Steve Embling Photos
Tommy Franklin secured the No. 1 qualifying position in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous for the second straight Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series event Friday night at Maryland International Raceway.
Joining Franklin atop the professional qualifying sheets were Steve King (Pro Boost), Fletcher Cox (Pro Street) and Chris Powers (Extreme Pro Stock).
Franklin, a three-time world champion, recorded a 3.675-second pass at 206.73 mph in his “Jungle Rat 3.0” ’69 Camaro during the final qualifying session of the PDRA North vs. South Shootout. He enters Saturday’s eliminations as the defending event champion.
“We were trying some stuff and had a couple little issues that cost us a couple laps in testing, but we rebounded,” said Franklin, who won at Maryland last year. “The car came out and ran good – real good in Q1, just barely missed it in Q2, and Q3 we were able to put it on the pole. We have a hard-working team over here. All the cars in our camp get a lot of attention and we have a great group of guys that keep them up top. Thanks to Jeff Pierce, Pat Musi power, and everybody that helps me. We’re in really good shape, but there’s a lot of stiff competition.”
King, who qualified No. 1 at this event last year and winning the DI World Series of Pro Modified, set the pace for Saturday’s eliminations. He drove the screw-blown “Savage” ’19 Corvette to a 3.662 at 206.54 to lead the list of 22 drivers who tried to make it into the 16-car field.
“It’s huge to be No. 1 in this field of cars. That’s really, really important to Gene Pilot,” said King, who hails from Strasburg, Virginia, and considers MIR a home track. “It’s a testament to [tuner] Jon Salemi. We tested a couple weeks ago, made 13 runs in two days. We showed what we learned here. We’re ready for race day. A Pro Boost win right here would be huge, but you’ve gotta start with round one and go from there. No. 1 is good tonight, but it doesn’t mean a thing come race day.”
Retired NFL Superstar Cox continues to shine in his new sport, driving to the No. 1 spot in Pro Street in only his second racer since transitioning from team owner to driver. He ran a 4.027 at 192.03 in the heat of the day behind the wheel of his Phil Shuler-tuned, nitrous-fed “Training Day” ’69 Camaro.
“This means a lot,” Cox said. “We went out there and tested good. We ran good in qualifying. Ran good during the day, made some really good laps. The team did a really good job of turning the car around and making sure that I had a fast and safe car down the racetrack. But to come out my second race and qualify No. 1, what more can I ask for? Especially when it’s [girlfriend] Kaycee’s birthday tomorrow.”
Powers, the two-time and reigning PDRA Extreme Pro Stock champion continued his qualifying domination by taking the top spot for the third consecutive race. He held off 2023 world champion Alan Drinkwater by .003 for the No. 1 position.
“We were down a little bit having some issues in the tranny area, but we got it resolved and got back where we wanted to be,” said Powers, winner of the 2021 North vs. South Shootout. “We thought we’d make a little better of a hit, but we’ll take it. It was fast enough to get us on the pole. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got tomorrow and show how good of a team we really are. We’ve got Chuck Samuel tuning and my son on the clutch. I’m really pleased with everybody and all the work we’ve done. It’s shown this year how much work we’ve done over the winter.”
Jeff Melnick qualified No. 1 in PDRA Pro 632, while Connor McGee claimed the top spot in PDRA Super Street.
In the sportsman ranks, Glenn Butcher Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, and Jody Stroud paced Elite Top Dragster.
Corey Evans took the top qualifying position in Top Sportsman 48, and Tisha Wilson led the Top Dragster 48 presented by Derrick Wolfe Trucking category.
Donald O’Meara III posted a perfect 7.900-second run to lead the record 61-car field in Pro Jr. Dragster.
Tori Underwood secured the No. 1 qualifying spot in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster with a .006-second reaction time.
Pro Jr. Dragster completed one round of eliminations Friday, while Top Jr. Dragster competition is set to begin Saturday morning.
