Drag Illustrated Issue 169, June/July 2021 | Page 48

THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST IS AN EVER-CHANGING LIST OF THE BIGGEST NEWSMAKERS AND POWER PLAYERS IN THE PDRA ’ S PROFES- SIONAL CLASSES . THIS MONTH ’ S EDITION , REPRESENTING PERFORMANCES FROM THE DECERBO CONSTRUCTION AMERICAN DOORSLAMMER CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY CALLIES PERFORMANCE , MAY 27-30 AT SUMMIT 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 .
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER
Special Section
THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST IS AN EVER-CHANGING LIST OF THE BIGGEST NEWSMAKERS AND POWER PLAYERS IN THE PDRA ’ S PROFES- SIONAL CLASSES . THIS MONTH ’ S EDITION , REPRESENTING PERFORMANCES FROM THE DECERBO CONSTRUCTION AMERICAN DOORSLAMMER CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY CALLIES PERFORMANCE , MAY 27-30 AT SUMMIT 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 .
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER
PRO NITROUS
PRO BOOST
EXTREME PRO STOCK
PRO OUTLAW 632
PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE
JIM HALSEY TONY WILSON JAY COX
RANDY WEATHERFORD KEVIN RIVENBARK JASON LEE
ELIJAH MORTON CHRIS POWERS JR CARR
WES DISTEFANO DARYL STEWART JIMMY PELCARSKY
ERIC MCKINNEY CHRIS GARNER-JONES ASHLEY OWENS
It was all Jim Halsey , all the time in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous at Norwalk , where the nitrous Pro Mod veteran qualified No . 1 , ran low E . T . of every round – including a flawless 3.633 first-round single – and won the race in his Fulton-powered ’ 68 Camaro . Tony Wilson was there to give him a race , though , running a 3.704 in his Musi-powered “ Midnight Special ” ’ 69 Camaro to Halsey ’ s 3.685 . Jay Cox , fresh off a win at the Doorslammer Derby , hangs on to his spot in the Top 3 after qualifying No . 3 and laying down one of the best passes of a difficult Saturday night first round .
For the second race in a row , former Pro Nitrous driver Randy Weatherford reached the final round in Penske / PRS Pro Boost presented by WS Construction . Driving his ProCharger-boosted WS Construction ’ 17 Camaro , Weatherford raced through eliminations with a 3.63 , 3.653 , 3.667 and 3.672 . Jason Lee ’ s 3.659 in the Eric Gustafson-owned Coast Packing ’ 69 Camaro beat Weatherford in the final . It was Lee ’ s first PDRA victory after winning elsewhere on big tires and radials . If Weatherford has the most consistently quick car in Pro Boost , Kevin Rivenbark has the second most consistent . He notched his second consecutive semifinal appearance in the GALOT ’ 69 Camaro .
Norwalk was a driver ’ s race in Liberty ’ s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition , and Elijah Morton was the driver who came out on top . After qualifying No . 7 in his Allen-powered Morton Brothers Motorsports ’ 19 Mustang , Morton used holeshot advantages to win two out of four rounds , including the final , where his 4.167 beat Chris Powers ’ 4.075 . Powers was solid off the line in the first two rounds , but just slipped up in the final , his second of the year . JR Carr qualified No . 1 for the third time in three races , but he missed the tree in the first round and didn ’ t have enough to drive around Bill Neri ’ s 4.218 .
After a dominant performance in Kentucky , all eyes were on $ hameless Racing Pro Outlaw 632 star Wes Distefano to see what his Musipowered $ hameless Racing ’ 68 Camaro would do next . He busted off a 4.161 to qualify No . 1 , then continued to run well in eliminations . Daryl Stewart , who qualified No . 2 and ran quicker than Distefano in the second and third rounds , posted a stout 4.205 to beat Distefano ’ s 4.224 in the final . It was Stewart ’ s first PDRA win in his Chassis Engineering ’ 12 Camaro . Jimmy Pelcarsky and his Hutter small-blockpowered ’ 15 Camaro were poised for another solid outing after qualifying No . 3 , but he hurt an engine and couldn ’ t return for race day .
Though he only made it to one PDRA race in 2020 and missed the first 2021 race due to truck problems , Eric McKinney returned to Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle in winning form at Norwalk . The Ohio native qualified No . 1 aboard his Ashley Owenstuned McKinney Motorsports Hayabusa , then ran a 4.011 to win the final round on a single . He was set to face Owens , but the Alabama rider had to leave to catch a flight before the Sunday afternoon final . Owens qualified No . 2 and used a holeshot to beat Chris Garner-Jones in the first round . Garner-Jones ran a weekend-best 4.06 after qualifying No . 3 .
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