Special Section
THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST IS AN EVER-CHANGING LIST
OF THE BIGGEST NEWSMAKERS AND POWER PLAY-
ERS IN THE PDRA’S PROFESSIONAL CLASSES. THIS
MONTH’S EDITION, REPRESENTING PERFORMANC-
ES FROM THE PROLINE RACING MID-ATLANTIC
SHOWDOWN PRESENTED BY FREDERICK LINE-X,
JULY 23-25, 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. NOTE: IN MEMORY OF CLASS
VETERAN T.T. JONES, PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE RACERS SAT OUT THIS RACE.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER
PRO NITROUS PRO BOOST EXTREME PRO STOCK PRO OUTLAW 632
JIM HALSEY
TOMMY FRANKLIN
JAY COX
JOHN STRICKLAND
KEVIN RIVENBARK
JASON HARRIS
JR CARR
JOHNNY PLUCHINO
CHRIS POWERS
DILLON VOSS
WES DISTEFANO
WALTER LANNIGAN JR.
Jim Halsey was dominant in his
Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous
championship season last year. He’s
sneaking up on it this year, as he
moved to just one round out of the
points lead after reaching his
second final of the season. He
gained ground on Tommy Franklin,
who was unbeatable in the first two
races but lost first round at Virginia.
After going a year since his last Pro
Nitrous win, Jay Cox came back with
a vengeance at VMP. The perennial
favorite stepped up in each round
in his Buck-powered Butner Construction
’69 Camaro, ultimately
knocking down Halsey with a 3.737
in the final.
One month after winning the Carolina
Showdown, John Strickland had
the car to beat again at the Mid-
Atlantic Showdown. Strickland
qualified No. 1 in his GALOT Motorsports
Camaro and was on his way
to another Penske/PRS Pro Boost
presented by WS Construction final
round when his .069 red light
negated his low-E.T.-of-race-day
3.693 against Jason Harris in the
semis. Defending world champion
Kevin Rivenbark made up for it,
though, as he grabbed the event
win with a 3.694 over Harris to win
his first race of the year in his
second consecutive final. Harris, a
two-time Pro Nitrous world champion,
went to his first-ever Pro Boost
final, where he recorded a 3.713 in
the runner-up effort.
JR Carr continues to take advantage
of the best car he’s ever had.
He qualified No. 1 in his Frank Gugliotta-tuned
’20 Camaro for the
second consecutive race, then
carried over that performance into
a 4.09, a 4.07 and another finalround
appearance on race day. He
was stopped in the final by Johnny
Pluchino, who scored his second
Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock
victory of the season after qualifying
No. 2 and stepping up to a 4.079
in the final. Chris Powers is chasing
his first win of the year, and he’s
within striking distance with a car
that went to the semis for the
second consecutive race.
A second consecutive event win in
$hameless Racing Pro Outlaw 632
has Dillon Voss chasing his second
world championship in his Vosspowered
Race Star Wheels ’17 Corvette.
He raced out of the No. 1 spot,
then fired off a 4.27 and a 4.26
before his 4.25 knocked out Wes
Distefano in the final round. Distefano,
three times a runner-up this
season, matched Voss in performance
in the first two rounds before
slowing to a 4.28 in the money
round. He still holds a one-round
points lead over Walter Lannigan
Jr., who lost a strong 4.26 race to
Voss in the semis.
42 PDRA660.com