Drag Illustrated Issue 188, May / June 2024 | Page 68

THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST IS BACK FOR ANOTHER SEASON LOOKING AT THE BIGGEST NEWSMAKERS AND POWER PLAYERS IN THE PDRA ’ S PROFESSIONAL CLASSES . THIS EDITION , REPRESENTING PERFORMANCES FROM THE SEASON-OPENING SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT EAST COAST NATIONALS PRESENTED BY FUELTECH , APRIL 3-6 , AT GALOT MOTORSPORTS PARK , DOES NOT REFLECT THE CURRENT POINTS STAND- INGS , 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 . PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER
PRO NITROUS
JIM HALSEY BRIAN SHRADER FREDY SCRIBA
PRO BOOST
TODD TUTTEROW JASON HARRIS DEREK WARD
EXTREME PRO STOCK
JOHNNY PLUCHINO STEVEN BOONE JR CARR
PRO OUTLAW 632
ANDY HOUSE CARSON PERRY AMBER FRANKLIN
PRO STREET
SCOTT KINCAID TIM ESSICK RON GREEN
In just its second race in competition – and first in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous – Jim Halsey ’ s brandnew Fulton-powered “ Daddy Shark ” ’ 68 Camaro carried Halsey to a new E . T . national record to qualify No . 1 . He ran a 3.608-second pass in qualifying , then backed it up on his way to a semifinal exit . Longtime Big Dog Shootout standout Brian Shrader raced to his first-ever Pro Nitrous victory , using a 3.657 to beat Halsey in the semis and a 3.654 to beat Fredy Scriba ’ s 3.667 in the final . It was an all-Hayes-built , all-Musipowered final with a firsttime winner guaranteed . Shrader in his ’ 17 Corvette and Scriba in his brand-new ’ 69 Camaro proved they ’ re here to win .
Electrifying is the best way to describe WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive at the season opener . Todd “ King Tut ” Tutterow returned to the top of the class in Justin Smith ’ s new screw-blown Quik Fuel ’ 69 Camaro . Tutterow qualified No . 2 in one of the quickest fields of all time , then laid down a 3.607 to beat Jason Harris and his 3.564 on a holeshot in the final round . Harris , the reigning world champ , qualified fifth and stayed in the 3.50s on race day in his ProCharged “ Party Time ” ’ 69 Camaro . WSOPM winner Derek Ward qualified No . 1 with a record-setting 3.555 and raced to a semifinal exit in his screw-blown ’ 68 Firebird .
The champ is back ! Twotime Liberty ’ s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition world champion Johnny Pluchino qualified No . 5 in his Kaase-powered Feather-Lite Batteries ’ 13 Mustang before a race day that included a perfect light in the first round and round wins over Randi Lyn Butner , No . 1 qualifier JR Carr , and 2018 world champ Steven Boone in the final . Boone qualified second in his Allen-powered ’ 07 Cobalt and ran quicker than Pluchino in the first two rounds , but slowed to a 4.125 in the final , while Pluchino ran a 4.052 . Carr showed up to chase the first 3-second run , but came close with a 4.029 to qualify No . 1 in the Elitepowered JHG ’ 20 Camaro .
Andy House and Carson Perry paired up in the first pair of the first Pro 632 qualifying session because they ’ d never competed in the class before . Just over 24 hours later , they squared off in the final round . Perry qualified No . 2 in Jack Gaddy ’ s Albert-powered ’ 69 Camaro , but went red by . 018 in the final . House qualified No . 11 in Meade Baldwin ’ s Southern Diamond Company ’ 69 Camaro but came alive on race day , running a career-best 4.146 in the final . Amber Franklin , the 2022 world champion , qualified No . 1 in her Musipowered “ OG Jungle Rat ” ’ 69 Camaro and set low E . T . of the first two rounds before losing on a slight holeshot in the semis .
It ’ s not that anyone doubted Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco Racing phenom Scott Kincaid , but a fifth consecutive win in his screw-blown ’ 69 Camaro seemed unlikely . Kincaid did just that , though , setting low E . T . of the last three rounds , including a 3.947 to beat Tim Essick ’ s 3.987 in the final to stay undefeated in Pro Street . Essick , a twotime world champ , qualified fourth in his ProCharged “ Brown Sugar ” ’ 18 Mustang and was just a tick behind Kincaid all day . Ron Green in his ProCharged ’ 00 Firebird nearly set a new E . T . record with his No . 1-qualified 3.894 and went a few rounds but ran out of steam in the semis .
PRO EXTREME MOTORCYCLE
CHRIS GARNER-JONES | ERIC MCKINNEY | BRAD MCCOY
Coming off his second Pro Extreme Motorcycle world championship , Chris Garner-Jones was motivated to start off strong on his T . T . Jones Racing Hayabusa . He qualified No . 1 and ran low E . T . of all three rounds . Unfortunately , he lost in the final on a holeshot when multi-time world champion Eric McKinney cut a . 010 light and ran a 4.045 to beat Garner-Jones ’ 4.016 . McKinney and teammate Ashley Owens are planning to run the full schedule again after a few part-time seasons . Brad McCoy , who tuned Meshal Al-Saber to multiple No . 1 qualifying efforts and a win last season , got back on his Q80 Racing / McCoy Motorsports Hayabusa , qualified No . 2 , and reached the semis .
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