Drag Illustrated Issue 170, August 2021 | Page 46

Special Section
SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE PDRA IN 2014 , JR . DRAGSTER RACERS HAVE BEEN A PART OF THE PROGRAM AS THE RISING STARS OF THE SPORT . NUMEROUS YOUNG DRIVERS HAVE GRADUATED FROM THE COOLSHIRT SYSTEMS PRO JR . DRAGSTER AND CLASSIC GRAPHIX TOP JR . DRAGSTER CLASSES TO BECOME STANDOUT PERFORMERS IN THE PDRA ’ S “ BIG CAR ” CLASSES . ¶ A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THIS TRAINING SYSTEM AT WORK IS JARROD KISSINGER , A THIRD-GENERATION CHASSIS BUILDER FROM BERNSVILLE , PENNSYLVANIA . AT JUST 20 YEARS OLD , HE ’ S A CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER IN LUCAS OIL TOP DRAGSTER WITH HIS NITROUS- ASSISTED KKC PERFORMANCE DRAGSTER BUILT IN HOUSE AT THE FAMILY ’ S CHASSIS SHOP , KEN ’ S KUSTOM CHASSIS .
Kissinger spent several years racing in Jr . Dragsters , with a Pro Jr . Dragster win at the 2017 PDRA Spring Nationals at Darlington Dragway among his highlights in PDRA competition . He also won the prestigious NHRA Eastern Conference Finals in 2014 as a 12-year-old .
Kissinger believes his time in the Jr . Dragster ranks properly prepared him for the move up to a big car in 2018 .
“ It showed me what real tough competition was ,” says Kissinger , who was named the PDRA Pro Jr . Driver
of the Year in 2017 . “ For the Pro Jr . Dragster , you had to run on an index . To qualify you had to run as close as possible to 7.90 . It helped me figure out what the weather is going to do to the car and how to run numbers . It got me ready to run more professionally , I guess you could say .”
The early education in bracket racing clearly paid off , as Kissinger went to the final round in both Pro Jr . Dragster and Top Dragster in just his second race in the big car , the 2018 North-South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway .
Kissinger has since added multiple late-round finishes , including a runner-up at the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Showdown at Virginia Motorsports Park and a semifinal finish at the 2019 Northern Nationals at Dragway 42 . Those performances helped him finish fourth in Top Dragster points that season .
Top Dragster has become one of the “ next step ” classes for young racers aging out of the Jr . Dragster classes . Other former Jr . Dragster standouts racing with Kissinger include Kimberly Messer , Blake
Denton , and Amber Franklin . Like Kissinger , these drivers have also applied what they learned in Jr . Dragster racing to their Top Dragster performance . “ It honestly hasn ’ t changed much ,” Kissinger says of lining up against other Jr . Dragster graduates in Top Dragster . “ It ’ s still tough competition .”
After consistently going rounds at the first five races of the eight-race 2021 season , Kissinger sits fourth in Top Dragster points . He ’ s chasing Nick Meloni and Rikki Molnar in second and third , respectively , while
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