Clean-sweeping has become the trend for Jim Halsey’s through much of his PDRA career. The veteran Pro Nitrous racer and four-time champion for the second race in a row won an event from the No. 1 qualifying position at the American Doorslammer Challenge, the third race of the PDRA’s Red Line Oil Drag Racing Series.
Also getting in on the clean sweep was Todd Tutterow, who claimed the Pro Boost title, while Darryl Stewart won his first Extreme Pro Stock crown.
Halsey continued his strong performances in his new Gene Fulton-powered 1968 Camaro, stopping fellow Maryland-based nitrous racer Fredy Scriba in the final round. Scriba’s 3.673 at 203.03 was his best performance of the weekend, but it wasn’t quick enough to get around Halsey and his 3.665 at 207.53
“After the year we’ve been through last year, it kind of feels like we’re back,” Halsey said. “These guys worked so hard the last few weeks, and actually, all through the winter, to put this thing back together and make it like it is today. We should have the winner’s circle picture with them in it and not me.”
With one win to his credit this season and, unfortunately, a DNQ, Tutterow was in redemption mode all weekend by winning from the No. 1 qualifying position. The two-time Pro Boost world champion was on an upward trajectory all weekend with his screw-blown Quik Fuel ’69 Camaro.
Tutterow sealed the deal with his performance on the starting line in the final round, as first-time finalist Marcus Birt went red by .043 seconds on a 3.661-second pass at 205.63. Tutterow set low E.T. of the event with his winning 3.62 at 208.30.
“We’re going home the points leader, hopefully, I would think,” said Tutterow. “This makes it interesting. We’re very excited. Got a good car, good crew, good people around us. That’s what it takes. It’s a whole family deal. It’s all good. I’m excited for Ethan, too. All around, a good weekend.”
Before this weekend, winning was not a problem from Stewart, who graduated from Pro 632 to Extreme Pro Stock this season. A five-time winning in Pro 632, Stewart joined the group of drivers who has won in Pro 632, and one of the professional divisions.
A former bracket racer, Stewart defeated past world champion Chris Powers in the final round with his best run on race day.
“Man, this does feel unbelievable because the first two races we’ve been to, we were down and out,” said Stewart, who thanked crew chief Clayton Murphy of Chassis Engineering, Joe Oplawski of Hyperaktive Performance Solutions, Brent Kirk, Mark Menscer of Menscer Motorsports, and crew members Chris and Johnny. “But we just kept digging and figured it out. We decided to come here at the last minute. My wife and daughter are here for the very first time ever. They were in Michigan on a college visit and they drove over. It’s just how ironic all that played out. Now they’re gonna have to come to all the races.”
Walter Lannigan Jr. (Pro 63), Brunson Grothus (Pro Extreme Motorcycle), Ethan Steding (Pro Street), and Connor McGee (Super Street) also won in the PDRA’s upper divisions.
In the PDRA’s sportsman categories, trophies went to Bruce Thrift in Elite Top Sportsman, KC Ingram in Elite Top Dragster, Mike Alexander Jr. in Top Sportsman, and Richie Allen in Top Dragster. The Bracket Bash win went to Brittanie Ulmer from nearby Port Clinton, Ohio. She defeated Bernard Weaver in his ’84 Daytona in the sixth and final round.
The American Doorslammer Challenge also included fierce competition in the PDRA’s Jr. Dragster classes, where Carson Hoyle (Pro Jr. Dragster) and Lexus Trauth (Top Jr. Dragster) were victorious. Hoyle and final-round opponent Mallory Mattox both broke out, Hoyle with a 7.895 and Mattox with a 7.875, but Hoyle was off the line first and ran closer to the 7.90 index in his Hickory, North Carolina-based ’23 Mike Bos dragster. Trauth also used a starting line advantage to get the final-round win over Kylie Varnier, with Trauth’s 9.018 on a 9.01 dial-in in her Alexandria, Kentucky-based ’23 Mike Bos dragster beating Varnier’s 9.154 on a 9.15 dial-in.