Drag Illustrated Issue 183, July / August 2023 | Page 60

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 DECERBO CONSTRUCTION AMERICAN DOORSLAMMER CHAL- LENGE PRESENTED BY CALLIES , MAY 25-27 , AT SUMMIT 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 . DRIVERS EARN THEIR WAY ONTO THE LIST THROUGH WINS , STRONG QUALIFYING EFFORTS , AND OTHERWISE STANDOUT PERFORMANCES . EDITOR ’ S NOTE : DRAG 965 PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE DID NOT COMPETE AT THIS EVENT .

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER

Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous points leader Jim Halsey was on track to win a third in his Fulton-powered “ Daddy Shark ” ’ 68 Camaro at Norwalk . He qualified No . 1 and set low E . T . of the second round , but two-time world champion Tommy Franklin threw down low E . T . of eliminations , a 3.641 , to beat Halsey ’ s 3.672 in the semis . Franklin in his Musipowered “ Jungle Rat ” ’ 69 Camaro went on to defeat first-time finalist Marcus Butner with a 3.656 . Butner ’ s 3.683 runner-up effort was his best run of the event in his Musi-powered “ Heartbreaker ” ’ 69 Camaro tuned by Jay Cox , who went red to Butner in the semis .

In just his third race back in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive , two-time Pro Nitrous world champion Jason Harris was dominant from start to finish . Harris qualified No . 1 in his Pro- Charged “ Party Time ” ’ 69 Camaro with a 3.594 , then ran in the low 3.60s on race day with reaction times ranging from . 003 to . 020 . His 3.615 beat No . 2 qualifier Kurt Steding in the final . Steding steadily improved in his screw-blown P2 Contracting ’ 20 Camaro , with a perfect light and a 3.629 sending him to the finals , where he lifted to a 3.804 . Brazil ’ s Roderjan Busato qualified 13th but reached the semis in his newly screw-blown ’ 20 Camaro .

Liberty ’ s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition is a wide-open battle after three races , with rookie Alan Drinkwater the only driver to appear in the semis more than once . Driving his Kaase-powered IronListing . com Mustang , Drinkwater qualified No . 2 and ran low E . T . of every round to earn his first win in the class . He was set to face fellow first-time finalist Jeremy Huffman , but Huffman hurt his engine on a semifinal bye run in his 3V Performance-powered ’ 10 Cobalt . Tony Gillig made his first appearance of the season in his Kaase-powered Dayco ’ 10 GXP and qualified No . 1 for the first time in his career since the late ‘ 90s .

Jeff Melnick , the M & M Transmission Pro 632 season opener winner , started race week in the Cleveland Clinic wondering if he ’ d even get to race at his home track . At the end of the weekend , he was in the winner ’ s circle again with Alan O ’ Brien ’ s AMC-powered Greenbrier Excavating & Paving ’ 20 Camaro . He qualified No . 2 and ran low E . T . of the first two rounds . In the final , he used a . 010 holeshot advantage to beat Doug Nicholl in a 4.128-second race . Nicholl picked up his first No . 1 qualifier award in his Musipowered ’ 68 Camaro . Defending world champion Amber Franklin qualified third but had to bow out in the second round with a parts failure .

Bill Riddle ’ s breakout season in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco continued at Norwalk , where he qualified No . 1 and raced to a runner-up finish in his roots-blown Corrigan Race Fuels ’ 89 Camaro . He was running in the mid- 3.90s until the final , where he had to lift to a 4.165 . Newcomer Scott Kincaid was ready to strike in his roots-blown ’ 69 Camaro , laying down a weekend-best 4.003 to claim the win in his Pro Street debut . Ty Kasper in his twin-turbo Victus Sports ’ 05 Mustang pulled out his best run of the event , a 3.998 , in his semifinal exit to Riddle after qualifying fourth .

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