A second evening of heavy pop-up rain storms forced Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) officials to push Saturday eliminations for the PDRA Summer Nationals Ignited by Lithium Pros Batteries into Sunday. Racing will resume at 9 a.m. at South Georgia Motorsports Park to complete the all-eighth-mile series’ fourth of eight races.

“We were all worried about the heat when we came to South Georgia in June, but this time of year also comes with these pop-up showers and thunderstorms,” said Tyler Crossnoe, race director, PDRA. “We hate to push things to Sunday. We know it’s a long drive for a lot of people. But Sunday is our rain date at the PDRA and we’re going to have to utilize it. We explored other options, such as pushing it to the next race, but we feel this is the best decision for the series.”

The series was preparing to go into the first round of eliminations for its professional categories after starting racing in the sportsman classes. Efforts to dry the track were stopped twice, leading race officials to push racing into Sunday.

“We’ll start at 9 a.m. with Pro Boost and continue through the first round of the rest of the pro classes,” Crossnoe said. “We’ll run it as fast as we can and we’ll wrap up by early afternoon as long as everything runs smoothly. We want to get teams on the road as soon as possible.”

The professional class low qualifiers going into Sunday eliminations are Daniel Pharris in Moroso Pro Boost, Randy Weatherford in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous, John Montecalvo in Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock, Walter Lanningan Jr. in Schwing America Pro Outlaw 632 presented by East Side Auto Transport, and Eric McKinney in Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle.

Eliminations started in the PDRA’s sportsman classes: MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman, Top Sportsman 32, Lucas Oil Elite Top Dragster, Top Dragster 32, Coolshirt Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Knoxtown Products, Gilbert Motorsports Top Jr. Dragster and Edelbrock Bracket Bash.

Spectators who attended Saturday qualifying at the PDRA Summer Nationals can return for Sunday free of charge with a valid Saturday wristband. Otherwise, Sunday spectator passes will be available at the gate for $20.

Despite not qualifying for the eight-car field, Moroso Pro Boost driver John Strickland picked up the event win at the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Summer Nationals Ignited by Lithium Pros Batteries. Strickland was racing as an alternate at the South Georgia Motorsports Park event, which was completed Sunday afternoon.

Defending world champions Jason Harris (Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous), Steven Boone (Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock) and Johnny Pluchino (Schwing America Pro Outlaw 632 presented by East Side Auto Transport) also won, as well as three-time world champion Eric McKinney in Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle. Edmund Hall won the Classic Graphix Pro Mod Challenge.

Drivers earning event wins in the PDRA’s sportsman classes were Jackie Robison in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman, Chris Nyerges in Top Sportsman 32, Phillip Sexton in Lucas Oil Elite Top Dragster and Kimberly Messer in Top Dragster 32. Billy Townsend defeated Bill Roberts in the Edelbrock Bracket Bash final round.

In the Jr. Dragster classes, Parrish, Florida-based Lauren Sandrey went a 7.911 in the Coolshirt Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Knoxtown Products final round to defeat Carlisle, Pennsylvania’s Christopher Powers II, who narrowly broke out on the 7.90 dial-in with a 7.899. The Gilbert Motorsports Top Jr. Dragster win went to Alyssa Rabon in a double breakout final round, with Rabon going 9.097 on a 9.10 dial-in and Budd Trammell II running 7.896 on a 7.90 dial-in.

PRO BOOST

At various points in the weekend, John Strickland wasn’t sure he would even get to race in the eight-car Pro Boost field. First, he was bumped out of the field from the No. 2 spot in the second and final qualifying session. Then he was inserted into the field as an alternate for Terry Leggett, who walked away from a fiery incident in qualifying, but Strickland originally couldn’t stay for Sunday’s rain-delayed eliminations.

But he was able to shuffle around plans and his GALOT Motorsports team worked through their struggles to end up in the winner’s circle Sunday afternoon. In the final round, Strickland drove his ProCharger-boosted ‘69 Camaro to a 3.781 at 199.79 to eliminate Melanie Salemi and her 4.107 at 139.91.

“We’ve had some lucky breaks this weekend,” Strickland said. “We went from being the No. 2 qualifier to not being in the show. Due to Mr. Terry Leggett’s misfortune, we were able to get in. The car threw us all kinds of curveballs this morning and the crew’s done a great job overcoming the electrical problems and getting us here. As a driver, I did a good job up until the final round. I almost gave it away there, but it worked. A lot of luck played a big part in this all weekend.”

Strickland opened eliminations with a 3.759 at 200.44 over Tommy Gray, who was in the field as an alternate for No. 1 qualifier Daniel Pharris. Strickland stepped up to his weekend-best 3.742 at 200.14 over Maryland race winner Kris Thorne and his 3.851 at 211.76 in the semifinals.

Salemi in her roots-blown “Purple Reign” ’68 Firebird qualified No. 3 before using a 3.731 at 200.29 to dispatch defending world champion Tommy D’Aprile and his 4.147 at 139.30 in the first round. She then defeated Kevin Rivenbark’s 3.807 at 180.40 with a 3.755 at 199.55, preventing an all-GALOT Motorsports final round.

PRO NITROUS

Two-time and defending Pro Nitrous world champion Jason Harris used his consistent, A-to-B strategy to take the Boone-Harris Racing “Party Time” ‘69 Camaro to his first win of the season. Harris, who also went to the final round at the season opener, defeated fellow two-time world champion Tommy Franklin in the final round. Harris left the starting line first by five thousandths and rode out a safe 3.936 at 188.70 alongside Franklin, who broke traction and slowed to a 4.639 at 118.04.

“We came into race day and we had been struggling with the hot weather conditions,” Harris said. “We lost our back-half performance and we’ve been chasing these guys running 207 mph out the back. I’m a good player at 201, 202 (mph). Then we found our 60-foot performance again, so it all came together. Then it became a tuner’s game. We really wanted to get down the track. Tommy had the car to beat all weekend. You just had to be smart and play the game, and that’s what we did. I can’t thank the Boone family enough for sticking with me, as well as Hoosier Racing Tires, VP Racing Fuels and Walker Auto Parts. It just feels good to put this Party Time car back in the winner’s circle.”

Harris qualified No. 4 in his Musi-powered Camaro and started eliminations with a 3.722-to-3.75 win over Johnny Camp. He ran a 3.736 at 202.12 to defeat Jay Cox, who was in the race as an alternate for No. 1 qualified Randy Weatherford.

Franklin raced to the final in his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ‘69 Camaro after recording the two quickest passes of the event. His opening-round 3.653 at 207.94 defeated Lizzy Musi’s 3.70 at 207.18 and his 3.685 at 207.27 eliminated points leader Jim Halsey and his 3.732 at 204.23.

EXTREME PRO STOCK

A tight field of eight Extreme Pro Stock drivers entered Sunday eliminations knowing they’d need to grab every advantage they could get as the naturally aspirated Mountain Motor Pro Stock cars battled muggy South Georgia conditions.

Defending world champion Steven Boone happened to race three drivers who reached too far for a starting-line advantage, as each of his opponents turned on the red light, allowing Boone to take his admittedly “wounded” Boone Motorsports ’07 Cobalt to his first win of the season. Boone recorded a 4.223 at 173.03 in the final round, while John Montecalvo let off the throttle after going red.

“We had a rabbit’s foot this weekend, I’ll be honest,” Boone said. “It was a little tricky on that (final round) pass. But I’m tickled to death. It’s been since last year since we were in a final. Like I said, luck was on our side today. This win is really going to help us in the points. We didn’t qualify for the very first race this year since we had ignition issues. We’re doing our best to defend that No. 1 because we want to wear that again next year.”

Boone ran his best pass of the event, a 4.144 at 174.30, next to Johnny Pluchino’s 4.191 at 174.75 in the first round. He slowed to a 6.078 at 78.70 after Chris Powers red-lit away a 4.123 at 175.80 in the semifinals.

Montecalvo’s Tommy Lee-tuned ’18 Camaro was the quickest car of the weekend, qualifying No. 1 and posting a 4.103 at 176.53 over Jeff Dobbins’ 4.118 at 176.77 in the opening round. A 4.128 at 175.98 followed in the semifinals, beating out Elijah Morton for the second final-round spot.

PRO OUTLAW 632

Defending world champion Johnny Pluchino was given a 50-pound weight penalty going into the Summer Nationals, which fueled the outspoken New York native to fight for his third Pro Outlaw 632 victory of the season. He was successful in his mission, using a holeshot advantage and a 4.322 at 164.27 in car owner Dominic Addeo’s Strutmasters.com ’06 Ford Escort to take down Chris Holdorf’s 4.306 at 166.68 in his nitrous-assisted ’53 Corvette in the final round.

“I don’t know if there’s any win sweeter than this one,” Pluchino said. “We weren’t the quickest car here today, but we got down a hot racetrack in bad conditions. We’re in Georgia with a naturally aspirated car and we’re fighting nitrous guys, so we were really at a disadvantage this weekend. My dad and my guys pulled through and we got a holeshot win in the final. I’m just glad to get another win for Chip Lofton and everyone at Strutmasters.com.”

Pluchino qualified No. 2 and started eliminations with a 4.313 victory over rival and 2017 world champion Dillon Voss. The second-generation driver stepped up in an incredible semifinal pairing, which saw Pluchino win by just one thousandth with a 4.285 at 166.09 over Wes Distefano’s 4.288 at 171.84.

Clermont, Florida’s Holdorf raced out of the No. 4 spot and used a 4.278 at 167.41 to defeat fellow Floridian Mike Oldham and his 4.597 at 164.31. Holdorf was set to face teammate Walter Lannigan Jr. in the semifinal, but his nearly identical ’53 Corvette broke before staging. Holdorf went on to run a 4.293 at 166.85 on the single pass.

PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE

Three-time Pro Extreme Motorcycle world champion Eric McKinney didn’t receive the message that South Georgia in mid-summer is not the right time or place to record career-best, world-record-setting numbers. The Ohio rider left Valdosta with the low qualifier award, a new career-best ET (3.977), a new world record for speed (179.92) and the event win. He left on 2017 world champion Travis Davis in the final round, riding his McKinney Motorsports Hayabusa to a 4.056 at 178.33 next to Davis’ 4.279 at 142.22.

