Special Section
THIS EDITION OF THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST REPRESENTS PERFORMANCES FROM THE SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NORTHERN NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENSKE RAC- ING SHOCKS , AUGUST 11-13 , AT MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY . EDITOR ’ S NOTE : DRAG 965 PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE DID NOT COMPETE AT THIS EVENT .
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER
PRO NITROUS |
PRO BOOST |
EXTREME PRO STOCK |
PRO OUTLAW 632 |
PRO STREET |
CHRIS RINI JIM HALSEY FREDY SCRIBA |
PRESTON TANNER TODD TUTTEROW ROB COX |
JOHNNY PLUCHINO CHRIS POWERS JR CARR |
DARYL STEWART AMBER FRANKLIN WALT LANNIGAN JR . |
TIM ESSICK NICK AGOSTINO BILL LUTZ |
Chris Rini had to wait several years to get his first Pro Nitrous win , but his second victory came just a few weeks later . After qualifying No . 2 in Bryant Marriner ’ s Buck-powered ATI Performance ’ 69 Camaro , Rini ’ s consistency carried him through eliminations to meet low qualifier and points leader Jim Halsey in the final round . Rini left first and ran a 3.73 to get the win , while Halsey slowed to a 3.825 after running low E . T . of the prior two rounds in his Fulton-powered “ Daddy Shark ” ’ 68 Camaro . Fredy Scriba ’ s wild weekend ended in the semifinals , where his Musipowered “ Sorcerer ” ’ 69 Camaro fell to Halsey ’ s 3.702 .
Just a couple races after watching younger sister Lexi win her first Pro 632 race , Preston Tanner got to hoist his own PDRA “ 660 Man ” trophy in Pro Boost for the first time . The former Pro Jr . Dragster world champion enjoyed a career-best weekend in his screw-blown “ Sweetheart ” ‘ 15 Corvette , qualifying No . 1 and making some of the quickest passes of eliminations , including a 3.665 to beat Todd “ King Tut ” Tutterow in the final round . Tutterow was appearing in his second consecutive final and fourth of the season after qualifying No . 2 . Rob Cox won the first two rounds as the underdog against heavy hitters Robert Gallegos and Randy Weatherford .
The Extreme Pro Stock championship battle continues to heat up , as 2020 champion Johnny Pluchino overcame challenging conditions to win the race and reclaim his points lead from Tony Gillig . He beat Gillig in a marquee matchup first round , then took out No . 1 qualifier JR Carr on his way to the final . There , he defeated reigning world champion Chris Powers with a 4.308 in his Kaase-powered $ hameless Racing ’ 13 Mustang . Powers in his Sonny ’ s Racing Engines ’ 21 Camaro was appearing in his first final since winning the season opener . Carr looked strong in qualifying and first round , but fell in a semifinal match with Pluchino .
It ’ s become clear that Daryl Stewart and tuner Clayton Murphy have found what they were missing at the beginning of the season . Stewart ’ s Chassis Engineering ’ 17 Camaro ran in the low 4.20s until the final round , where the No . 2 qualifier stepped up to a 4.196 to beat Amber Franklin ’ s 4.223 . Franklin , now a fourtime finalist this season , qualified No . 4 and made solid passes , like a 4.207 in the semis . Walt Lannigan Jr . qualified No . 1 in the car that won this race in 2021 , but his 4.221 in the semis wasn ’ t enough to reach his fourth final of the year .
Defending Pro Street world champion Tim Essick bounced back with his first win since the season opener , using a holeshot and a 4.06 in his ProCharger-boosted “ Brown Sugar ” ’ 18 Mustang to knock out Bill Lutz and his 4.026 in the final round . Nick Agostino , who ’ s now qualified No . 1 at all but one of the five Pro Street races this year , couldn ’ t carry over his qualifying success on race day , falling to Essick in the semis . Lutz ’ s supercharged “ Big Boost ” ’ 67 Camaro qualified third , but was the quickest car in all three rounds , putting the class on notice going into the World Finals .
MONTH _ 2016
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