Special Section
TOP DRAGSTER
T . G . PASCHAL
T . G . PASCHAL ’ S SEASON started out on a victorious note , as he won the season opener at his home track , GALOT Motorsports Park . Paschal in his Race Tech-built Dean ’ s Performance dragster kept the momentum rolling , picking up two more wins and racking up enough points that he was able to skip the second-to-last race on tour and still secure the 2021 Lucas Oil Top Dragster world championship .
“ It means a ton to me to be a PDRA world champion ,” Paschal said . “ Racing has always been a huge part of my life and I have always dreamed of being No . 1 in the world and to do that in my first year of running for a world championship is a dream come true .”
PRO JR . DRAGSTER
ETHAN STEDING
WITH A RUNNER-UP finish at the season opener and victories in the middle and end of the 2021 season , Ethan Steding had a dream season that concluded with the Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr . Dragster world championship . Driving his P2 Contracting dragster , Steding won at Maryland and the fall GALOT race , giving him enough points to hold off Zach Shirkey despite not qualifying at the World Finals .
“ Winning this championship means so much to me , my family , and the whole P2 race team ,” said Steding , who plans to move up to Top Sportsman when he ages out before eventually joining his dad , Kurt , in Pro Boost . “ I want to thank my mom and dad for giving me the opportunity to race . My dad tunes the car , but I especially need to thank John Redfield and Dennis Kuhn for their dedication to my car and the entire P2 Racing team . I could not have done it without them . I would also like to thank the whole Tutterow family and team for making our pits a great place to race out of . PDRA is definitely a premier place to race .”
TOP JR . DRAGSTER
ROWAN PARLETT
YOUNG ROWAN PARLETT ’ S consistently solid driving , both on the starting line and at the finish line , earned him the nickname “ the Robot .” His skills also helped him earn the Classic Graphix Top Jr . Dragster world championship , as well as the PDRA Sportsman Rookie of the Year Award . With support from the family business , Computech , Parlett raced his way to back-to-back wins at Maryland and the summer Virginia race before ending the year with a runner-up finish at the World Finals .
“ I would like to thank my dad because without him I wouldn ’ t be here or won the championship ,” said Parlett in his championship speech , which was by all accounts the most popular speech of the night at the PDRA Awards Banquet . “ He tuned my car and spends time between rounds looking at data and fixing my car . I also want to thank all my family that cheered me on and went to the last race to watch the nail-biter of a championship against Alyssa [ Rabon ]. One of the best things about PDRA is watching your friends and cheering each other on . The friendships I made this season are really what makes PDRA great .”
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