PRO NITROUS RESULTS PRO BOOST RESULTS  PRO STOCK RESULTS

FRIDAY RECAP SATURDAY RECAP

FINAL NOTEBOOK - MOUNTAIN MAN LEADS THE SHOW; THE KING ESTABLISHES HIS KINGDOM, POWERS WINS ONE FOR SONNY 

MOUNTAIN MAN TOPS PRO NITROUS - “Mountain Man” Mike Achenbach once thought he wouldn’t run in PDRA Pro Nitrous because the competition was so tough, but after now winning two events over the last year, he’s proven that he’s one of those tough competitors himself. The Pennsylvania native recorded a weekend-best 3.668 at 206.80 in his Brandon Switzer-tuned “Deep Purple” ’69 Camaro in the final round to knock out nearby Smithfield, North Carolina’s Jay Cox in the final round. Cox slowed to a 4.366 at 127.33 in the runner-up effort. 
 
“This win means a lot,” Achenbach said. “We struggled with the car at the end of last year. We took it to Brandon [Switzer]'s shop, went over it, did some different things to it, and I think he's got a handle on it now. We'll see what happens. I'm so new at this out here. I said I would never really run over here because it's the best of the best. I started over here last year at a couple races and really liked it. It's a family-oriented deal. I just love it.”
 
Achenbach qualified fifth and started eliminations with a 3.726 at 203.58 victory over Dane Wood’s 3.761. He ran in the 3.60-second range for the rest of race day, running a 3.689 at 205.04 to knock out Chris Rini in the second round and a 3.672 at 206.57 to eliminate two-time world champion Jason Harris and his 3.75 in the semifinals. 
 
Cox, who tested extensively at GALOT Motorsports Park over the offseason, qualified third in his Musi-powered Butner Construction “Pumpkin” ’69 Camaro. He ran a 3.725 to beat John Vergotz in the first round, a 3.695 over teammate Marcus Butner in the second round, and a 3.693 to drive around Fredy Scriba in the semis. 
 
THE KING IS ON THE THRONE - North Carolina drag racing hero Todd “King Tut” Tutterow added another Pro Boost victory to his list of accomplishments when he beat fellow North Carolinian Stan Shelton in the final round. Tutterow in his screw-blown P2 Contracting/FTI Performance ’20 Camaro fired off a 3.588 at 212.29 to overcome Shelton’s holeshot advantage and 3.61 at 210.70. 
 
“A man told me before, you can't win them all if you don't win the first one,” said Tutterow, who was the 2021 championship runner-up. “We've got Kurt Steding and Wendi Steding [of P2 Contracting and P2 Racing] and Paul Lee and Greg [Samuel] at FTI supporting us. I have a good bunch of guys at my shop keeping all this stuff going. This is very important to me. We had 24 cars here, a good bunch of cars. Any one of them could've won. We just put runs together and it all worked out. I just need to get Kurt up here in the winner's circle. I'd like to see us go one and two in the finals.”
 
Tutterow, who won the first Pro Boost world championship in 2014, qualified No. 2 to set up a first-round matchup with Robert Cox. Cox went red on a 3.685 pass, while Tutterow advanced with a 3.644 at 210.50. Tutterow used a .009 reaction time and a 3.605 at 211.73 to win over Jason Lee and his perfect .000 light and 3.637 in the second round. Tutterow and semifinal opponent Johnny Camp both went red, but Camp went red first on his 3.602 pass and Tutterow posted his quickest pass of the weekend, a 3.585 at 212.59, to move on to the final. 
 
Tractor pulling veteran Stan Shelton enjoyed his best weekend yet in Pro Boost competition driving his screw-blown Culp Lumber ’67 Mustang. He qualified No. 9 and opened eliminations with a holeshot win over two-time NHRA Pro Mod world champion Stevie “Fast” Jackson in a 3.635-to-3.627 race. Another huge holeshot win followed in the second round when he knocked out No. 1 qualifier and record setter Melanie Salemi and her 3.57 with a 3.602. A consistent 3.603 gave Shelton the semifinal win over Scott Wildgust and his 3.858. 
 
WIN ONE FOR SONNY - After winning the Extreme Pro Stock world championship last season, Chris Powers still felt like he had something left to prove as the 2022 season started. His new Sonny’s Racing Engines/ATI Performance ’21 Camaro made its competition debut at the East Coast Nationals and proceeded to qualify No. 2 and carry Powers to victory, proving that Powers will be a championship contender again this season. Final-round opponent Justin Kirk left the line just ahead of Powers, but lost traction almost immediately. Meanwhile, Powers unleashed low E.T. of the weekend, a 4.014 at 178.76. 
 
