough – and consistent
enough – to make it to
his second consecutive final
round. Pluchino used a holeshot
advantage to get past
defending world champion
John Montecalvo’s Camaro
in the first round. The trick
didn’t work in the semis, as
he went .006 red.
Wes Distefano takes the
$hameless Racing Pro
Outlaw 632 top spot this
month on the strength of
consistent round wins. The
East Coast Nationals runnerup
notched another finalround
spot at Darlington
after qualifying No. 1 and
sneaking past the first two
rounds. He had a first-round
single, then semifinal opponent
Chris Holdorf left before
the tree activated. His 4.25
in the final wasn’t quite
enough to beat Dillon Voss’
4.21. Voss in his Voss-powered
’17 Corvette rebounded
nicely from a DNQ at GALOT
by qualifying No. 2 and
laying down low E.T. of each
round of eliminations.
GALOT winner Walter Lannigan
Jr. was second-quickest
of first round before
falling to Voss.
With a combination of
strong performance and
even better riding skills,
Travis Davis continues to
prove why he’s a two-time
Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle
champion. The No. 2
qualifier out-muscled his
first two opponents, then
used a sizable holeshot advantage
to hold off Chris
Garner-Jones’ quicker 4.003
in the final round. Garner-
Jones had the quickest bike
of the event, qualifying No.
1 and going low of each
round, but his .012 light in
the semis came one round
too early. Brunson Grothus’
bad luck continues to strike,
as the No. 3 qualifier slowed
to a 4.165 in the first round
next to Richard Gadson, who
stepped up on his Jones
family-prepared entry.
40 PDRA660.com