Special Section
ELITE TOP SPORTSMAN
TIM MOLNAR
A COMBINATION of luck and skill helped veteran sportsman racer
Tim Molnar secure his first PDRA world championship in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by Tejas Borja . Molnar drove his nitrousassisted ’ 68 Camaro to victory at the first race of the year and added lateround finishes at nearly every race to earn the title . It was a meaningful accomplishment for Molnar and his two-person crew , made up of his wife , Rikki , and his father , Dick .
“ My dad and I have raced together for a very long time ,” Molnar said . “ We ’ ve won a class championship , but nothing of this magnitude . I was glad my dad was there to see it . It was as happy for him as it was for me . Yeah , it was great to win it , but it was great to do it for him . He turned 80 this year and he goes to all the PDRA races . He just lives and breathes drag racing , and it was really special to get it for him .”
ELITE TOP DRAGSTER
PETE MADURI
LONGTIME FRIENDS Pete Maduri and Bob Bauer Jr . have partnered up on bracket racing ventures in the past , but nothing as ambitious as chasing a world championship in the PDRA ’ s Lucas Oil Elite Top Dragster program . In their first year racing together in the class , Maduri , Bauer and tuner Robert Bauer III earned their first win and the 2021 world championship .
“ It ’ s always been a dream of mine to compete in the class ,” Maduri said . “ To be able to win a world championship in our first year was more than I ever expected . It was a complete team effort . [ The Bauers ] earned it every bit as much as I did and more . It ’ s an honor to be able to team up with them . We also had my wife , Jennifer , and our little baby , Addison , who ’ s only 18 months old , at every single race this year . We were hitting the road hard traveling the country .”
TOP SPORTSMAN
NICK MELONI
IN JUST HIS second year in PDRA competition , New Hampshire native Nick Meloni came close to winning a pair of world championships . Driving for car owner Tommy Zarella , Meloni won the MagnaFuel Top Sportsman world championship and finished second in Lucas Oil Top Dragster points .
“ Honestly , this year was really just a dream year all around ,” said Meloni , who ran Top Sportsman in the early 2000s and returned to competition in 2020 . “ It was one of those years where I had really solid cars . When I needed to be good , I was good , and when I needed to be lucky , I was lucky . I ’ d really like to thank my daughter , Ava . She was basically my crew chief for the year . She was right there by my side at every race and she ’ s a big part of all my wins and success .”
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