“Sonny's with us,” said Powers, referring to the late Sonny Leonard. “He's done so much for us with my career and our performance. Kelly [Ward] and Francis [Leonard] and Jr. [Ward] still doing all the work and keeping things running with the shop, this is all credit to them showing their power. They've got the smoke. We proved it on that last lap there. I can't say enough for Chuck Samuel and Rob Bealko. This is all credit to them. They work their butts off on this car. To have a brand-new car like this and come out and win, it's special.”
 
Powers, who was also the defending event champion, had the quickest run of the first round with his 4.025 at 178.97 on a single since opponent Kurt Neighbor broke after the burnout. Powers then ran a 4.033 at 177.58 over Elijah Morton, followed by a 4.031 at 177.28 to beat Tony Gillig in the semis. 
 
Kirk, a third-generation Pro Stock wheelman, qualified No. 8 in his Sonny’s-powered Kirk Racing ’12 Mustang before running a 4.077 to move past the first round over Dillon Voss, who broke after the burnout. Kirk used holeshot advantages to win the next two rounds, running a 4.06 to beat No. 1 qualifier JR Carr’s 4.017 and a 4.063 to defeat Tommy Lee’s 4.015. 

 
THERE'S A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN - Making his Pro 632 debut, Orlando, Florida’s Alan Drinkwater put the class on notice with consistently quick reaction times and an equally solid Kaase-powered ’04 Escort prepared by two-time Pro 632 world champion Johnny Pluchino. Drinkwater raced past some of the toughest drivers in the class to win in his debut, ultimately running a 4.213 at 169.64 in the final round to finish ahead of Walt Lannigan Jr.’s 4.208 at 169.59. It was Drinkwater’s third holeshot win in four rounds. 
 
“It's a dream come true,” said Drinkwater, who thanked car owner Kenny Floid, John and Johnny Pluchino, and cousin and crew member Preston. “We had all the right people around us. Just the right place at the right time. The engine, ‘Gambini,’ was already in another car out here, Johnny’s old 632 car, so it's back. We're just glad to be able to put it in the winner's circle. We had all great guys around us. I tried to do my job the best I could and we got the best of everybody today.”
 
Drinkwater recorded a 4.181 at 169.66 on a first-round single, then left first on Daryl Stewart to win with a 4.183 at 170.00 over Stewart’s 4.142. It took Drinkwater’s best performance of the day, a .017 light and a 4.17 at 170.26, to get the semifinal win over Amber Franklin and her 4.12. 
 
Lannigan was making his return to Pro 632 competition as the new driver of $hameless Racing’s Musi-powered ’68 Camaro, which won the last two world championships with Wes Distefano driving. Lannigan and tuner Troy Russell picked up where Distefano left off, qualifying No. 1 and charging through eliminations. He used a 4.215 to beat Mike Murphy, a 4.14 to defeat Lexi Tanner, and a 4.111 on a semifinal bye run to earn lane choice for the final round. 

 
ANY WAY YOU SHAKE IT - Defending world champion Tim Essick proved that offseason rule changes and a mix of new Pro Street competitors can’t slow him down, as he picked up another win to start the season in his ProCharger-boosted “Brown Sugar” ’18 Mustang. In the final round, Essick posted a 3.966 at 194.07 to stop No. 1 qualifier Nick Agostino, who slowed to a 4.849 at 113.28. 
 
“We plugged and chugged on it all winter long,” said Essick, who thanked his sponsors and team led by longtime friend Dan Whetstine. “We knew we were going to be a hundred-plus [pounds heavier] and we just had to try a bunch of different stuff. We experimented through some testing and qualifying and ended up coming around and putting a package together for race day. It's just a dream come true. It's huge to get that wintertime monkey off your back. It definitely puts some steam straight ahead. We'll do a little bit more testing, try to iron some things out, make it a little happier and we'll be ready for Ohio.” 
 
After qualifying No. 2, Essick threw down a 3.912 at 193.96 in the first round to set low E.T. of the event and knock out Bill Riddle and his 4.10. The Maryland driver then went a 3.959 at 193.63 to eliminate Pro Street newcomer Tommy Youmans’ 4.00. 
 
Agostino, a Canadian Outlaw 10.5 veteran making his Pro Street debut, laid down a 3.939 to defeat another first-time Pro Street racer, Bill Lutz, in the first round. He tested the limits on a second-round bye run, pedaling to a 4.489. 
 
