cool spring day at Benson , North Carolina ’ s GALOT Motorsports Park , home of the season-opening PDRA Summit Racing Equipment East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech . Derek Ward ’ s 53-foot race transporter is situated near the front of the Pro Boost pits , coincidentally right next to Spencer Hyde , who proudly sports a large “ 2023 World Series of Pro Mod Champion ” decal on the back door of his trailer .
When Ward crossed the Bradenton Motorsports Park finish line first in the $ 100,000 final round of the 2024 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by Johnson ’ s Horsepowered Garage and J & A Service on March 3rd , he joined Hyde in the exclusive club of WSOPM champions . Like Hyde one year ago , Ward is now
WARD DREW A TOUGH FIRST-ROUND CUSTOMER IN THREE-TIME AND DEFENDING PDRA PRO NITROUS WORLD CHAMPION TOMMY FRANKLIN , WHO QUALIFIED THIRD AND LOST BY JUST UNDER A HUNDREDTH OF A SECOND . basking in the attention that comes with a win at the WSOPM . Brands are approaching him with offers of free or significantly reduced-price products , fans are making a point to stop by to congratulate him and buy a T-shirt , and photographers are capturing images of his screw-blown ’ 68 Firebird .
“ It ’ s a good feeling ,” Ward says of the newfound attention . “ I ’ m not used to it , but I do like it a lot . I ’ m just a small guy , I love racing , and I ’ m trying to make a name for myself .”
Ward is similar to Hyde in that aspect as well . Hyde showed some signs of brilliance before his WSOPM win , including a regional Pro Mod championship in Canada . Ward won a couple Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association ( NEOPMA ) events to secure the 2023 NEOP- MA championship driving his screw-blown ’ 69 Camaro .
A late-season crashed looked to put a stop to his momentum , but working with brothers Jon Salemi of Resolution Racing Services and Jim Salemi of G-Force Race Cars , Ward sourced a ’ 68 Firebird that he brought out at the World Street Nationals at Orlando in November . Off the trailer , the Firebird was as good , if not better than his Camaro . A few weeks later , Ward qualified No . 6 with a 3.623-second effort in the all-3.60-second , 32-car field at the Snowbird
Outlaw Nationals at Bradenton . He returned to Bradenton in late January for the U . S . Street Nationals , where he qualified No . 2 in the 32-car field with a 3.604 .
“ I give the credit to G-Force because my other car was a G-Force car and I think that was a 2012 . This one ’ s an ‘ 05 , though it doesn ’ t have a lot of runs on it ,” Ward points out . “ I actually took everything from my blue car – the wiring , the wheels , even the parachutes – and put it in this car . The first full pass we went a . 62 in Orlando , so it was right there the whole time . It ’ s a great car .”
Also like Hyde , Ward suffered a broken chassis on his way to victory . Fortunately , it happened during a private test session a week and a half before the race . In Hyde ’ s case , his team discovered the broken frame rail after the final qualifying session , leading to an overnight repair project . Ward had much more time , but it was still a mad thrash . Rather than leaving his operation at Bradenton and flying home as planned , Ward drove the truck and trailer back to his home shop in Frederick , Maryland , and took the car apart to prepare it for chassis work at G-Force Race Cars near Buffalo , New York .
“ In between that , I had to go out that night and push snow all night , then Sunday morning I woke up at 4 o ’ clock in the morning and drove
104 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 188