Drag Illustrated Issue 194, May / June 2025 | Page 60

Special Section

BACK FOR ITS EIGHTH SEASON, THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST DIVES INTO SOME OF THE BIGGEST PERFORMANCES IN THE PROFESSIONAL CLASSES FROM EACH OF THE EIGHT RACES ON THE 2025 RED LINE OIL PDRA DRAG RACING SERIES. THIS EDITION, REPRESENTING PERFORMANCES FROM THE SEASON-OPENING SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT EAST COAST NATIONALS PRESENTED BY FUELTECH, APRIL 2-5, AT GALOT MOTORSPORTS PARK, 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. PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER

Elite Top Sportsman championship runner-up Tim Paap converted his nitrousfed Paap Auto Body’ 16 Corvette over to Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous trim over the offseason and immediately became a contender in the class. Tuned by Jeffrey Barker, Paap qualified No. 1 at GALOT and made it to the final round to face three-time world champion Tommy Franklin. Paap left first and ran a 3.651 to beat Franklin’ s 3.652 to win in his debut. In the first PDRA race for his new Musi-powered“ Jungle Rat 3.0”’ 69 Camaro, Franklin qualified No. 2 and ran a tick quicker than Paap all day until the final. Jackie Slone proved he’ s coming for his second career win, as he took his Musi-powered Slone Boys Racing’ 69 Camaro to the semis.

Melanie Salemi has had some memorable performances in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive at GALOT, but her win at this year’ s season opener might top them all. With husband Jon and brother-in-law Jim calling the shots, she qualified No. 1 out of 28 cars in Eddie Whelan’ s screw-blown Al-Lee Installations“ Purple Reign”’ 68 Firebird. Salemi then mowed through race day, setting low E. T. of every round, including a 3.622 paired with a. 001 light in the final round to defeat Johnny Camp’ s 3.628. Camp in his ProCharged“ Hells Bells”’ 69 Camaro qualified third and used quick lights and E. T. s to reach the final. Newly crowned WSOPM champ Steve King nearly went backto-back in Gene Pilot’ s screwblown“ Savage”’ 19 Corvette with a semifinal finish.

In just his third start in Liberty’ s Gears Pro Street presented by Menscer Motorsports, 2023 Super Street world champion Blake Denton put the nitrous combination on the map. Wheeling the Musi-powered“ Bonnie”’ 69 Camaro in tribute to Lizzy Musi, Denton qualified No. 1 and consistently improved on race day, ending with a 3.951 in the final round to claim his first win in the class. His opponent, Chris Tuten, suffered a fiery engine issue in his turbocharged’ 87 Mustang, stopping him before the finish line in his second consecutive final. Two-time world champion Tim Essick’ s ProCharged“ Brown Sugar”’ 18 Mustang looked like the car to beat on race day until Tuten used a holeshot and a 4.000 to beat his 3.977 in the semis.

No. 1 qualifiers ruled the day at the East Coast Nationals, and two-time and reigning AED Competition Extreme Pro Stock world champion Chris Powers kept that trend going. His Chuck Samueltuned Sonny’ s Racing Engines’ 21 Camaro was the only car in the 4.00s in qualifying, as well as the quickest of all three rounds. He fired off a 4.066 in the final alongside 2023 world champion Alan Drinkwater, who went red by. 003 seconds. Drinkwater, whose engine builder, Kaase Racing Engines, was the XPS presenting sponsor of the event, was consistent in his No. 3 qualified Flatout Gaskets’ 08 Mustang. North Carolina’ s own Jeremy Huffman is creeping up on his first win, as he qualified second and reached the semis in his 3V Performancepowered’ 10 Cobalt.

Walter Lannigan and Lexi Tanner had the two most evenly matched Pro 632 presented by PTC Torque Converters throughout the event. Lannigan, driving for Chris Holdorf in the Nelsonpowered Freedom Grow’ 10 GTO, qualified No. 2 and ran in the low 4.20s and high 4.10s on his way to the final round. There, he and Tanner cut identical. 054 lights before Lannigan won with a 4.166 to Tanner’ s 4.185. Tanner earned her first No. 1 qualifier award in her Musipowered“ Thunder”’ 16 Camaro before cutting a perfect light in round one and setting low E. T. of round two. Jeff Melnick, the 2023 world champion, was the quickest of E1 in the Barry Allen-powered Greenbrier Excavating & Paving’ 20 Camaro en route to a. 001 red light exit in the semis.

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