THE SPORTSMAN REPORT - A pair of Ohio-based nitrous cars squared off in the Elite Top Sportsman final round. Past Top Sportsman world champion Chris “Nitrous” Nyerges had the starting line advantage in Dr. Gary Schween’s Buck-powered ’20 Corvette, but he had to lift after leaving the starting line. Steve Drongowski went on to run a 3.967 on a 3.89 dial-in in his Buck-powered ’55 Chevy to get the win. 
 
Defending Top Sportsman world champion Nick Meloni went red by just .002 in the Top Sportsman 32 final round, negating his 4.248 on a 4.24 dial-in in his nitrous-fed TT Motorsports ’69 Camaro. In the other lane, Doug Crumlich cut a .005 light and ran a 4.259 on a 4.25 dial in his ’63 Corvette in the winning effort. 
 
Past world champions Steve Furr and Matt Cooke met up in an all-North Carolina Elite Top Dragster final round. Furr’s starting line advantage and 3.786 on a 3.77 dial-in allowed him to get the win over Cooke, who ran a 4.029 on a 4.01 dial-in. 
 
Nick Meloni also made his way to the final round in Top Dragster 48, but came up short to Tisha Wilson. Wilson had the starting line advantage and recorded a 4.434 on a 4.40 dial-in in her ’01 Undercover dragster to win over Meloni’s 4.302 on a 4.24 dial in his ’16 Dan Page dragster. 
 
ON DECK - The PDRA season will continue later this month at the second annual Vortech Superchargers Doorslammer Derby presented by Stroud Safety, April 28-30 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - THE USUAL HEADLINES PLAY THEIR ROLES 

SALEMI SETS THE PACE - After going back and forth between roots blower and screw blower combinations over the last few seasons, Melanie Salemi and her team, led by tuner and husband Jon Salemi and brother-in-law Jim Salemi, committed to running their proven roots-blown combination this season. The decision – and offseason dyno pulls and on-track testing at GALOT – paid off on Friday when Salemi recorded three progressively quicker runs in her Eddie Whelan-owned ’19 Camaro, setting a new record on each pass. She went a 3.585 in Q1, a 3.578 in Q2, and a 3.568 in the final session. The previous record was a 3.591 set by Kurt Steding at the 2021 Brian Olson Memorial World Finals. 
 
“It's a huge accomplishment for my team,” said Salemi, who closed out the 2021 season with a win at the 50th annual Snowbird Outlaw Nationals. “I’m ecstatic for my team because I know how much hard work has gone into it. I've won races, I've qualified No. 1 before, but this one is really an eye opener for all of us. It's refreshing. It's awesome that we finished the year strong, and hopefully we can start the year strong.”
 
Pro Boost qualifying was a slugfest, with 14 of the other 15 qualifiers running in the 3.60-second range. Pro Mod veteran Todd “King Tut” Tutterow took the No. 2 spot by speed, posting a 3.615 at 211.20 in his screw-blown P2 Contracting ’20 Camaro. Johnny Camp followed with his 3.615 at 208.91 in his ProCharger-boosted “Hells Bells” ’69 Camaro. 
 
IT'S HALSEY TIME - Three-time and defending Pro Nitrous world champion Jim Halsey picked up right where he left off, taking his Brandon Switzer-tuned, Fulton-powered “Daddy Shark” ’68 Camaro to the No. 1 spot. He was the quickest driver in all three qualifying sessions, though he narrowly held on to the top spot in the final qualifying session when he fired off a 3.65 at 206.70. 
 
“Honestly, we thought we were going to run a little better than that,” Halsey said. “We haven't really looked at the data yet, but we missed it somewhere. But it’s a brand-new engine. That was like the ninth or tenth run on it this morning. We were happy with that. We still have ol’ tried and true underneath the bench if we need it. We did a bunch of small changes over the winter and it seems to be coming around. I think it's a tuner's race [on Saturday] and I think I have the best tuner out there, so I would say we’re ready.”
 
Two-time world champion Tommy Franklin missed the No. 1 spot by just a few thousandths of a second, as he recorded a 3.654 at 206.64 in his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro a pair before Halsey’s 3.65. Hometown hero Jay Cox, who’s based in nearby Smithfield, threw down a 3.663 at 206.70 in his Musi-powered Butner Construction ’69 Camaro to hold down the No. 3 position on the 20-car Pro Nitrous qualifying order. 

WHO WILL LEAD 632? - With two-time and reigning Pro 632 world champion Wes Distefano moving up to Pro Nitrous this season, the door is open for a new champion in the class. Distefano’s $hameless Racing team tapped former competitor Walt Lannigan Jr. to drive their Musi-powered ’68 Camaro in Pro 632 competition, and the team appears to be championship contenders yet again after Lannigan qualified No. 1 with a 4.12 at 172.60. A hurt engine prevented Lannigan from running in the final session, but the $hameless team will be ready for Saturday eliminations.
 
