Drag Illustrated Issue 185, November / December 2023 | Page 62

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 RED LINE OIL CAROLINA NATIONALS , SEPTEMBER 14-16 , AT DAR- LINGTON DRAGWAY , 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 :
MENSCER MOTORSPORTS PRO STREET PRESENTED BY AFCO RACING DID NOT COMPETE AT THIS EVENT .
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER
PRO NITROUS PRO BOOST EXTREME PRO STOCK PRO OUTLAW 632 PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE
TOMMY FRANKLIN JAY COX JIM WIDENER
JASON HARRIS SCOTT LANG MELANIE SALEMI
ALAN DRINKWATER CHRIS POWERS JOHN DEFLORIAN
BRIAN CLAUS DOUG NICOLL DARYL STEWART
CHRIS GARNER-JONES MOHAMMED ALAWAD BRAYDEN DAVIS
Tommy Franklin ’ s victory at Darlington was a big one , as it helped him close in on points leader and four-time Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous world champion Jim Halsey , who lost in the second round . Franklin , driver of the Musi-powered “ Jungle Rat ” ’ 69 Camaro , picked up his second consecutive win , third of the season , and third at Darlington . He laid down a 3.65 at 206.33 MPH in the final to beat Jay Cox , who lifted to a 3.972 . Cox qualified No . 1 in his Musi-powered Butner Construction “ Pumpkin ” ’ 69 Camaro by tying Halsey ’ s class E . T . record , then set low E . T . of the first three rounds . Jim Widener impressed in his BES-powered ’ 17 Corvette , qualifying No . 4 and reaching the semis .
After qualifying in a nearly all-3.60-second field , former Big Dog Shootout competitor Scott Lang raced his way to his first career victory , making him the fourth firsttime winner in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting & Ty-Drive in six races . He made solid runs all day in his ProCharged AML Motorsports ’ 18 Camaro , including a holeshot win over Melanie Salemi in the semis , then caught a break in the finals when Jason Harris went red by . 010 on a 3.613 pass . Harris reached his second straight final in his ProCharged “ Party Time ” ’ 69 Camaro , setting low E . T . in three of the four rounds . Salemi claimed her second No . 1 qualifier award of the season in Eddie Whelan ’ s screw-blown ’ 19 Camaro .
Alan Drinkwater continues to build his reputation as one of the best drivers in Liberty ’ s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition . He reached his second straight final and third of the season in his Johnny Pluchino-tuned , Kaase-powered IronListing . com ’ 10 Mustang , then beat 2021 world champion and points leader Chris Powers on a holeshot by just . 006 to earn his second win of his rookie campaign . One of eight drivers who ran in the 4.00s in qualifying , Powers set low E . T . of the semis and finals in his Sonny ’ s Racing Engines ’ 21 Camaro . After chasing a major gremlin all year , John DeFlorian came back in a big way , qualifying No . 1 and running low E . T . of the first two rounds .
There ’ s a tense championship battle brewing in M & M Transmission Pro 632 , but no one told Brian Clauss and Daryl Stewart . Clauss ’ ’ 57 Chevy wasn ’ t the quickest car , but he used consistency and holeshot advantages to claim his first win in the class . His 4.283 in the final beat championship contender Doug Nicholl , who was uncharacteristically late on a 4.168 pass . Driving his Musi-powered ’ 68 Camaro , Nicholl qualified third and was the quickest of three rounds . Stewart , who started the year in Extreme Pro Stock then sat out the last two races , qualified No . 1 in his HRE-powered Chassis Engineering ’ 12 Camaro and made the hero run of a tricky first round before Clauss left on him in E2 .
Chris Garner-Jones is officially back in championship form in Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle , where he scored his second win of the season . Like the first win , he earned it from the No . 1 spot on his T . T . Jones Racing Hayabusa . He was the quickest of all three rounds , including a 3.985 over Mohammed Alawad ’ s 4.051 in the final . Alawad had his best showing of the season , qualifying No . 3 and taking runner-up honors to his teammate . Brayden Davis had an untimely rough weekend , going red by just . 004 to Alawad on a quicker pass in the semis .
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