“Being back in the winner’s circle is the best feeling ever,” McKinney said. “I couldn’t have done it without my team, and especially my teammate/tuner (Ashley Owens) letting me ride his bike until we sorted out the bugs on mine. The whole weekend was awesome other than the rain. My whole team worked their tails off in between rounds because of the crazy ‘round robin’ eliminations. The competition is so tight – you’ve got to be on your game 100 percent, so to win is just awesome.”

McKinney’s 3.977 at 179.92 over Mike Corley was the stunner of the weekend. He continued the performance in the second round, laying down a 3.98 at 178.38 to beat Tommy Saxon. He nearly matched his qualifying performance to the thousandth with a 4.032 at 178.59 in the semifinals next to Owens’ 4.178 at 168.94.

To earn his way into the final round, Davis started with a 4.07 at 176.70 to defeat Lance Hines’ 4.322 at 170.99. A pair of holeshot wins followed. First, a 4.05 at 177.60 to beat championship contender Chris Garner-Jones’s 4.014 at 174.84, then a 4.095 at 173.18 next to defending world champion Ronnie “Pro Mod” Smith’s 4.058 at 174.39.

TOP SPORTSMAN

The Elite Top Sportsman final round featured Southeast hitters Jackie Robison and Bruce Duncan squaring off in a pair of classic Chevrolets. Robison left first and turned on the win light in his ’66 Nova, running 4.386 on his 4.37 dial-in. Duncan ran a 4.334 on his 4.25 dial-in in his ’68 Camaro. Robison defeated Ken Ellison, Glen Teets III and Mike Corbin before the final round, while Duncan eliminated PDRA regulars Randy Perkinson, Derrick Brown, Scott Moore.

Ohio’s Chris Nyerges made his long drive pay off when he picked up the Top Sportsman 32 win in his 2000 Firebird. He ran a 4.502 on a 4.48 dial-in, besting Hickory, North Carolina’s Jeff Pittman and his 4.358 on a 4.32 dial-in in his ’68 Chevelle.

TOP DRAGSTER

Going into the Elite Top Dragster final round, it was a given that the PDRA “660 Man” trophy would stay in the Southeast. Hampton, Georgia’s Phillip Sexton kept it in the Peach State, wheeling his ’17 M&M dragster to a 4.124 on a 4.11 dial-in alongside Ocala, Florida’s Brian Bednar. Bednar went red in his supercharged ’09 Spitzer dragster. Sexton first raced past Nick Hamilton, Angie Travis and Kellan Farmer, while Bednar’s prior round wins came over 2016 world champion Justin Kirk, Bill Earnst and Maryland winner Camrie Caruso.

Jr. Dragster graduate Kimberly Messer continued her strong rookie season in Top Dragster 32 with her second victory in her ’16 Racetech dragster. She used a 4.67 on a 4.66 dial-in in the final round to turn on the win light, while Mandy Teets-Seal broke out with a 4.509 on a 4.51 dial-in.

The 2019 PDRA Tour will continue July 18-20 at the inaugural PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Callies at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio.

Sometimes it’s just not your weekend, which seemed to sum things up for Musi Racing at the rain-soaked Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Summer Nationals Ignited by Lithium Batteries at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

Despite a strong run of 3.700-seconds at 207.18 mph in the Frank Brandao-owned Edelbrock/Lucas Oil “King Kong 7” 2018 Dodge Dart, Lizzy Musi fell in a close first-round matchup in Pro Nitrous against Tommy Franklin. He went 3.653 at 207.94, which was the quickest run of a race that stretched to three days because of inclement weather.

After qualifying seventh with a 3.845 at 203.74, Musi and the rest of the field raced in more ideal conditions during eliminations on Sunday. Musi’s run would have topped anyone else during first-round action and all but one other run of eliminations, but it wasn’t enough against Franklin as she fell to sixth in points.

It also snapped her streak of three straight final round visits – counting her back-to-back wins in Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings – but Pat Musi remains confident.

“It just wasn’t our weekend,” Pat Musi said. “We had the second-quickest run of the round and third-quickest of eliminations, but we ran against the driver who made the quickest run of the weekend. That’s just the way it goes sometimes, but hopefully things will start to swing in our favor. It just shows you how important it is to qualify well and we weren’t that far off, either. We’re still very confident in the car and this team, and we’ll come back firing at the next one.”

The good news is Musi won’t have to wait long to get back on track. She’ll get back behind the wheel of her Edelbrock-equipped “Aftershock” Camaro on July 12 as part of the No Prep Kings stop at Firebird Raceway in Eagle, Idaho.

A week later, Musi returns to PDRA action at the inaugural PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Callies, July 18-20 at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio. It is the fifth of eight races during the 2019 PDRA season and a two-month break follows the event, putting a premium on performing well. But despite racing two straight weekends in two different cars, Pat Musi knows the team is plenty capable of sweeping both races.

“We have two good, fast cars and we’re still very confident that a PDRA win is coming soon,” Pat Musi said. “Hopefully we can get everything to go our way at the next one, but we definitely have a car that can run at the top. It’s going to be tough racing back-to-back weekends in two separate cars, but Lizzy has proven she can adjust to each one pretty quickly and she’s done a great job driving both cars. We’ll be ready to go.”

Pat Musi Racing Engines continued their impressive reign over the Pro Nitrous class in the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA), summed up by their customers’ dominant performances at last weekend’s PDRA Summer Nationals Ignited by Lithium Pro Batteries at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

Pro Nitrous finalists Jason Harris and Tommy Franklin are both Pat Musi Racing Engines customers, and each showcased Musi power as they reached the final round in Valdosta. Harris, the defending world champion, took the win in the Boone Racing entry against Franklin in what was a challenging weekend for all competitors.

In his runner-up effort, Franklin put together a strong day in eliminations, posting a stunning 3.653 elapsed time at 207.94 MPH in the first round, a run that was the quickest of the weekend. He provided the second-best run of the event a round later with his pass of 3.685 at 207.27 MPH.

Tommy Franklin

“As a business, it’s exciting to see our customers have the kind of success they did in Valdosta,” Pat Musi said. “It’s a tribute to the great teams we work with and it’s rewarding to see our engines help these drivers achieve incredible runs. Tommy had a number of standout runs, and Jason was consistent all day, so it was great to have both of them meet in the final round.”

It was Harris’ first win of the 2019 PDRA season and the two-time world champ currently sits second in points, while Franklin will look for his first win in 2019 at the upcoming inaugural PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Callies, July 18-20 at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio. It is the fifth of eight races during the 2019 PDRA season, and Franklin is currently third in points on the strength of two final-round appearances.

Coupled with Lizzy Musi’s recent No. 1 qualifier and runner-up appearance, Pat Musi Racing Engines are set for a strong finish in Pro Nitrous.

“These summer races are usually a little trickier, but our engines have shown they can run fast and perform well in any weather condition,” Musi said. “Hopefully we can keep this stretch going and help put our customers in position to win these last four PDRA races this season.”

Racers in the Professional Drag Racers Association’s Schwing America Pro Outlaw 632 class will have the chance to race for big money without the pressure of a points race at the upcoming PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Callies Performance, July 18-20 at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio. The Pro Outlaw 632 Shootout presented by $hameless Racing will pay $7,500 to the winner, marking the largest purse in class history.

“The Pro Outlaw 632 class has really taken off over the last few years,” said Tyler Crossnoe, race director, PDRA. “The Northern Nationals wasn’t originally on the schedule for the class, so it was a big deal for everyone involved when Wes Distefano and $hameless Racing came on board to put together this big-money shootout to run during our northernmost event.”

Distefano, who joined the PDRA tour this season with his Musi-powered ’68 Camaro, is second in Schwing America Pro Outlaw 632 points after runner-up finishes at the East Coast Nationals and the North-South Shootout. He previously raced in Outlaw 632 at his home track, Milan Dragway, near Detroit.

“I had two goals when I came up with this race: I wanted a race close to home and I wanted to help grow the class,” Distefano said. “I’ve really enjoyed running with the PDRA this year, I’m impressed with the organization and I’d like to run more races with them next year.”

The winner of the “$hameless Shootout” will receive $7,500, with the runner-up taking home $1,500. Semifinalists get $750, quarterfinalists get $500 and first-round losers get $250. The payout structure is based on a 16-car field, and the entry fee is $250.

“We’ve seen such a strong showing of support for the Pro Outlaw 632 class this year,” said Will Smith, marketing director, PDRA. “With Schwing America and presenting sponsors Precision Chassis and East Side Auto Transport, and now $hameless Racing, the class just continues to grow by leaps and bounds.”

“I’ve seen the growth of the 632 class, and I think anyone who follows drag racing sees it as an up-and-coming class,” Distefano added. “I’m just excited to continue growing the class and the sport.”

Racers competing in the Pro Outlaw 632 Shootout presented by $hameless Racing will have the opportunity to test during the PDRA’s open test session on Thursday, June 18 at Dragway 42. Competitors will get three qualifying sessions on Friday, followed by eliminations Saturday afternoon.

As the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) enters the second half of its 2019 Road to the Finals schedule, championship points leaders in the three headlining professional classes carry a narrow lead into the PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Callies Performance, July 18-20 at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio.

“I love updating points because I get to look at how many great racers we have that are coming to race with us every race,” said Tyler Crossnoe, race director, PDRA. “The pro classes are incredibly tight, then you look at the sportsman side and they’re as tight, if not tighter. Going into the second half of the season, this is a very important race.”

Jim Halsey (Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous) and Jeff Dobbins (Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock) lead the points by less than one round, while Moroso Pro Boost defending world champion Tommy D’Aprile leads by less than two rounds.

All three drivers will try to pad their leads with strong performances at Dragway 42, a new track for the all-eighth-mile drag racing series.

“[Track owner] Ron Matcham and his team have put a ton of work into rebuilding Dragway 42,” Crossnoe said. “Everyone here at the PDRA is excited to hold a race there. We had a large car count at our Ohio race last year, but we had a really bad forecast and had to cancel the event. We know that Ohio market is strong and there are a lot of cars in the area that might not be able to make the pull to some of our southern races. We’ve had a lot of messages from new entries and fans excited about us coming to Ohio.”

