Special Section
THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST IS AN EVER-CHANGING LIST OF THE BIGGEST NEWSMAKERS AND POWER PLAYERS IN THE PDRA ’ S PROFESSIONAL CLASSES . THIS EDITION REPRESENTS PERFORMANCES FROM THE NORTH VS . SOUTH SHOOTOUT PRESENTED BY LINE-X AND IRON
MAN QUICK CONNECT PUSH BAR , JUNE 23-25 , AT MARYLAND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY . PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER
PRO NITROUS |
PRO BOOST |
EXTREME PRO STOCK |
PRO OUTLAW 632 |
PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE |
JIM HALSEY FREDY SCRIBA BUDDY PERKINSON |
KURT STEDING MELANIE SALEMI ROBERT GALLEGOS |
JOHNNY PLUCHINO TONY GILLIG CHRIS POWERS |
LEXI TANNER AMBER FRANKLIN ALAN DRINKWATER |
PAUL GAST TRAVIS DAVIS MESHAL AL-SABER |
It didn ’ t take long for Jim Halsey to get back to the winner ’ s circle , as he picked up a home state victory to go with his win at Bowling Green . He set low E . T . with a 3.778 in the opening round , then was quickest of the following three rounds with 3.60-second passes . His closest challenge came from another Maryland native , Fredy Scriba , in the final round . Scriba threw down a 3.697 in his “ Sorcerer ” ’ 69 Camaro to take runner-up behind Halsey ’ s 3.691 . Elite Top Sportsman star Buddy Perkinson hopped in Tommy Franklin ’ s “ Jungle Rat ” ’ 69 Camaro and proceeded to qualify No . 1 and reach the semis .
After fixing a knee injury last season , Kurt Steding is back on his game in the driver ’ s seat of his Todd Tutterowtuned , screw-blown P2 Contracting ’ 20 Camaro . He qualified No . 1 and made stout laps through eliminations , including a 3.618 to beat Melanie Salemi ’ s 3.619 in the semis , and a 3.612 to beat a red-lighting Robert Gallegos in the final . Salemi ’ s 3.638 over Johnny Camp ’ s 3.646 was the quickest of the second round . Gallegos in his ProCharged ’ 22 Mustang threw down a couple low 3.60s of his own in the second and third rounds after qualifying No . 2 , but went red by . 171 in his first final .
PRO STREET
There ’ s no denying Johnny Pluchino is hungry for another world championship . The 2020 Extreme Pro Stock champion and two-time Pro 632 champion earned his second win of the season , running a 4.156 , a pair of 4.08s , and a 4.071 in the final round . Driving his father ’ s Kaase-powered $ hameless Racing ’ 13 Mustang , he beat No . 2 qualifier Tony Gillig , who ran into trouble and slowed to a 5.309 in the final . Defending world champion Chris Powers was chasing his second win of the year , but he came up short to Gillig in the semis . Powers is still breaking in his new Sonny ’ s Racing Engines ’ 21 Camaro , but it ’ s a proven winner .
In a rematch of the final round from Bowling Green , best friends Lexi Tanner and Amber Franklin squared off for the Maryland win . This time , it was Tanner scoring her first “ big car ” win in her Oakley-powered “ Thunder ” ’ 15 Camaro . She used a 4.213 to beat Franklin ’ s 4.282 . Franklin , the points leader , qualified No . 2 and laid down a 4.222 and a pair of 4.17s on the way to her third final of the year . Season opener winner Alan Drinkwater was there to shake up the nitrousheavy class in Kenny Floyd ’ s naturally aspirated ’ 04 Escort , reaching the semifinals , where Franklin beat his 4.222 .
TIM ESSICK | TY KASPER | BILL RIDDLE
Surprisingly , multi-time world champion Travis Davis had to wait until the third Pro Nitrous Motorcycle race to pick up his first win aboard his Timblin Chassis / Davis Transport Hayabusa . He ran in the mid-4.00 range in the first two rounds , then stepped up when it mattered , firing off a 3.996 to beat Paul Gast ’ s 3.994 on a holeshot . Gast had half a tenth on the class in the first two rounds with his 4.005 and 3.982 on his Fast By Gast bike . Kuwait ’ s Meshal Al-Saber continued his steady quest for a win , taking Brad McCoy ’ s to the semifinals for the third time this year .
Defending world champion Tim Essick looked like he was on his way to a second consecutive home-track win after qualifying No . 2 and setting low E . T . of the first two rounds . But Ty Kasper ’ s holeshot advantage and a 4.067 put a stop to that , as Kasper ’ s turbocharged Victus Sports ’ 05 Mustang finished ahead of Essick and his 4.053 in the side-by-side final round . It was the 23-year-old ’ s first win in the class . Norwalk winner Bill Riddle carried some momentum into Maryland , qualifying No . 3 and racing to the semis , where Essick sent him home .
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