Travis Harvey has found the kind of rhythm every Pro Modified racer spends a career chasing.
One week after cashing the biggest paycheck of his career with a $125,000 victory in IHRA Pro Mod Mania, Harvey backed it up Saturday night with another statement performance, driving to the Pro Boost victory at the rain-delayed PDRA North vs. South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway.
Harvey wasn’t the only driver celebrating on one of the PDRA schedule’s signature weekends. Fredy Scriba defended home turf in Pro Nitrous, while Joel Wensley Jr. broke through for his first Pro Street victory.
Momentum is a powerful thing in drag racing, and Harvey has plenty of it. Driving the screw-blown Redd Topp Trucking/Holland Enterprise 2019 Camaro owned by Vaughn Myles and Eric Holland, Harvey completed a flawless weekend by laying down a 3.595-second pass at 209.36 mph in the final round. Maryland native Derek Ward left with him but couldn’t reel him in, finishing with a 3.624 at 207.75.
The victory marked Harvey’s second career Pro Boost win and added another chapter to a remarkable stretch that has also included success in NHRA Pro Mod competition.
“This is my car owners’ home track, and we’ve been struggling every time we come here, so it feels good to finally get a win for them here,” Harvey said. “If it wasn’t for Vaughn and Eric, I couldn’t race, so to do it in front of their home crowd is awesome. I’m just blessed and I thank God and my crew, Danny [Perry, crew chief], his boys, my son [TJ], all the team. They got in and did everything they need to do. Everything fell our way. You have your days where you can’t do anything wrong, and that’s how it was today. I’m just on a streak and I just hope it keeps going.”
While Harvey continued a hot streak, Scriba proved a brand-new race car could become a winner immediately.
The reigning 2024 Pro Nitrous world champion unveiled his Robert Hayes-built, Pat Musi-powered “Sorcerer” 1969 Camaro without the benefit of a single test pass before arriving at Maryland International Raceway. By the end of the weekend, the new combination looked like it had been together for years.
Scriba posted two of the quickest runs of the event before closing the deal in the final against former Elite Top Sportsman world champion Buddy Perkinson.
Perkinson turned the race around before the Christmas Tree was cleared, fouling by .011 seconds. Scriba stayed focused and finished the job with a 3.653 at 207.72 to earn his second consecutive North vs. South Shootout victory and another win at his home track.
“It’s pretty awesome to win at MIR. This is our home track,” Scriba said. “There’s no words to describe it. If you’re going to win one race all year, this is the one to win for me. This is definitely the one. I’m just really proud of our entire team. They did an awesome job. We got the car ready, never made any laps before we came to the track this weekend. Robert did an awesome job building the car. This car drives like a dream.”
For Wensley Jr., the wait finally ended. The young standout had spent several seasons knocking on the door in one of PDRA’s toughest professional categories before finally kicking it open with his first Pro Street victory.
Facing fellow rising talent Scott Kincaid in the final, Wensley never gave his opponent an opportunity. Driving his ProCharged 2014 Camaro, he recorded the quickest run of the weekend, a 3.944 at 197.71 mph, while Kincaid chased with a 3.996 at 193.93.
The victory completed a day that required winning races in different ways.
“This is pretty rewarding,” Wensley said. “We’ve been working at this for God knows how long now. We got our first win on the car a couple of weeks ago – not on this tire, though – and I told Josh, my crew chief and brother-in-law, I’m like, ‘Dude, we’re winning on this tire.’ It’s just been a long time coming. It’s awesome. It’s tough to explain. We’re jacked up. Patrick [Barnhill] is a bad man on the laptop. The car really came around. I’ve got to thank my future father-in-law [Jerry Morgano] for some chassis advice that really helped us turn a corner this weekend too. DiSomma builds the baddest motor around. We’ve got the right parts, we’ve got the right people, and it’s just working.”
Jeff Pittman added the Pro 632 victory, while Connor McGee claimed the Super Street title to complete the professional winners list.
PDRA’s sportsman categories produced another full slate of winners.
Mike Keeler captured Elite Top Sportsman, Steve Furr won Elite Top Dragster, Stacy Johnson claimed Top Sportsman 32, and Chad Traylor earned the Top Dragster 32 victory.
The junior racers also had their turn in the spotlight.
Emma Crane prevailed in a Maryland-versus-Virginia Pro Jr. Dragster final, defeating Katelyn Page in a double-breakout race with a 7.892. Wyatt Piercey used a quicker reaction time and an 8.918 on his 8.91 dial-in to defeat Acelynn Christian in the Top Jr. Dragster final.
Local racers closed out the weekend in Bracket Bash.
Jason Kirby left first in his 1970 Nova and ran 6.031 on a 5.99 dial-in to defeat Donnie Yeatman, whose 1988 Beretta posted a 7.456 on a 7.44 dial.