D’Aprile, the Pro Boost defending world champion, leads the charge in tuner Al Billes’ roots-blown ’69 Camaro after a win at the North-South Shootout at Maryland and runner-up finishes at the East Coast Nationals at GALOT and the Mid-Atlantic Showdown at Virginia. Kevin Rivenbark in the ProCharger-boosted GALOT Motorsports ’69 Camaro follows by less than two rounds with his win at GALOT. Maryland winner Kris Thorne follows Rivenbark by less than two rounds in his turbocharged ’17 Corvette.

Jim Halsey

Halsey won the first two Pro Nitrous races of the season, GALOT and Virginia, in his Brandon Switzer-tuned, Fulton-powered ’68 Camaro, but he leads the points by just under one round of racing. The same consistency Jason Harris used to win the 2014 and 2018 world championships has helped him and the Musi-powered “Party Time” ’69 Camaro hold the No. 2 spot in points after a runner-up finish at GALOT and a win at the Summer Nationals at South Georgia. Two-time world champion Tommy Franklin in his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro trails Harris by less than two rounds, while Jay Cox, Chris Rini and Lizzy Musi are within striking distance of the top three.

The closest points battle is thriving in Extreme Pro Stock, where the top four are separated by less than half a round. Virginia winner Jeff Dobbins leads the pack in his Bear’s Performance ’14 Dodge Avenger, followed by defending world champion and South Georgia winner Steven Boone in the Boone Motorsports ’07 Chevy Cobalt. Todd Hoerner is third with his win at Maryland and runner-up at GALOT in the Sonny’s Racing Engines ’14 Camaro. Runner-up finishes at Maryland and South Georgia put John Montecalvo and his Tommy Lee-tuned ’18 Camaro in the fourth spot. GALOT winner John Pluchino bowed out of the championship battle when he handed over the seat of his Strutmasters.com ’13 Mustang to his son, Johnny.

While racers in Schwing America Pro Outlaw 632 presented by Precision Chassis and East Side Auto Transport have the weekend off from a championship points standpoint, select drivers in the class will race at the Northern Nationals in the Pro Outlaw 632 Shootout presented by $hameless Racing. The one-off shootout will offer the largest payout in Pro Outlaw 632 history, paying $7,500 to the winner.

“We definitely want to thank Wes Distefano and $hameless Racing for coming on board as one of our newest sponsors,” Crossnoe said. “We’re proud to have the ‘$hameless Shootout’ at a PDRA race. It’s not a points race, but it will be a big-time bragging rights race. Maybe we’ll pick up a few northern racers who will want to come run the last few races with us and plan toward 2020.”

Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle will also sit out the Northern Nationals. The PDRA’s two-wheeled class will rejoin the series at the PDRA Drag Wars VI presented by Pro Line Racing, Sept. 6-7 at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, N.C.

In addition to the professional classes, the Northern Nationals will feature sportsman racing in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman, Lucas Oil Top Dragster and Edelbrock Bracket Bash. The rising stars of the PDRA will compete in Coolshirt Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Knoxtown Products and Gilbert Motorsports Top Jr. Dragster. The event will also include KB Trailer Sales Outlaw Dragster, a local heads-up class.

The PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Callies Performance will kick off with testing from noon to 9 p.m. Thursday. Friday qualifying will begin with the driver’s meeting at 9:30 a.m., followed by the first sportsman qualifying session at 10 a.m. Friday Night Fire with back-to-back pro qualifying sessions begins at 6 p.m. Sportsman final qualifying starts Saturday at 10 a.m., with professional eliminations slated to start at 4 p.m. A full event schedule is available at www.pdra660.com.

Tickets to the PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Callies Performance are available for $15 for Thursday testing, $20 for Friday qualifying and $25 for Saturday eliminations. An event pass, good for all three days, is available for $50. Children 12 and under get in free. Tickets are available at the gate or online at www.pdra660.com.

The most competitive battle in Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Nitrous Wars history is heating up in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous after the first four of eight races. The special competition for engine builders, where drivers earn points for their power supplier by qualifying No. 1, is currently led by Pat Musi Racing Engines, with Fulton Competition Race Engines and Buck Racing Engines tied for second.

Musi, who’s dominated the Nitrous Wars competition with three championships since the program started in 2016, has two points with No. 1 qualifying efforts by Lizzy Musi and Randy Weatherford. Gene Fulton’s Fulton Competition Race Engines has one point courtesy of points leader Jim Halsey, while Charlie Buck and Buck Racing Engines have one point with Jay Cox. Albert Racing Engines, Sonny’s Racing Engines and Reher-Morrison are also competing in Nitrous Wars.

“It’s always cool to see the difference between the engine builders,” said Tyler Crossnoe, race director, PDRA. “Pro Nitrous was really a battle of engine builders in the early days of the class and it created a lot of drama and excitement. It’s starting to become that again as Gene’s come back into play and Charlie Buck’s running better than he ever has with Jay Cox and Chris Rini and all his other customers. Then you have Pat, who’s been at the front for a while. The other guys have been chasing the target on his back, and it’s going to be exciting to see how the rest of the season plays out.”

Lizzy Musi recorded a 3.65 at 207.02 in Frank Brandao’s “King Kong 7” ’18 Dodge Dart at the Mid-Atlantic Showdown presented by Modern Racing at Virginia, while Weatherford topped the field at the Summer Nationals Ignited by Lithium Pros at South Georgia with a 3.78 at 200.08 in his WS Construction ’69 Camaro. Halsey’s Brandon Switzer-tuned ’69 Camaro ran a 3.686 at 205.60 to qualify No. 1 at the North-South Shootout presented by Line-X. Cox started the season in the No. 1 spot with a 3.648 at 206.04 in “The Pumpkin” ’69 Camaro at the East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech at GALOT.

Pro Nitrous racers earn a Nitrous Wars point for their engine builder whenever they qualify No. 1 at each of the PDRA’s eight races. The No. 1 qualifier at each race also receives the PDRA Nitrous Wars nitrous bottle, a trophy continuously handed off to the next low qualifier as the season progresses. The trophy – and bragging rights – are ultimately awarded to the Nitrous Wars champion at the end of the season. 

Visit www.pdra660.com to keep up with the PDRA Nitrous Wars as the season progresses.

WEST SALEM, OH — In a year filled with challenging weather conditions on the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) circuit, Lizzy Musi and the Musi Racing team will face that challenge once again, as sweltering heat is expected at this weekend’s Inaugural Northern Nationals at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio.

Pat Musi promises they won’t be holding anything back in the Frank Brandao-owned Edelbrock/Lucas Oil “King Kong 7” 2018 Dodge Dart. In fact, he may turn things up even more on the Pro Nitrous car as Lizzy seeks her first win of the 2019 PDRA season.

“We’ve had some bad breaks this year, but I’m throwing the kitchen sink at it now,” Pat Musi said. “Whoever gets beside the Dart better be ready. There’s no babying around, we’re going to go for the throat now. Lizzy deserves a win and has raced well enough to get one, so we’re going to be on it now.”

With four races left, Musi is determined to end the PDRA season on a good note. Lizzy, who is sixth in points, has been close, qualifying No. 1, advancing to a final round and making one of the quickest runs in a losing effort at the last race in Georgia, but that first Pro Nitrous win of the season has just escaped her.

Musi has more than made up for it on Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings, picking up her third straight win in the Edelbrock-equipped “Aftershock” Camaro last weekend in Eagle, Idaho. Pat Musi continues to be impressed with the way the team has performed despite the spotlight getting bigger with each victory.

“I’ve had a target on my back throughout my racing career, and it’s just something you have to get used to,” Musi said. “These guys want to throw everything at you, and you have to know that and be able to respond to it. We’ve just raced the racetrack and Lizzy has done a great job.”

She’ll try to make it wins in back-to-back weekends to keep her standout 2019 season going. The No Prep Kings victories have done plenty for team morale and excitement, while the busy schedule keeps Lizzy on top of her game. It’s a frenetic pace and the Musi Racing team will have to deal with extremely hot temperatures over the weekend, but Pat Musi remains confident in their chances.

Chad Green, who uses a Pat Musi engine in his nitrous-powered car on the NHRA Pro Mod scene, made a number of runs in the 3.60s last weekend in Texas in his 1/8-mile-specific C7 Corvette, giving Lizzy plenty of hot-weather data heading to her first appearance at Dragway 42 in Ohio.

“We’ve been working on stuff and we’ve got a lot of warm-weather data now,” Musi said. “We tried some stuff in Texas on Chad’s car that seemed to work, and we’re confident. We’ve got a really good team right now with a bunch of great people, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what we can do this weekend.”

Friday qualifying at the PDRA Northern Nationals will begin with the first sportsman qualifying session at 10 a.m. Friday Night Fire with back-to-back pro qualifying sessions begins at 6 p.m. Sportsman final qualifying starts Saturday at 10 a.m., with professional eliminations slated to start at 4 p.m.

Two-time world champion Tommy Franklin topped the Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous field by just two ten-thousandths of a second Friday night at the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Northern Nationals presented by Callies Performance at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio. Franklin tripped the eighth-mile clocks with a 3.702-second pass at 205.10 mph in his “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro.

Kris Thorne (Moroso Pro Boost) and John Montecalvo (Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock) also qualified No. 1 in the other professional classes. Walter Lanningan qualified No. 1 for the Pro Outlaw 632 Shootout presented by $hameless Racing, a special non-points race.

In the PDRA’s sportsman categories, Aaron Glaser leads MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman and Jody Stroud tops Lucas Oil Elite Top Dragster going into their third and final qualifying session Saturday morning.

PRO NITROUS

With an Accutime timing system that reads out to the ten-thousandth of a second, the No. 1 spot in Pro Nitrous was decided by just two ten-thousandths as Tommy Franklin’s 3.7023 in the Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro edged out points leader Jim Halsey’s 3.7025 in his Fulton-powered ’69 Camaro. The final session saw 10 of the 15 competitors run in the 3.70s, making Franklin’s accomplishment that much sweeter.

“I think it’s obvious that there are a lot of good players out here, but we’re after ourselves,” Franklin said. “This championship is out there and we want to go after it. We’re just trying to race smart and do our thing. We’ve got good power. The Musi power has been really good. Hat’s off to everybody out here. The teams are so good. This has to be the best class in racing right now. I love it. The competition just drives us to go a little bit faster.”