“I’m real happy with how the car ran,” said crew chief Troy Russell. “Walt's doing a good job driving. To come out with a new driver and a new crew and go No. 1 at the first race feels good. We'll get the car fixed tonight and go out there [Saturday] and try not to beat ourselves. We'll do what we know how to do.”
 
Championship runner-up Daryl Stewart used a 4.14 at 171.53 in his Clayton Murphy-tuned Chassis Engineering ’12 Camaro to qualify No. 2. Championship contender Amber Franklin, driving her father’s Musi-powered “OG Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro, claimed the No. 3 spot with a 4.146 at 171.03. 
 
DAVIS MOUNTING COMEBACK - Multi-time Pro Nitrous Motorcycle world champion Travis Davis is determined to return the No. 1 to the side of his Timblin Chassis-built Suzuki. He’s starting his 2022 title pursuit with a No. 1 qualifying effort after running a 3.974 at 176.49 during the second qualifying session. 
 
“I think there's a little more there,” Davis said. “We drifted to the inside of the track and scrubbed some E.T. off. It was getting loose on me through the middle of the track. We'll make an adjustment for that where we'll go straight down the track [on Saturday]. The tuneup looks like it can handle more, so we'll take it round by round and see if we can get it done.”
 
Kuwait’s Meshal Al-Saber rode his Brad McCoy-tuned entry to a 3.975 at 173.96, earning the No. 2 spot. Defending world champion Chris Garner-Jones qualified third with his 4.026 at 175.94 aboard his T.T. Jones Racing Suzuki. 
 
AGOSTINO SHINES - Small-tire racing veteran Nick Agostino is making the most of his Pro Street debut, as he threw down a monster 3.925 at 206.17 in his twin-turbocharged, small-block-powered ’69 Camaro to qualify No. 1. The Ontario, Canada-based driver was finally able to make his Pro Street debut after border restrictions eased up. 
 
“We're pretty happy,” Agostino said. “Coming from the radial racing, we switched over to 10.5s. We have run on 10.5s before, but first time with this setup in PDRA. We're very happy with the outcome so far. It's really good to be back out here and to see a bunch of friends who race over here in PDRA. It's just great to see everyone again.”
 
Defending world champion Tim Essick almost dipped into the 3-second zone in his ProCharger-boosted “Brown Sugar” ’18 Mustang, instead running a 4.017 at 190.51. Another Pro Street newcomer, Tommy Youmans, followed closely with a 4.018 at 203.00 in his twin-turbocharged ’70 GTO. 
 
PERKINSON IS THE TOP SPORTSMAN - Past Elite Top Sportsman world champion Buddy Perkinson led a trio of nitrous-assisted entries at the top of the Top Sportsman qualifying sheet after posting a 3.78 at 196.85 in his Musi-powered LAT Racing Oils ’69 Camaro. Chris “Nitrous” Nyerges, the 2019 Top Sportsman world champion, followed Perkinson with a 3.806 at 197.86 in Dr. Gary Schween’s Buck-powered ’20 Corvette. Yet another past world champion, Donny “Hollywood” Urban, rounded out the top 3 in his new ’69 Camaro with a 3.808 at 195.82. 
 
Jeff Brooks’ unique Sonny’s-powered Kaeser Compressors ’51 Henry J carried him to a 4.113 at 177.86 to take the provisional No. 1 spot in the Top Sportsman 32 field. 
 
Ohio’s Craig Addis rocketed to the provisional No. 1 spot in Elite Top Dragster when he fired off a 3.719 at 192.77 in his ProCharger-boosted R.A.B. Trucking ’21 Spitzer dragster. North Carolina’s own Michael White followed in behind him with a 3.741 at 192.88 in his centrifugally supercharged ’15 Maddox dragster. Defending world champion Pete Maduri qualified third in the Bauer family’s Dynabrade ’17 Chrome-Worx dragster with a 3.757 at 194.88. 
 
Nick Meloni, the defending Top Sportsman world champion and Top Dragster championship runner-up, just missed the 16-car Elite Top Dragster field with his 4.199 at 164.93, but the run gave him the provisional No. 1 spot in Top Dragster 32 field. 
 
The East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech at GALOT Motorsports Park will continue Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m. with a final time trial for Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by COMP Cams and final qualifying for all sportsman and Jr. Dragster classes. Pro eliminations will begin at 3 p.m.
 

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