Motivated to improve on his semifinal holeshot loss at GALOT , Jim Halsey was firing on all eight cylinders at Virginia . The four-time world champion qualified No . 1 again , and while he was just a tick slower than Tommy Franklin throughout eliminations , he used a holeshot and a 3.628 in the final round to get the first win for his new car . Franklin qualified third in his Musi-powered “ Jungle Rat ” ’ 69 Camaro and set low E . T . of all four rounds , as well as low E . T . of the event , 3.613 , in the final . Scriba qualified No . 5 and managed another lateround finish , bowing out in the semis to Halsey . |
After GALOT finalists Todd Tutterow and Jason Harris went out in the first round , the door was open for drivers like Derek Ward to gain ground . Ward charged to a semifinal finish , but it was another WSOPM champion – 2023 winner Spencer Hyde – who picked up the win . It was Hyde ’ s first win in the class driving his screw-blown “ Jack & The Green Stock ” ’ 69 Camaro . He qualified No . 2 and set low E . T . of every round . He was . 004 off the record with a 3.559 in the semis , then beat Melanie Salemi in the final with a 3.577 . Salemi in her screw-blown Al-Lee Installations ’ 23 Camaro qualified No . 1 atop a record field . |
Johnny Pluchino is officially on a roll . He qualified No . 1 at Virginia for the second year in a row and beat 2021 world champion Chris Powers on a holeshot in round two to get a bye to the final . There , he won with a 4.029 over a redlighting Jeremy Huffman . Elijah Morton qualified second in his Allen-powered Cashion Fishing Rods ’ 19 Mustang , but it was his near-record 4.009 in the semis that got everyone ’ s attention . He was stopped by Huffman , who consistently improved his 3V Performance-powered ’ 10 Cobalt and beat Morton on a holeshot to advance to his third career final . |
Amber Franklin jumped to the No . 1 spot in Pro 632 qualifying for the second consecutive race and she stepped up her reaction times to match the car ’ s performance . She won a close 4.16-second race with rookie Chevy Floyd in the semis . Franklin ran a consistent 4.167 in the final , but it wasn ’ t enough to beat Doug Nicholl ’ s 4.155 , which was low E . T . of race day . Nicholl in his No . 6 qualified , Musi-powered ’ 68 Camaro used a 4.187 to beat Walter Lannigan Jr .’ s 4.181 on a holeshot in the semis . Lannigan was the No . 2 qualifier in Chris Holdorf ’ s Nelsonpowered ’ 10 GTO . |
New contenders were expected to emerge in Pro Street this year , and emerge they have . But class stalwart Tim Essick came out on top at Virginia , where he defeated newcomer Brian Weddle in the final round . Essick qualified No . 2 and uncorked low E . T . of eliminations , 3.912 , in the semis , then ran a 3.933 to beat Weddle ’ s 3.925 on a holeshot . Weddle was debuting his screw-blown ’ 68 Camaro , which ran in the low 3.90s in the last three of four rounds . Ethan Steding , a past Pro Jr . Dragster world champ , picked up his first No . 1 qualifier award in his roots-blown P2 Contracting ’ 24 Camaro . |
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