Franklin will have a first-round bye run Saturday morning. Halsey’s 3.7025 came with a 204.27 trap speed and the No. 2 spot. Jay Cox in the Buck-powered Butner Construction “Pumpkin” ’69 Camaro qualified No. 3 with a 3.713 at 204.08.

PRO BOOST

Kris Thorne wasn’t sweating the hot conditions in his Mikey Rees-tuned ’16 Corvette. The Florida native laid down a 3.733 at 213.78 in the twin-turbocharged, Pro Line Racing-powered entry during the third qualifying session, capping off a string of runs in the 3.70s. Thorne will start eliminations from the No. 1 spot for the third consecutive race.

“Everywhere we’ve ran well has been in the heat,” Thorne said. “We’ve actually kind of struggled with making more power in the cooler weather. We’ve always been really competitive and on our game in the heat. It’s actually where we shine. We’ve had a lot of heat this year, so the weather’s been on our side. With the twin-turbo power from Pro Line, everything’s really been working well for us.”

Thorne’s first-round opponent will be Pat Moore in former Cleveland Cavaliers player Larry Nance’s ProCharger-boosted ’68 Camaro. Kevin Rivenbark qualified No. 2 with a 3.754 at 197.89 in the ProCharged GALOT Motorsports ’69 Camaro, followed by the similarly ProCharger-equipped Coast Packing ’69 Camaro of Eric Gustafson with a 3.788 at 197.63.

EXTREME PRO STOCK

The ultra-competitive Extreme Pro Stock group showed off during Friday’s night session, as a trio of drivers recorded 4.15s to lead the eight-car field. Class veteran John Montecalvo was the quickest of the three with a 4.150 at 173.28 in his Tommy Lee-tuned ’18 Camaro. It was exactly what the New York driver needed as he chases the world championship from the No. 4 spot in points.

“It’s really been tough over here,” Montecalvo said. “It’s incredible that there were three .15s out there. We’re coming off a No. 1 and runner-up finish at Valdosta, the last race, so we have a bit of momentum going. Elijah [Morton] is running great, Chris [Powers] pulled one out, so I really didn’t know if our .15 was going to hold up. It’s really tough over here and it’s getting tougher every day. We really needed those qualifying points. I’ve lost the championship by 12 points before and that was basically on qualifying points, so now every position counts.”

Montecalvo and his Sonny’s-powered Camaro will take on Johnny Pluchino in the Strutmasters.com ’13 Ford Mustang to start Saturday eliminations. Powers qualified No. 2 with a 4.151 at 173.14 in the Sonny’s-powered ATI Performance Products ’14 Camaro. Rounding out the top 3 is Morton and his 4.157 at 173.68 in the Allen-powered Morton Brothers Motorsports ’18 Mustang.

PRO OUTLAW 632

While the Northern Nationals is an off-weekend for the Schwing America Pro Outlaw 632 presented by Precision Chassis and East Side Auto Transport class, eight drivers made the trip to Dragway 42 to compete in the $7,500-to-win Pro Outlaw 632 Shootout presented by $hameless Racing.

Walter Lanningan Jr. in his nitrous-assisted, Nelson-powered ’53 Corvette qualified No. 1 for the $hameless Shootout, posting a 4.317 at 165.87. Wes Distefano grabbed the No. 2 spot in his nitrous-assisted, Musi-powered $hameless Racing ’68 Camaro with a 4.329 at 166.79. Tony Gillig represented for the naturally aspirated crowd, running a 4.397 at 160.26 in his Madcap-powered Gillig-Wagner Motorsports ’96 Oldsmobile Cutlass.

TOP SPORTSMAN

A trio of nitrous-assisted entries raced to the top of the qualifying order in Elite Top Sportsman. Aaron Glaser is the provisional low qualifier with his 4.012 at 184.73 in the “2Face” ’69 Camaro, followed by Gary Grahner in his ’63 Corvette with a 4.043 at 184.50. Travis “The Carolina Kid” Harvey, who won this month’s Big Dog Shootout at Piedmont Dragway in North Carolina Thursday night, ended up third in his’14 Camaro after running a 4.044 at 177.30.

TOP DRAGSTER

Supercharged race cars ruled a packed field of Elite Top Dragster entries, with Jody Stroud steering his “Zombie” Spitzer dragster to a 3.773 at 195.06 to take the provisional No. 1 spot. Florida’s Brian Bednar took the No. 2 spot with a 3.821 at 189.95 in his FTI Racing Spitzer dragster. Kyle Harris in his ’32 Bantam Altered currently holds the No. 3 spot with a 3.905 at 187.73.

The PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Callies Performance at Dragway 42 will continue Saturday morning beginning with Edelbrock Bracket Bash time trials at 10 a.m. Professional class eliminations are slated to begin at 4 p.m.

The No. 1 qualifiers in all three professional classes parlayed their qualifying success into event victories Saturday evening at the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Northern Nationals presented by Callies Performance at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio. Kris Thorne (Moroso Pro Boost), Tommy Franklin (Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous) and John Montecalvo (Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock) left the northern Ohio facility with trophies.

Walter Lannigan Jr. earned the largest payday in Pro Outlaw 632 history, as he won the special non-points Pro Outlaw 632 Shootout presented by $hameless Racing. The win came with a $7,500 prize.

Also earning the Northern Nationals “660 Man” trophies in the sportsman classes were Glenn Butcher in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman, Zack Fisher in Lucas Oil Elite Top Dragster, Buddy Perkinson in Top Sportsman 32 and Noah Johnson in Top Dragster 32. Joe Soucek Jr. won the Edelbrock Bracket Bash competition.

In Coolshirt Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Knoxtown Products, Melanie Sheets left the starting line first and went 7.994 to defeat Makala Stevens’ breakout 7.899, both a 7.90 dial-in. Connor Shields scored the Gilbert Motorsports Top Jr. Dragster win when he ran 8.111 on an 8.13 dial-in alongside Gabe Milligan, who red-lighted and went 8.348 on an 8.29 dial-in.

PRO BOOST

Pro Boost rookie Kris Thorne survived a bizarre first round and outlasted the largest Pro Boost field of the season to earn his second career victory in his Mikey Rees-tuned ’16 Corvette. It was an all-Pro Line Racing final round, as Thorne wheeled his twin-turbocharged ‘Vette to a 3.716 at 212.36 to take out Kevin Rivenbark and his 3.718 at 199.73 in the ProCharger-boosted GALOT Motorsports ’69 Camaro. The margin of victory was nine thousandths of a second.

“I knew it was going to be close with Steve (Petty) on the keyboard over there,” Thorne said. “It was tight down there. It was definitely a good race. I’m happy those folks put up the fight they did. I’m super-blessed to be out here and have a hot rod that can take out folks like that. This Jerry Bickel race car and Pro Line power, it’s a win-win combination.”

After defeating Pat Moore with a 3.83 at 212.06 in the opening round, Thorne was a star on the starting line. He used a .001 light and 3.776 at 211.67 to beat Chuck Ulsch, then a .009 bulb and 3.74 at 213.07 to defeat GALOT Motorsports driver John Strickland and his 3.77 at 195.48, preventing an all-GALOT final round.

For his spot in the final round, Rivenbark steadily improved from the No. 2 qualifying spot, first running a 3.833 at 195.91 over Matt Hutter and his 4.092 at 176.82. He stepped up to a 3.794 at 197.11 over James Beadling’s 3.835 at 195.57, then tuner Petty turned it up again with a 3.771 at 197.72 to eliminate Mike Yedgarian’s hard-charging turbocharged entry in the semifinals.

PRO NITROUS

The two most evenly paired Pro Nitrous competitors in qualifying met in the final round, as two-time world champion and No. 1 qualifier Tommy Franklin squared off against points leader Jim Halsey. The two drivers were separated by just two ten-thousandths of a second in qualifying, but it was Franklin all the way in the final round. He grabbed a .007 starting-line advantage in the Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro and pulled away with a 3.69 at 204.36 to Halsey’s 3.739 at 194.22 in his Fulton-powered ’68 Camaro.

“Halsey’s had my number for a while now,” Franklin said. “I was able to get him second round at Valdosta then get him here in the final round. When you get somebody that’s got your number all the time, it feels good to start getting back after it. But they’re great racers and a great team over there. We were both even on the tree. It was just a heck of a race. You can’t leave anything on the table with them, that’s for sure. I just thank the Lord for the opportunity to get the win.”

Franklin broke traction on his first-round bye run, but he quickly found the sweet spot for his Bickel-built Camaro. He ran a 3.773 at 203.62 over Todd Fontana’s 3.831 at 196.85, but a stout 3.715 at 203.80 next to Chris Rini’s 3.744 at 201.07 set the tone for the final round.

Halsey in his Brandon Switzer-tuned Camaro used a pair of 3.77s to first defeat John Vergotz and Ron Muenks. The nitrous Pro Modified veteran moved on to the final round with an unopposed 3.713 at 203.34 after defending world champion Jason Harris broke on the starting line.

EXTREME PRO STOCK

Mountain Motor Pro Stock veteran John Montecalvo entered the Northern Nationals with an intense focus on gaining ground on the leading Extreme Pro Stock competitors in the championship points standings. He jumped right to the top after qualifying No. 1 and securing his first win of the season in his third consecutive final round. Montecalvo used a holeshot and 4.151 at 172.81 in his Sonny’s-powered ’18 Camaro to defeat Elijah Morton and his 4.135 at 174.28 in the final round.

“I knew Elijah was gonna go fast,” Montecalvo said. “He’s had a good car all weekend. Elijah can definitely drive that thing. I figured he was going to play a little bit of a game up there (on the starting line) because he likes to do that, especially against me. We’re good buddies. I expected something, but you never know what’s going to happen. I was happy to get the holeshot on him because he’s really good on the tree and he has a fast car. The problem is once I was out I got over towards the wall. I hit second gear, the car spun the tire, shoved me over against the wall. I really probably should’ve let off, but it’s very hard to let off when you’re ahead. I didn’t see Elijah anywhere, so I pedaled it a bit, got back in it and got to the stripe first.”

