THE KING SPEAKS
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 , REPRESENTING PERFORMANCES FROM THE DRAG 965 SUMMER SHOOTOUT PRESENTED BY CLASSIC GRAPHIX , JULY 14-17 , AT VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK , DOES NOT REFLECT THE CURRENT 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
PRO NITROUS |
PRO BOOST |
EXTREME PRO STOCK |
PRO OUTLAW 632 |
PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE |
CHRIS RINI JIM HALSEY DANE WOOD |
MELANIE SALEMI TODD TUTTEROW JOHNNY CAMP |
TONY GILLIG ELIJAH MORTON DILLON VOSS |
DARYL STEWART WALT LANNIGAN JR . AMBER FRANKLIN |
TRAVIS DAVIS CHRIS GARNER-JONES MOHAMMAD ALAWAD |
After several seasons of Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous competition , Chris Rini finally got the monkey off his back and broke through for a win . Against first-time finalist Dane Wood , Rini cut a . 006 light in his Buck-powered ATI Performance Products ’ 69 Camaro and ran a 3.732 to beat Wood ’ s 3.963 . Though points leader Jim Halsey went out in the second round , he qualified No . 1 to maintain his spot on the Top 3 list . Wood had to face two-time Pro 632 world champion Wes Distefano , Halsey , and two-time world champion Jason Harris on his way to the final round in his Albert-powered ’ 13 Mustang .
WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive elapsed-time record holder Melanie Salemi notched her first win of the season in Eddie Whelan ’ s roots-blown Slice-and-Ice ’ 19 Camaro . She left on points leader Todd “ King Tut ” Tutterow in the final round and ripped off a 3.624 to beat Tutterow ’ s 3.629 in his screwblown P2 Contracting ’ 20 Camaro . The two drivers were evenly matched all weekend , qualifying No . 1 ( Salemi ) and 2 before running matching 3.631s in the semis . Johnny Camp and his ProCharged “ Hells Bells ” ’ 69 Camaro were right there with them , but his 3.642 wasn ’ t enough to beat Salemi in the semis .
PRO STREET
Returning Mountain Motor Pro Stock veteran Tony Gillig has been building up a solid points total , and his first Liberty ’ s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition win of the season propelled him to the points lead . Gillig in his Kaase-powered Dayco ’ 10 GXP ran a pair of 4.09s in the semis and finals , beating a red-lighting Elijah Morton in the final . Morton ran low E . T . of the day , 4.077 , after going . 008 red in his No . 1-qualified , Allen-powered Morton Brothers Motorsports ’ 19 Mustang . Dillon Voss had a big weekend in his Voss Wheelie Bars ’ 06 Cavalier , reaching the semis after qualifying No . 9 .
South Florida racing veteran Daryl Stewart broke up the battle of the $ hameless Racing Pro 632 young guns when he got his first win of the season , defending his 2021 Summer Shootout title . He defeated Walter Lannigan Jr ., in the final round . Stewart ’ s Clayton Murphy-tuned , HRE-powered Chassis Engineering ’ 17 Camaro qualified No . 1 and progressed to a 4.147 to beat Lannigan ’ s 4.171 . Lannigan qualified No . 2 in the Musi-powered $ hameless Racing ’ 68 Camaro before advancing to his third final of the season . Points leader Amber Franklin continued her steady performance in her Musi-powered “ OG Jungle Rat ” ’ 69 Camaro , qualifying No . 3 and reaching the semis .
TY KASPER | NICK AGOSTINO | NICK SCHROEDER
Travis Davis ’ s last-minute decision to head to Virginia after his son , Brayden , went out early in the NHRA Eastern Conference Finals Jr . Dragster event in Bristol , Tennessee , paid off with a second consecutive Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle win . Running a tired engine in his Timblin Chassis Hayabusa , Davis qualified third and defeated Chris Garner-Jones in the final . Garner Jones , the No . 1 qualifier and defending world champion , went red by . 005 , while Davis was . 005 green and ran a 4.088 . For the second consecutive race , Mohammad Alawad has taken one of the TT Jones Racing bikes to the semis , running consistent 4.10s .
Ty Kasper only had to wait for the next event to score his second career win in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by AFCO . The Maryland winner kept it rolling in his turbocharged Victus Sports “ Sinatra ” ’ 05 Mustang , posting a 4.065 in the final round . The run was also low E . T . of the event . The new points leader was unopposed in the final , as No . 1 qualifier Nick Agostino hurt his turbocharged , small-block ’ 69 Camaro on a down-track wheelstand in the semis . There , Agostino beat Nick Schroeder , whose screw-blown “ Ruby ” ’ 06 GTO was the quickest car in the challenging first round .
4 STREET RACE
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