Drag Illustrated Issue 170, August 2021 | Page 48

Special Section

THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST IS AN EVER-CHANGING LIST OF THE BIGGEST NEWSMAKERS AND POWER PLAYERS IN THE PDRA ’ S PROFESSIONAL CLASS- ES . THIS MONTH ’ S EDITION , REPRESENTING PERFORMANCES FROM THE NORTH VS . SOUTH SHOOTOUT PRESENTED BY LINE-X , JUNE 24-26 AT MARYLAND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY , AND THE SUMMER SHOOTOUT PRESENTED BY TY-DRIVE , JULY 15-17 AT VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK , DOES NOT REFLECT THE CUR- RENT 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

Simply put , Jim Halsey cannot be stopped in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous . Other than a second-round loss – by six thousandths – at the Doorslammer Derby , Halsey and his Brandon Switzertuned , Fulton-powered “ Daddy Shark ” ’ 68 Camaro have been dominant with No . 1 qualifying efforts at all five races backed up with wins at four of them . Jay Cox and the Buck-powered Butner Construction “ Pumpkin ” ’ 69 Camaro have been Halsey ’ s next closest challenger with a runner-up at Maryland . Two-time world champion Tommy Franklin is starting to catch back up , though , with back-to-back semifinal appearances at Maryland and Virginia in his Musi-powered “ Jungle Rat ” ’ 69 Camaro .

With a big win at the Summer Shootout – his first of the season – two-time world champion Kevin Rivenbark padded his points lead in Penske / PRS Pro Boost presented by WS Construction . The driver of the Pro- Charger-boosted GALOT Motorsports ’ 69 Camaro was out in front of four different winners in points , but his win put him further ahead of the pack . Teammate Daniel Pharris also received a much-needed boost with his Maryland win , his first in PDRA Pro Boost competition . Rivenbark ’ s former teammate , Todd Tutterow , also jumped up a few spots in his screw-blown P2 Contracting ’ 20 Camaro when he took runner-up honors behind Rivenbark at Virginia .

After winning the North vs . South Shootout in his Sonny ’ s Racing Engines ’ 14 Camaro , Chris Powers appeared to be the Liberty ’ s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition favorite going into the Sonny Leonard Memorial Race at VMP . But defending world champion Johnny Pluchino had other ideas , as he took out Powers in the semifinals in his Kaase-powered Strutmasters . com ’ 13 Mustang . He lost to JR Carr in the final round , but with two consecutive runner-up finishes , he ’ s a threat heading into Maple Grove . Carr , the No . 1 qualifier at all five races , got out of his firstround funk , delivering his first win of the season in his ’ 20 Camaro .

Defending $ hameless Racing Pro Outlaw 632 world champion Wes Distefano had to wait to the second-to-last race of the 2020 season to claim his first win . He already has two wins in five races , but like last season , he ’ s been to every final round , including a win at Maryland and a runner-up at Virginia . Daryl Stewart in his HRE-powered Chassis Engineering ’ 12 Camaro used a holeshot advantage to take down Distefano in his Musi-powered $ hameless Racing ’ 68 Camaro in the final . Twotime world champion Dillon Voss is back in the hunt with strong qualifying efforts at the last two races and a runner-up effort at Maryland in his Vigilante Associates ’ 17 Corvette .

Is this finally Chris Garner- Jones ’ year to win a Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle world championship ? If he keeps up his recent performance level , it just might be . The second-generation rider qualified No . 1 and raced to the final round at the last two races , claiming a meaningful win at Maryland aboard his T . T . Jones Racing Hayabusa . But with a win on his Timblin Chassis Hayabusa at Virginia , defending world champion Travis Davis is putting up a fight . Q80 Racing rider Brad McCoy is also chasing down Garner- Jones with a runner-up effort at Maryland and semifinal finish at Virginia .

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