Montecalvo and tuner Tommy Lee were each consistently strong in their respective roles through eliminations, running a 4.178 at 173.48 to defeat rookie Johnny Pluchino and his 4.195 at 173.14 in the opening round. A 4.172 at 172.94 followed in the semifinals, besting JR Carr’s 4.213 at 173.34.

Morton was also consistent in his Allen-powered Morton Brothers Motorsports ’18 Mustang, first posting a 4.182 at 172.74 over Jeff Dobbins and his 4.69 at 132.47. Morton was quicker than semifinal opponent Chris Powers on the starting line and at the finish line with his 4.194 at 172.41 alongside Powers’ 4.198 at 170.97.

PRO OUTLAW 632

The Summer Nationals was a planned weekend off for the Pro Outlaw 632 teams, but championship contender Wes Distefano and his Michigan-based $hameless Racing team put up money for a Pro Outlaw 632 Shootout worth $7,500 and bragging rights. Walter Lannigan Jr. picked up the win in a double-red-light final round, with his C&C Pumping ’53 Corvette leaving .007 too soon, but .002 after opponent Tony Gillig left the starting line early. Lannigan ran a 4.294 at 166.48, while Gillig posted a 4.359 at 161.06.

“I feel great,” Lannigan said. “I want to thank Chris Holdorf and Ms. Leslie Holdorf from C&C Pumping for giving me the chance to do this and giving us the equipment to do it. I’d like to thank $hameless Racing for hosting it and giving us a place to race today with PDRA. I want to thank my guys. I didn’t think we would be here today. All the 632 guys came around and helped us when we had a situation to get the car going.”

Lannigan in the Nelson-powered, nitrous-assisted ‘Vette took out Joe Valerio in the opening round, then put teammate Chris Holdorf on the trailer with a 4.286 at 166.05 to Holdorf’s 4.404 at 163.16.

Gillig’s naturally aspirated Gillig-Wagner Motorsports ’96 Olds Cutlass was fighting adverse air conditions, but he steadily improved as the day went on. He started with a 4.414 at 159.46 over Sylvester Barnes before stepping up with a holeshot win in the semifinals, leaving on Distefano and his 4.373 at 167.10 with a 4.386 at 160.37 in his Madcap-powered entry.

TOP SPORTSMAN

Dolestown, Ohio’s Glenn Butcher earned the home-race victory after taking on some of the toughest racers in Elite Top Sportsman in his nitrous-assisted ’69 Camaro. He defeated Erica Coleman, Travis Harvey and Louis Ouimette on his way to the final round, where he met points leader Scott Moore. Moore left with a .002 light in his nitrous-assisted Mustang, but Butcher was better at the finish line with a 4.092 on a 4.09 dial-in compared to Moore’s 4.079 on a 4.04 dial-in.

In Top Sportsman 32, Valdosta event winner Chris Nyerges was denied his second consecutive win when he broke out in the final round alongside Buddy Perkinson. Perkinson won with a 4.432 on a 4.42 dial-in, while Nyerges went 4.517 on a 4.52 dial-in.

TOP DRAGSTER

It was a battle of young guns in the Elite Top Dragster final round, as Zack Fisher took on Kellan Farmer. Fisher ran right on his dial-in twice on his way to the final round, taking out championship contenders Nick Hamilton, Kyle Harris and Chase Beverly. Farmer matched that feat, then Fisher used a 4.066 on a 4.05 dial-in in his ProCharged dragster to beat Farmer’s 4.05 on a 4.02 dial-in in his nitrous-assisted Race Tech dragster in the final.

In Top Dragster 32, a starting line advantage allowed Noah Johnson to defeat Kimberly Messer in the final round. Johnson ran a 4.853 on a 4.83 dial-in, while Messer went dead-on her 4.67 dial-in just one race after the Jr. Dragster graduate won her first event in a “big car” at the Summer Nationals.

The next stop on the 2019 PDRA Tour is PDRA Drag Wars VI presented by Pro Line Racing, Sept. 5-7 at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, N.C.

Facing hot-weather racing conditions all weekend long at Dragway 42, the Musi Racing team couldn’t find their footing at the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) inaugural Northern Nationals in West Salem, Ohio.

Lizzy Musi suffered a close first-round loss in Pro Nitrous driving the Frank Brandao-owned Edelbrock/Lucas Oil “King Kong 7” 2018 Dodge Dart. Racing Todd Fontana in the opening round, both drivers ran into trouble, but Musi couldn’t quite track him down, running 4.656-seconds at 147.40 mph to Fontana’s 4.561 at 163.22.

It proved to be a frustrating weekend for Musi, who qualified eighth with a run of 3.776 at 202.07. After three straight victories on the Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings circuit, Musi is still searching for her first victory of the 2019 PDRA season through five races. However, the team remains determined to make it happen over the final three events of the 2019 campaign.

“Things definitely didn’t go our way this weekend, but we’re not going to lose any confidence over it,” Pat Musi said. “We know we have a car and a driver capable of winning races, it just hasn’t come together for us yet in the PDRA. But there’s still three races to make something happen, and we’re going to continue to come out swinging.”

The weekend’s biggest bright spot for Pat Musi Racing Engines was Tommy Franklin’s victory in Pro Nitrous. Franklin showcased Musi power in his “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro, qualifying No. 1 with a blast of 3.702 at 205.10 and then putting together a series of stellar passes in eliminations.

Franklin rocketed to a final-round run of 3.69 at 204.36 en route to his first win of the 2019 season. It also marked the second straight victory for Pat Musi Racing Engines customers in Pro Nitrous.

“Our customers continue to have a great year in Pro Nitrous and that is exciting to see,” Musi said. “We’ve faced a lot of difficult conditions on a number of hot tracks this season, but I think the performances prove our engines can win no matter how hot or challenging a track is. Tommy had a really strong weekend in Ohio and I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone finishes the year.”

Lizzy Musi, who remained sixth in Pro Nitrous points, returns to PDRA action on Sept. 5-7 at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, N.C. for PDRA Drag Wars VI. Before that, she’ll look to maintain her dominance in the No Prep Kings series, as she’ll pilot the Edelbrock-equipped “Aftershock” at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago on Aug. 9-10, where Musi will try for a fourth straight victory.

“There’s still plenty to race for and a lot of opportunities to get wins, and that’s what we’re after,” Pat Musi said. “Lizzy has handled the challenges of driving two different cars extremely well, and I think we’re going to have a great finish to the season in both cars.”

When Tommy Franklin raced to the Pro Nitrous win at the most recent Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) event in Ohio, he did so by going an impressive 3.69 at 204.36 MPH in the final round.

But he also did so in weather conditions that weren’t exactly conducive to fast performances. Franklin, though, credited the work of Pat Musi Racing Engines, who continue to set the bar in the class when it comes to performance and success.

“It’s just a testament to what Pat’s doing over there,” Franklin said. “We ran that 3.69 at a density altitude of almost 4,000 feet. I had no inkling it would go that fast. It was making a ton of power. I’m really excited to see what we can do when we get killer air and really good weather for the next three races.”

It’s been a strong stretch of late for Franklin, the two-time Pro Nitrous champ, who has relied on Pat Musi Racing Engines to power his “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro. He has put together back-to-back final round appearances during the 2019 season, losing to Musi-powered customer Jason Harris in Valdosta before powering to the win at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio earlier this month.

Both performances came in extremely warm conditions, but Franklin continues to put together remarkable numbers without hurting the engine or parts. With standout drivers and teams continuing to push the envelope in the class, the durability of the engine program has been a critical factor.

“With Pat’s stuff, you always make good power, but the thing that stands out is the durability,” Franklin said. “The old adage with Pro Nitrous cars is you’ve constantly got the heads off and putting pistons in these. But we’ve made 30 laps and it’s as healthy as can be. We’ve had this new engine the past three races, and we’re putting up speeds that are uncharted for us.”

The engine consistency also gives Franklin and his team more chances to look at other areas of the car and find additional ways to improve. That means there’s a strong trust in the engine program, which makes Musi happy.

“Tommy put up some really incredible numbers in Ohio and that was exciting to see,” Musi said. “He’s had another great year, and we’re proud of the fact that these engines put up big numbers no matter the conditions. That exemplifies the work we put in and dedication we have in continuously developing our engines. We’re never satisfied and we always want to keep pushing forward.”

The engine durability will be important for Franklin heading into a busy five-race stretch to end the year. It includes three PDRA races to finish 2019, as well as two big Pro Mod events at Virginia Motorsports Park.

But he believes there’s still plenty of potential left in his nitrous-powered Camaro, which has him excited about how the rest of the year could unfold.

“These things are finicky and always on the edge, but I feel very confident going in with what we’ve got,” said Franklin, who is currently second in PDRA Pro Nitrous points. “Racing against stiff competition, it shows what our stuff can do and tells us there’s room to pick up.”

Franklin returns to PDRA action on Sept. 5-7 at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, N.C. for PDRA Drag Wars VI.

The Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) will build on its reputation as a family-oriented, charitable organization next month when it hosts a Wigs for Kids donation event during PDRA Drag Wars, Sept. 5-7 at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, N.C. The event was chosen because September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

“We are super excited to do an event like this at a drag race and it goes to show how the PDRA is such a family-oriented organization,” said Judy Franklin, co-owner of the PDRA. “We are more than just a racing series, we are about helping others.”

The PDRA has previously held fundraisers and raised awareness for causes like Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Make-A-Wish, and the official charity of the PDRA, Shriners Hospitals for Children.

“Crystal Corbin, our head of registration, suggested we do a Wigs for Kids event at GALOT,” Franklin said. “I reached out to Dana Strickland at GALOT to get her take on the idea and she loved it! Her daughter, Janalee Strickland, and GALOT employee Lyndsey Teachey are both hair dressers and Dana offered for them both to do the haircuts for this event.”

Wigs for Kids was founded in 1981 by Jeffrey Paul, a Certified Cosmetic Therapist whose 15-year-old niece was devastated by her hair loss caused by leukemia. Today, Wigs for Kids is a cooperative effort among Certified Cosmetic Therapists throughout North America who share a common goal: helping childhood cancer patients look themselves and live their lives. For more information on Wigs for Kids, please visit www.WigsForKids.org.

