Special Section
PRO OUTLAW 632
WES DISTEFANO
AN INCREASINGLY competitive $ hameless Racing Pro Outlaw 632 class made sure Wes Distefano didn ’ t have an easy road to his second consecutive world championship . Still , Distefano made it look easy with four wins and three runner-up finishes in the eight-race 2021 PDRA season .
“ It ’ s not that we expected to come out and win the championship again ,” Distefano said . “ We fought and we enjoyed the challenge and the adversity and we just worked through it right up until it was clinched . We never took it for granted . We just worked and did our job . As soon as it was done , it was on to the next thing . We wanted to win the next race .”
Distefano won ’ t defend his championship as a driver , as he ’ s making the move up to Pro Nitrous with a Musi 959ci-powered ’ 68 Camaro . The $ hameless Racing team will chase another title , though , as they ’ ve tapped Walt Lannigan Jr . to drive Distefano ’ s proven Musi 632-powered ’ 68 Camaro in Pro 632 competition .
PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE
CHRIS GARNER-JONES
CHRIS GARNER-JONES has been a perennial championship contender in Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle for the last few years , but he ’ s come up just short of the title . That all changed this past year , though , as Garner-Jones won the 2021 world championship a year after the passing of his father , class pioneer T . T . Jones . He also picked up his first PDRA win since 2015 and closed out the season with another victory at the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by ProCharger .
“ I wish I could put it into words what this means to me ,” Garner-Jones said after securing the title . “ I ’ d probably be doing backflips and I can ’ t do a backflip . But it ’ s a big weight off my shoulders . I wanted to do it while my dad was here , but unfortunately things happen . That ’ s life . But this one is definitely for him . All the way . My brother [ William ] is the best tuner in the world and I stand behind that .”
PRO STREET
TIM ESSICK
IT TOOK A NEAR-DOMINANT season for Tim Essick and his homebuilt , ProCharger-boosted “ Brown Sugar ” ’ 18 Mustang to win the first-ever Drag 965 Pro Street world . The Outlaw 10.5 veteran ’ s commitment to the new class paid off , as he won four races and set the record twice to claim the title .
“ Winning the championship is the big thing ,” Essick said in the winner ’ s circle at the World Finals . “ It ’ s been a long time since I won a world championship . It means the world and I ’ m so happy to have a series to be able to do that in . We struggled a little bit earlier this weekend , but we made everything come together when it mattered . Can ’ t find the words .”
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