Tommy Franklin outdueled Keith Haney in a battle of two Pro Modified power brokers Saturday night, leading the winners at the PDRA East Coast Nationals at Darana Motorsports Park.
Franklin claimed the Pro Nitrous title, while Jason Harris won Pro Boost and Blake Denton added a Pro Street victory. J.C. Beattie Jr. and Austin Vincent completed the professional winners list in Pro 632 and Super Street.
The marquee final paired Franklin, a PDRA stalwart, against Haney, leader of the Mid-West Drag Racing Series. Haney grabbed the starting-line advantage, but mechanical trouble ended his charge as Franklin powered past for the win.
Franklin drove his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat 3.0” ’69 Camaro to a 3.676-second pass at 206.64 mph. Haney slowed to a 3.966 at 148.01 in the runner-up finish.
“First off, happy birthday to Pat Musi. He’s a great friend, great engine builder, great guy, period,” Franklin said. “My team’s awesome. It’s a busy pit in our pits. There’s a lot of cars over there, but everybody, when we’ve got to do work on anything, they all jump in there. These wins are all big, and we love them all. We struggled a little bit in the heat, but hey, the team overcame. Jeff Pierce is a b*****s tuner and got this thing back turned around, and we were excellent in the heat today.”
Franklin qualified fourth, then carved through a difficult ladder. He defeated Chris Rini, Rickie Smith and Tim Molnar before reaching the final.
Jason Harris delivered one of the most popular wins of the night by taking Pro Boost in front of his home crowd. The two-time world champion defeated No. 1 qualifier Melanie Salemi in the final.
Harris left first and stayed in front despite dropping a cylinder, guiding the “Party Time” ’69 Camaro to a 3.643 at 200.47. Salemi encountered trouble and slowed to a 3.723 at 168.53.
“I’ve raced here a lot. I really haven’t won a lot here, but it’s special when you can win at home and you’ve got all your fans,” Harris said. “It’s amazing to win when you have the support that we have in the sport. It’s just amazing to do what we’ve done. I think this is my 19th PDRA victory. I’ve won some championships over here. My heart’s over here, but right now, I’m just so happy to be in the winner’s circle, and finally not screw up.”
Harris’ toughest race came in the semifinals, where he used a .004 reaction time and a 3.612 to stop Johnny Camp’s 3.627. Earlier rounds included wins over Joel Wensley Sr. and Ethan Steding.
Blake Denton continued his rise in Pro Street with a meaningful victory in the “Bonnie” ’69 Camaro once driven by Lizzy Musi. He defeated rookie Andy Mac in the final round.
Denton tied low E.T. of eliminations with a 3.943 at 201.76, while Mac finished with a 4.056 at 185.77. The win came on Pat Musi’s birthday and carried added emotion for the team.
“This one’s for Pat,” Denton said. “To come out tonight and just get a clean slate for the weekend and come out and with the win…it’s good for me because it gives me the confidence going into the rest of the season that I’ve got a little bit of edge up on everyone else.”
Denton’s semifinal win was one of the sharpest drives of the day. He left first and used a holeshot to defeat class E.T. record holder Richard Reagan despite Reagan’s quicker elapsed time.
In Pro 632, J.C. Beattie Jr. scored the victory. Austin Vincent earned the Super Street title.
The sportsman categories produced a family sweep, with Scott Duggins winning Elite Top Sportsman and son Josh Duggins taking Elite Top Dragster. Seth Garrison and Stacy Hall also added class wins.
Carson Brown won Bracket Bash when final-round opponent Kristen Byrd fouled by .004 seconds. In Jr. Dragster competition, Katelyn Page and Kole Paone collected victories.