“After a lot of research, I decided we should do this event to benefit Wigs for Kids,” Corbin said. “They are a nonprofit that provides hair replacement systems for children at no cost to the family. We’ll be accepting hair donations from eligible donors on Saturday, as well monetary/cash donations throughout the weekend. Wigs for Kids does require any hair donation to be at least 12 inches and not colored or permed.

“I will be donating my hair on Saturday and encourage anyone else who is eligible to join me,” Corbin added. “It is said that it takes 20-30 ponytails and $1,800 for each hair replacement system. Our goal is to raise at least $1,800 to be able to sponsor at least one hair replacement system.”

Donors interested in participating can sign up at the PDRA registration trailer upon arrival at the track or by reaching out to Judy Franklin on Facebook. The donation event will take place on Saturday afternoon during PDRA Drag Wars at GALOT. The event will be open to racers, crew members, track officials, sponsors, media, and spectators. The PDRA souvenir trailer will also release a special-edition Childhood Cancer Awareness T-shirt at the event, with all proceeds going to Wigs for Kids.

PDRA Drag Wars presented by Pro Line Racing, Sept. 5-7 at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, N.C., has been canceled, race officials announced today. The path of Hurricane Dorian changed since the PDRA’s original decision to move forward with the event, with the storm now expected to directly hit the Benson area.

“We are very sorry to make this decision after saying that we are going racing, but when the storm changes and tells you that you need to look again, we did just that,” said Tyler Crossnoe, race director, PDRA. “Safety will always and continue to be priority in our racing series, on and off the track. As much as we all want to race, we just do not see it being possible and we do not want to have anyone stranded or away from their families during this potential natural disaster. All of us at the PDRA and GALOT Motorsports Park are deeply sorry for any inconvenience that this has caused and as noted earlier in the week, both GALOT and Virginia Motorsports Park facilities are open for housing rigs that need to get away from the storm.”

Drag Wars, the sixth of eight races on the 2019 PDRA schedule, will not be rescheduled or made up at a future event because of schedule conflicts. Championships points will not be awarded for the event.

The 2019 PDRA Road to the Finals will pick up again next month at the PDRA Fall Nationals, Oct. 2-4 at Darlington Dragway in Hartsville, S.C.

$hameless Racing, a Michigan-based Pro Outlaw 632 team, has signed on as the presenting sponsor of the Professional Drag Racers Association’s (PDRA) final two races of the 2019 season, series officials announced today.

The PDRA Fall Nationals presented by $hameless Racing is set for Oct. 3-5 at Darlington Dragway in Hartsville, S.C., while the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by Pro Line Racing and $hameless Racing will close the eight-race season Oct. 17-20 at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Va.

“Wes Distefano and his $hameless Racing team came to us and wanted to get involved with the PDRA on a bigger level,” said Will Smith, marketing director, PDRA. “Wes has been a strong competitor in our Schwing America Pro Outlaw 632 presented by Precision Chassis and East Side Auto Transport class all season, and now it’s exciting to have him and $hameless Racing on board as the presenting sponsor at the Fall Nationals and World Finals.”

Based in Waterford, Michigan, $hameless Racing is a Pro Outlaw 632 team led by Wes Distefano, who drives the team’s Musi-powered ’68 Camaro. Distefano is second in Schwing America Pro Outlaw 632 points after runner-up finishes at the East Coast Nationals and the North-South Shootout. $hameless Racing was also the presenting sponsor of the $7,500-to-win Pro Outlaw 632 Shootout during the PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Callies Performance in July.

“We’ve enjoyed our time with PDRA and we just wanted to do our part to support them so they can continue doing what they’re doing and giving us a place to race,” Distefano said. “The PDRA puts on a program that is organized and enjoyable for racers, run by racers.”

While $hameless Racing doesn’t have a product or service to promote, they’re using their sponsorship of the Fall Nationals and World Finals to promote charitable organizations bannering causes near and dear to Distefano and his family.

“We’re looking to support autism research and awareness, as well as cystic fibrosis research and awareness,” Distefano said. “I have a nephew who is autistic and a niece who has cystic fibrosis. This is a way for us to make people more aware of the foundations we’re going to promote. We’re going to give them some exposure and we hope that in doing so we can help those organizations achieve some of their goals.”

Distefano and $hameless Racing are in talks with various organizations to plan their promotional strategy for the upcoming events. Those organizations will be announced in the weeks leading up to the events.

Visit www.PDRA660.com to buy tickets to the PDRA Fall Nationals presented by $hameless Racing at Darlington and the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by Pro Line Racing and $hameless Racing at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Kyle Harris knows his Charles Jones Industrial Limited ’32 Bantam Altered isn’t exactly what everyone imagines when they think of a traditional Top Dragster. With its short 125-inch wheelbase and roots-blown, methanol-burning engine, it isn’t always the most consistent combination available. But the Canadian drag racing veteran had his mind set on making the setup work, and after a third-place points finish in his first full season in Lucas Oil Elite Top Dragster competition last year, it’s safe to say Harris is accomplishing what he set out to do.

“At the first race, everybody probably thought we were crazy for trying to run an Altered in Top Dragster because these cars are normally pretty volatile,” says Harris, who made his PDRA debut at the inaugural World Finals at Virginia in 2014 before returning for a full season in 2018. “When we were down there for the first time trying it out, I was all over the racetrack trying to get the car set up. The track was just so stuck and I had to get it right. When I got it right, that’s when we started to be competitive and I think we gained a little bit of respect from the teams we were racing against and they opened up to us.”

Harris’ Altered started life as an alcohol Funny Car campaigned by three-time IHRA world champion Rob Atchison. Harris was a crew member with Atchison from 2001 through 2008, so he was familiar with the chassis when he bought it from Atchison and had Richard Hartman at Horton Race Cars convert it into its current form. An Atchison Racing Engines-built AJPE 481X engine with a 14-71 blower sits between the frame rails, closely resembling the combination that powered the ride when a Funny Car body covered it.

“The Altered always interested me,” Harris says, “and I just thought, if given enough time and resources, I could probably put something together that looks pretty cool and is fun for me to drive – which it is. It’s definitely a handful.”

Last season, Harris drove his Altered to semifinal finishes at the season-opening East Coast Spring Nationals and the late-season Drag Wars, both at GALOT Motorsports Park, placing him solidly in championship contention going into the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals at Virginia. There, he posted a runner-up finish and ended the season in third place, just six points behind Nick Hamilton and just over four rounds behind world champion Chaz Silance.

A third-place finish was a strong foundation for another championship chase this season, but the memories that left the biggest impressions on Harris were made in the pits, not on the track. “It was super validating to finish in the top 3,” Harris says, “but we were just happy to come down and be a part of the series. What we didn’t expect was the friendships we made with a lot of the racers in Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, even in Pro Boost. Everybody was so welcoming to us. We just felt like part of the group.”

Harris was attracted to the PDRA series for several reasons. For one, the fast bracket racing in Elite Top Dragster was a perfect fit for his car. But perhaps more importantly, the all-eighth-mile series is known as a family-oriented organization, which really appealed to Harris and his wife, Jennie. Harris’ team is a family operation, as his daughter, Cristina, graduated from Jr. Dragsters to the family’s Top Alcohol Dragster a couple years ago, and his son, Ryan, currently competes in Gilbert Motorsports Top Jr. Dragster. Kyle’s brother, Cody, goes to the races as well, joining crew members Mike Azzopardi, Jordan Hardie and Jeff Lilley.

“My wife doesn’t like to travel, but when she gets to the racetrack she loves meeting all the people and she’s made a lot of friends there too,” Harris says. “Mike Azzopardi is actually one of our sponsors. He owns Mountain Tire and races with us on the team. He’s super-pumped to go to the PDRA races. The people who race with us have been racing with us a long time, they’re dedicated, and I think it’s important for me to acknowledge what they do for us.”

Ryan is becoming a consistent racer just like his father too, as he earned a semifinal finish at the Fall Nationals in Darlington, South Carolina, last October. He raced his way into the final round at the Mid-Atlantic Showdown presented by Modern Racing at Virginia in May this season. Ryan will square off with Nathan Tanner for the win at the North-South Shootout presented by Line X, May 30-June 1.

“My son, Ryan, he’s just having a blast,” Harris says. “He’s very sociable and he loves to meet new people. It seems like all the kids and parents know him. Just the social aspect of it for him has been excellent. He, too, has been trying to sharpen up his lights and his driving abilities – and he’s 11 years old. I’m tremendously proud of him for what he does. He’s his own crew chief. I help him with the mechanical part of the car, but he has to do the rest of the work. He keeps it clean, he’s gotta service the car after every run, he helps me download all the information and read the weather and set up the whole program, and he loves every part of it.”

Despite the 12-17-hour trips between the PDRA races and Harris’ home in Burford, Ontario, Canada, the heavy equipment transportation project manager intends on running nearly the entire eight-race 2019 PDRA schedule. Prior commitments, including a 4,000-mile roundtrip trek to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for a display and race for sponsor Charles Jones Industrial Limited, caused Harris to miss two races last season.

“I feel like if we would’ve hit them all, things might’ve been different at the end of the year and we would’ve been that much closer to winning the championship,” Harris believes. “This year we’re trying to hit them all. Valdosta (for the Summer Nationals presented by Lithium Pros, June 27-29) will be tough for us, but we’re doing what we can to make it there.”

In addition to Charles Jones Industrial Limited and Mountain Tire, the Kyle Harris Racing team races with support from Iron Bridge Fabrication, Atchison Machine Service, AllSteel Fabrication and Fast Eddie Racewear.

Harris and his family could easily stay north of the border and race at their local tracks – and they do on occasion – but the challenge of racing fast, consistent dragsters and competing for a world championship is just too attractive of an opportunity to turn down.

“The logistics are a little bit tough for us and it definitely adds to the cost of racing for us,” Harris admits. “We just really liked how the PDRA was promoting this super-fast ‘elite’ bracket racing that we just felt wasn’t available to us up here in Canada. We have a good contingent of race cars up here and it’s very competitive – Canadians are just as competitive as our American counterparts – but the car counts are definitely higher in the U.S., so the competition is a little bit broader. We were looking for some fast bracket cars that we could run with and we found it with the PDRA.”

This story originally appeared in DI #145, the Sportsman Issue, in June of 2019. 

