Jim Halsey looks back on runner-up finish

By Nate Van Wagnen

Bradenton Motorsports Park has been good to Jim Halsey . In December 2020 , it ’ s where he recorded the first sub-3.60-second eighth-mile pass for a nitrous-assisted , big-tire Pro Mod with a 3.592 . Two years later , he won the $ 51,000 51st Snowbird Outlaw Nationals at Bradenton after claiming his fourth consecutive PDRA Pro Nitrous world championship . This year , he bounced back from a first-round exit at the 2023 WSOPM by qualifying No . 2 and racing to a runner-up finish , all while debuting a brand-new car .

A couple weeks before the race , Halsey and his team – tuner Brandon Switzer , crew chief

Eric Davis , Michael McMillan , Brian Chin , and Halsey ’ s wife , Cathy , took part in a private test session at Bradenton to shake down their new Bickel-built , Fulton 959-powered ’ 68 Camaro . The car immediately showed promise by running into the low 3.60s , giving Halsey and his team confidence that they had a combination that would compete with the rest of the field made up primarily of supercharged entries .

Halsey came out in the first qualifying session and laid down a 3.684 at 207.56 to take the No . 12 spot . He moved up a spot with his 3.667 in the second session , then threw down a 3.609 at 209.17 in Q3 to jump up to No . 2 while also beating Tony Wilson in their Rivals Night matchup . He didn ’ t improve in Saturday ’ s two sessions , but even after the cutthroat final session that saw numerous drivers step up , Halsey was second only to Mark Micke and his 3.598 at 220.94 in his turbocharged ’ 69 Camaro .

“ Just being a nitrous car , that ’ s a pretty big accomplishment for us ,” Halsey said . “ We work very hard at our program and I think the hard work is showing .”

But unlike just about every other race Halsey

has ever competed in , qualifying position doesn ’ t count for much come race day . He learned that the hard way in 2023 when he qualified No . 5 and drew No . 3 qualifier Jason Harris , who used a . 009 reaction time and a 3.742 to beat Halsey ’ s . 019 light and 3.739 on a holeshot .

“ I ’ ll be honest , after last year ’ s race , I was not a big fan of the chip draw ,” Halsey admitted . “ I understand the reason why Wes does it , but like last year , it took one of the top five cars out first round . I just happened to be on the wrong end of it .”

This year ’ s first-round chip draw went a little better , though Halsey and No . 18 qualifier Stan Shelton drew the No . 2 chips , meaning they would be the second pair out on the track . Halsey ended up going down solo on a 3.694-second pass at 207.24 after Shelton in his screw-blown Culp Lumber ’ 67 Mustang got timed out .

“ There was no easy rounds at all , first round or final round ,” Halsey said . “ There ’ s no ducks . None at all . The first round could ’ ve been a final .”

Halsey got everyone ’ s attention in the second round when he popped off a 3.657 at 208.65 – low E . T . of the round – to deny Spencer Hyde

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUKE NIEUWHOF , DARREL JACKSON JR ., DAVID HILNER