On Saturday, October 4, 2008, Jim Halsey carved his name into the Pro Modified history books when he lit up the scoreboard at the now-defunct Old Bridge Township Raceway Park with the first-ever 5-second quarter-mile nitrous Pro Modified pass during the Shakedown at E-Town.

Ten years later, Halsey is still chasing records. A few things have changed over the last decade – he went through a couple cars, swapped the clutch for a torque converter setup, and jumped into the PDRA’s eighth-mile Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous class – but many other factors remain the same. He’s stuck with the iconic ’68 Camaro body style with a Gene Fulton powerplant, he’s joined at the races by Cathy Crouse, his girlfriend of 32 years, and he still goes to the track with intentions of winning every race he enters.

Led by tuner Brandon Switzer and longtime crew chief Eric Davis, along with crew members Michael McMillan and Melissa Switzer, Halsey has come pretty close to winning every race he’s entered over the last four races. He set the Pro Nitrous ET record on the way to a runner-up finish at the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals to close out the 2018 season, then went into the new season swinging, posting victories at the season-opening East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech and the Mid-Atlantic Showdown presented by Modern Racing.

Speaking from his race shop in Havre de Grace, Maryland, Halsey sat down with DRAG ILLUSTRATED to look back on the evolution of his career, his hot start to the 2019 season and his goals for the rest of the year.

How have these nitrous Pro Mods changed in the time since you made that first 5-second quarter-mile pass?

I think the cars are a lot more rigid now. Back then, we were running a clutch. I was actually running a 5-speed Liberty at the time. Now, everybody is going away from the clutches and clutchless transmissions to converters and Lencos or Turbo 400s and converters.

The PDRA Nitrous Wars competition for engine builders within the Pro Nitrous class is one of the highlights of the class. What does it mean to kind of carry the flag for Gene Fulton and Fulton Competition Race Engines?

Gene Fulton and the guys at Fulton have been a big part of my success. I’ve been with them for close to 20 years now.

I don’t want to take anything away from Charlie (Buck) or Pat (Musi). They’re both great guys and they build great engines, but I think a lot of people had written Gene off. I think with what we’ve done the last year and a half or two years, we’ve proved that he’s still got it.

You used to make a ton of test runs at Cecil County Dragway (owned and operated by Halsey and Crouse). Is that still something you do?

We don’t do it as much as we used to. When we first bought this car from Jerry (Bickel), we spent quite a few weekends up there testing. It paid off in the long run to get started, but we don’t test there regularly now that we have things sorted out.

You finished the 2018 season with a runner-up finish and the ET record at the World Finals. How did that set the tone for this season?

We knew the car was good. There were some things we had been wanting to try on the car that we did in Virginia last year. That was a stepping stone into the beginning of this year. We actually went to the first Mad Mule race at GALOT to test and it was rainy and cold and nothing ever got off the ground there, so our first test run was back at GALOT for the PDRA race.

We’re always testing something, especially in qualifying during the early runs, trying little things here and there to try to pick up performance.

How rewarding has it been to see that effort turn into late-round performances and a couple wins this season?

We struggled for a few years, thinking back to 2010 or 2011. Goodyear stopped making the tire that we were really good on and we struggled for several years after that. We never really got good on the Hoosier or any other Goodyear tire until we got hooked up with Brandon (Switzer) and he got us straightened out.

To run at the top of the field like we have the last year, with the little bit of time we spent with this new program, we’re very happy.

You already have two wins in three races. What are your goals for the rest of the season?

We go to win every race. I don’t know if that’s realistic or not, but that’s what we go for. I would love to win a championship. That’s one thing I’ve never done.

With the level of competition in Pro Nitrous, what will it take to go out there and win more of these races and chase that championship?

You have to be on top of your game. You’re gonna need to have plenty of spare parts and be willing to work hard, not only at the track between rounds, but also at the shop between races during the week. There’s a lot of maintenance in these things that people don’t see that we take care of between races. We’re going tire testing this weekend at our place. A lot of people don’t see that kind of stuff.

Speaking of that, what do you do week-to-week between races?

I help run a construction company and a concrete foundation company. We have about 50-some employees between the two contracting companies, then we have the racetrack. We’re open Wednesday nights, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, so when I’m not racing I’m pretty busy.

You’re very well-known for that first 5-second quarter-mile nitrous Pro Mod pass. Do you have any temptation at all to chase after quarter-mile numbers today?

Not really. I want to be the first nitrous car in the 3.50s. That’s my next big goal. [Editor’s note: since this story was published, Marcus Birt recorded the first 3.50-second pass for a nitrous car in Radial vs. the World trim. The 3.50 barrier remains unbroken in Pro Nitrous.]

Do you feel pretty confident that number is within reach?

I think it’s within reach. Based on the information we have right now, you’re going to have to have the perfect racetrack and the perfect air and make the perfect run to make it happen, but I think it could happen.

This story originally appeared in #DI 146, the Interview Issue, in July of 2019. 

Georgia’s Bruce Thrift has been a constant player in the PDRA’s MagnaFuel Top Sportsman classes since the series started in 2014. In fact, he was at the first-ever PDRA race at Rockingham Dragway and at every other race that season. He’s missed races here and there since then, but even after a crash in 2018 and a gremlin-plagued first half of the 2019 season, Thrift doesn’t plan on going anywhere.

“I just love Top Sportsman,” Thrift says. “If I won the lottery, I’d be doing the same thing I’m doing right now because it’s so competitive. It’s one class that you can’t buy. You have to know what your car’s gonna run and you have to be on your game. Once you qualify, everybody’s equal.”

Thrift started racing IHRA Top Sportsman in the early 2000s before the sanctioning body moved to an all-run field, taking away the ultra-competitive nature that drove Thrift to the class. He also raced NHRA Top Sportsman, enjoying success in both organizations with a record that includes at least one win per season from 2004 through 2018.

Thrift was immediately drawn to the PDRA’s Top Sportsman class when the series was launched, and he’s continued to progress as the PDRA split the class into two eliminators – Elite Top Sportsman and Top Sportsman 32 – to accommodate the legions of Top Sportsman teams making the haul to each race.

“Top Sportsman used to be the fastest cars in sportsman racing, not just Super Gas cars with the throttle stop turned off,” Thrift remembers. “Back in the day it was real fun. People would be taking radiators out trying to qualify. Now, that’s what PDRA’s given us back. It’s just a major accomplishment to qualify, especially in the Elite 16.”

The roofing contractor has been a consistent standout in Elite Top Sportsman with his Buck-powered ’07 Pontiac GTO. He’s remained competitive with his 804ci, 5-inch bore space engine even as many of his competitors have moved up to motors approaching – and sometimes exceeding – 900ci. Thrift usually qualifies in the Elite field, joining a cast of go-fast characters like John Benoit, Erica Coleman, Scott Moore, Tim Lawrence and defending world champion Donny “Hollywood” Urban.

“You’ve just got to go to play over here and that’s what attracted me,” Thrift says. “Anybody can go bracket race at your local track. But when you’ve really got to put it out there to get in, it just makes the whole atmosphere a whole lot better and you feel like you’ve accomplished something. It ain’t for everybody, but for the ones that like to go fast, it’s the cat’s meow.”

Once he’s qualified in the 16-car field, Thrift is further motivated by the high-speed bracket racing game that goes on in the class.

“We’re down there driving the finish line at 180-plus mph looking over at the other car closing up the finish line,” Thrift points out. “The best drivers in the country, period, are in the Top Sportsman class. The pro classes, you let go of the button and you keep it pointed in the right direction and you don’t have to worry about what’s going on down there at the other end. We have to drive both ends of the racetrack, and it’s just amazing how your mind can speed up and be able to do all that. I keep an override where I can make up ground and I got a brake pedal if I need to take it away, but you first have to realize where you’re at and where you’re supposed to be at that point in the race.”

Thrift is the first to admit his 2019 season isn’t going according to plan, though he hasn’t had a first-round loss all year. He believes he’s driving as good as he ever has – his reaction times varied by just two thousandths at the Summer Nationals Ignited by Lithium Pros at South Georgia – things just haven’t gone his way. The absence of main crewmember Mickey Miller coupled with a mechanical gremlin have prevented Thrift from running to his full potential.

“We’re just struggling,” Thrift admits. “I had a crank trigger wheel go out, and I’ve never as long as I’ve been racing even heard of anybody have a crank trigger wheel go out. That’s what it was the whole time. [The engine] would pop and bang and struggle.

“Plus, it’s been like trying to walk one-legged without Mickey here,” Thrift says. “It’s just been one of those years, but I ain’t given up. I still feel like I have a shot at the championship. I’m seven rounds out and there’s 16 rounds of racing left.”

While Thrift has been around the PDRA long enough to experience the generous and sportsmanlike conduct of his fellow competitors on plenty of occasions, his latest troubles and the help he’s had to fix them reassured him that he’s racing with the right group of people.

“It don’t matter if you’re running Pro Nitrous or Top Sportsman, everybody is treated the same,” Thrift says. “You can be having problems and the Pro Nitrous guy will step up to help you just as quick as the guy parked next to you. Anything you need, there’s someone right there to help. It’s just a big family-oriented deal.”

Thrift also called upon the Top Sportsman community when it came time to make repairs to his RJ Race Cars-built GTO after his crash at Florida’s Gainesville Raceway in early 2018. Before thanking Hoosier Racing Tires and Buck Racing Engines, Thrift offered up his gratitude to the people who helped him get back on track with a car that looks better than ever.

“I have a bunch of people that help me,” Thrift says. “Clayton Murphy at Chassis Engineering, he always hangs out with us and we try stuff for him. He redid the car and did a really, really good job for me. FTI Converters, that’s the backbone of going fast. Aaron Glaser at Glaser Collision in Kentucky did the paint job. It’s just unreal, the art and craftsmanship that went into it. When you see it, you know it’s me. I’m from the hippy days – I’ve gotta have every color in the crayon box on it.”

This story originally appeared in DI #147, the State of Drag Issue, in August of 2019. 

The tense championship battles in the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) will tighten up this weekend as the all-eighth-mile series heads to Darlington Dragway for the penultimate race on the 2019 Road to the Finals, the Fall Nationals presented by $hameless Racing, Oct. 3-5.

The PDRA had to cancel their most recent event, PDRA Drag Wars presented by Pro Line Racing at GALOT Motorsports Park, because of Hurricane Dorian. Racers with a solid points lead breathed a sigh of relief, while competitors trying to move up in pursuit of the 2019 PDRA world championships will be feeling the pressure as they have just two races left to gain ground on the points leaders.

“Those round wins went from important to very important real quick with losing Drag Wars,” said Tyler Crossnoe, race director, PDRA. “We hated to lose that event – Drag Wars has always been a staple on the PDRA calendar – but Darlington is up next and the Fall Nationals will be solid as well. The points championships are going to be as dramatic as they’ve ever been now that four rounds are off the table.”

In the PDRA’s quickest and fastest class, Moroso Pro Boost, 2016 world champion Kevin Rivenbark leads the charge in his ProCharger-boosted GALOT Motorsports ’69 Camaro. Rivenbark won the season-opening East Coast Nationals at GALOT Motorsports Park and runnered-up at the Northern Nationals in Ohio. He’s followed by Kris Thorne, who defeated Rivenbark in the Ohio final and won the North-South Shootout in Maryland in his turbocharged ’16 Corvette to sit 93 points behind first. Defending world champion Tommy D’Aprile is just 21 points behind Thorne with a win and two runner-up finishes in Al Billes’ supercharged ’69 Camaro.

Nitrous Pro Modified veteran Jim Halsey is on top in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous after winning the first two races of the season and taking runner-up at Ohio in his Fulton-powered ’68 Camaro. Two-time world champion Tommy Franklin is mounting a late-season charge in his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” 69 Camaro with 192 points behind Halsey after a dominant win at Ohio. Defending world champion Jason Harris in the Musi-powered “Party Time” ’69 Camaro sits 9 points behind Franklin with a win and a runner-up finish.

“You’re going to see two styles of racing at Darlington: you’re going to see a defensive racer and an offensive racer,” Crossnoe said. “You’re going to see the guys who are fighting for it and going at it from first round to the finals, then you’ll see the guys like Rivenbark and Halsey playing defense more than offense, trying to stay the course and keep turning on win lights.”

John Montecalvo holds a sizable 263-point lead over Jeff Dobbins in Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock. Montecalvo drove his Sonny’s-powered ’18 Camaro to runner-up finishes at Maryland and South Georgia before adding a win at Ohio. Dobbins in his Bears Performance Dodge Avenger won the Mid-Atlantic Showdown to sit second, with just under a round over Chris Powers in his Sonny’s-powered Camaro.

The defending world champion in Schwing America Pro Outlaw 632 presented by East Side Auto Transport, Johnny Pluchino, is on track to win a second title in his Kaase-powered, naturally aspirated ’06 Ford Escort with just over six rounds on the competition. He’s followed by Wes Distefano, who has two runner-up finishes in his Musi-powered, nitrous-assisted $hameless Racing ’68 Camaro. Christopher Holdorf in his Nelson-powered ’53 Corvette is third.

The tightest battle in the pro classes can be found in Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle, where defending world champion Ronnie “Pro Mod” Smith leads 2017 world champion Travis Davis by 55 points. Smith hasn’t lost first round all season, grabbing a decisive win at Maryland. Davis lost first round at Maryland, but won the Mid-Atlantic Showdown and was the runner-up at South Georgia. Perennial championship contender Chris Garner-Jones is third with just under two rounds behind Davis.

In addition to the professional classes, the Fall Nationals will include sportsman racing in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman, Lucas Oil Top Dragster, Coolshirt Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Knoxtown Products, Gilbert Motorsports Top Jr. Dragster and Edelbrock Bracket Bash.

Racers will start the weekend with a full day of open testing on Thursday from 12-8 p.m. Friday qualifying begins at 10 a.m., followed by Friday Night Fire with two back-to-back pro qualifying sessions starting at 6 p.m. Sportsman racers will run final qualifying Saturday at 10 a.m. and eliminations beginning at noon. Professional class eliminations will begin at 4 p.m.

Tickets to the PDRA Fall Nationals presented by $hameless Racing are available for $15 for Thursday testing, $20 for Friday qualifying and $25 for Saturday eliminations. Children 10 and under get in free. Tickets are available at the gate or online at www.pdra660.com.

A stern look appears on Billy Wagner’s face as he changes gear ratios in the Gillig-Wagner Motorsports ‘96 Oldsmobile Cutlass driven by his brother-in-law, Tony Gillig. But make no mistake, Wagner is enjoying every minute of it. After nearly two decades working for others in the sport, the New York native is in his element as the crew chief on the family’s top-flight Schwing America Pro Outlaw 632 presented by Precision Chassis and East Side Auto Transport entry.

“I’m super lucky,” Wagner says. “I get to do what I like to do. My father-in-law (Bob Gillig) has allowed us to build what I consider quite a professional operation where we have the best parts available and a really nice setup. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of work but a lot of fun.”

Before diving into his status as one part of the Gillig-Wagner Motorsports team, Wagner explains his beginnings in the sport of fast doorslammer racing. He went to work for Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock star John Montecalvo in 1993, driving the rig to IHRA races, servicing the car between rounds and taking care of it at the shop between races. “That’s pretty much how I got my interest really piqued in doorslammers and clutch cars and stuff back before there was automatics and traction control,” Wagner says. “Mountain Motor became the only thing I could think about.”

Wagner worked with Montecalvo for several seasons, minus a year off in 1996, and helped the fellow New York native get his first IHRA Pro Stock win in 1999. Wagner then went to work on Larry Morgan’s NHRA Pro Stock team for three seasons before stepping back to a limited schedule with Bob Benza for the 2003-2004 seasons. His time with Benza also included working for Benza’s bridge building contractor firm, where he picked up skills that he still uses today as a construction manager for a large civil construction company in Chicago.

Since moving to Chicago with his wife, Chrissy, in 2004, Wagner kept up with the latest trends in the sport by consulting for various friends and customers in Pro Stock, Top Sportsman and Comp at a handful of races per year.

His latest project, serving as crew chief on the family Oldsmobile, began a few years ago when the elder Gillig decided he wanted to go racing again. Tony was several years removed from his last pass down the track in a Mountain Motor Pro Stock car, so he was itching to get back in the seat. Wagner was equally excited about the opportunity to go racing with family members who double as racing colleagues he deeply respects.

“Legally, Bob is my father-in-law and Tony is my brother-in-law, but as far as I’m concerned when I introduce them, they’re my dad and my brother,” Wagner says. “When I look at it like that, I got probably one of the smartest racers in my father that I’ve ever seen. He’s been racing for the better part of 55 or 60 years in all kinds of different classes and combinations. Tony can drive anything – doesn’t matter what it’s powered by or how he’s gotta shift it. When it seemed that my father-in-law didn’t mind parting with his whole retirement fund to put a team together, we started looking at what we could do.”

After considering several options, the team decided to build an entry for the burgeoning Pro Outlaw 632 class. It was one of the few places where their ideal combination – a naturally aspirated, clutch-equipped, manually shifted doorslammer – could be competitive and affordable. Plus, the PDRA’s eight-race schedule and family atmosphere matched up with the group’s lifestyle.

“I’m just fortunate that we’re racing with family,” Wagner says. “They make me feel as much a part of the family as if I was born into the family. To go out and race PDRA, which is such a family-oriented group with a lot of other family-based teams, we’re just having so much fun being together, being on the road, being able to do what we want to do and still have a life away from racing.”

The Gillig-Wagner team made their PDRA debut at the 2018 Firecracker Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, where Gillig drove the Madcap Racing Engines-powered Cutlass to its first final-round appearance. It was victorious in its next final round at the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Showdown presented by Modern Racing, then added another runner-up finish in the Pro Outlaw 632 Shootout presented by $hameless Racing during the Northern Nationals in July. A couple weeks later, Gillig added a Nitrous Pro Street victory at an NMCA race near Chicago. That success is merely icing on the cake for the team, though. “We don’t have any expectations but to be out with family doing what we love,” Wagner says.

Wagner and the Gilligs also took on the challenge of adding an Extreme Pro Stock entry to their work load at the PDRA races this season. When DRAG ILLUSTRATED founder and editorial director Wes Buck’s father, Eddie, and uncle, WR, decided to bring out their 2004 Chevy Cavalier, they enlisted Gillig and Wagner to help get it competitive. The car has raced at the last three PDRA races, with Gillig wheeling both the family car and the Buck Bros. entry. It didn’t have a single lap on it since it was built in 2004, so the collaborative group is still trying to figure out what the car wants to get down the track on the same performance level as the leading teams in the ultra-competitive class.

“We’ll pretty much do anything to run Pro Stock,” Wagner says. “[The Bucks] presented us with the opportunity and Tony jumped at it. What we want to do is provide the Bucks with the results they want for the effort and the money they’re investing. They’re some of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. The best part is being able to pit side by side with them because the laughs are endless.”

With his days of racing under pressure from corporate sponsors and professional race teams behind him, Wagner is clearly enjoying the opportunity to race with family and friends for nothing more than the satisfaction of succeeding together and having fun in the process. But the pressure-packed situations early in his career paved the way for his current lifestyle.

“I’m very grateful for all the people that my racing career allowed me to meet because it actually helped me to have a very awesome personal life,” Wagner says. “Drag racing’s done everything for me: my best friends and my biggest mentors all came from the racetrack. When I think back on what I’ve learned and where I learned it, I’ve gotten a lot out of everyone I worked for. Monte, Morgan and Benza all gave me a chance and their trust to do my best, and some life lessons along the way.

“But always there for me the whole time with sound advice and a point in the right direction even when we faced each other as competitors was Bob Gillig,” Wagner adds. “I really don’t think there’s much I know about cars or life that I didn’t learn from him. He’s given me so much over the last 20 years, including his only daughter to be my wife.”

Wagner and the Gillig-Wagner Motorsports team will seek to add another PDRA “660 Man” trophy to their trophy case as the PDRA late season kicks off at the PDRA Fall Nationals presented by $hameless Racing, Oct. 3-5 at Darlington Dragway in Hartsville, South Carolina.

This story originally appeared in DI #148, the Crew Chief Issue, in September of 2019.