Thunderstorms cut short the PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown at Bristol Dragway on Saturday night, forcing Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series officials to move the conclusion of eliminations to the next stop on the tour.
The event will be completed at the ProFab DragWars presented by PST Driveshafts, scheduled Sept. 11 at GALOT Motorsports Park in North Carolina.
“This is obviously not the ideal outcome, but we fought through rain storms earlier in the day and completed as much racing as we could before these forecasted thunderstorms rolled in,” said Tyler Crossnoe, PDRA series director. “More rain has moved into the area and is going to stay in the area throughout half of Sunday, effectively losing our back-up date as well. The remainder of the Thunder Valley Throwdown will be completed at GALOT Motorsports Park during the PDRA DragWars event on Thursday, September 11. We will post more detailed information as soon as possible, but the event is concluded for the weekend in Thunder Valley. We appreciate all of our racers and fans who came out to spend their weekend with us at Bristol Dragway.”
The series finished one round of eliminations in all professional categories, along with multiple rounds in sportsman and Jr. Dragster competition, before the storms arrived.
Virginia’s Dane Wood posted the standout performance of the opening round in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous, making a 3.761-second pass at 199.82 mph to upset No. 2 qualifier John Vergotz, who ran a 3.760 at 201.52. Other results included Tommy Franklin 3.907 (bye run), Brian Shrader 3.968 def. Tim Paap 5.524 (red), Marcus Butner 3.806 def. Fredy Scriba 3.779, Cam Clark 3.826 def. Amber Denton 4.208, and Tim Molnar 3.825 def. Billy Albert 5.502 (red).
In WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, defending event champion Jason Harris recorded low elapsed time of the round with a 3.686 at 205.51 to defeat Don Tolley, who red-lighted. Preston Tanner 3.688 def. Bubba Greene 5.269, Ed Marx 3.715 def. Kurt Steding 3.727, David Monday 5.202 def. Johnny Camp 3.714 (red), Melanie Salemi 3.709 def. Cameron Hensley 4.55, Steve King 3.732 def. Frank Falter IV 3.803, Randy Weatherford 3.714 def. John Doc 3.722, and Ty Tutterow 3.734 def. Raymond Matos (broke).
Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by Menscer Motorsports saw a major swing in the points race when No. 1 qualifier and leader Blake Denton broke on the starting line. No. 12 qualifier Ethan Steding, who is second in the standings, moved on with a 4.138 at 186.00. Other results: Mikey Sasina 4.178 def. Ty Kasper 4.160, Ron Green 4.092 def. Chris Tuten 4.086, Fletcher Cox 4.144 def. Bill Devine 4.375, Richard Reagan 4.143 def. Adrian Herrera 4.201, and Bill Riddle 6.665 def. Scott Kincaid (broke).
AED Competition Fuel Systems Extreme Pro Stock presented by Allen Competition Engines opened with two upsets in the points chase. Two-time and defending world champion Chris Powers lost on a holeshot to Dave Hughes, while recent first-time winner Jeremy Huffman fell to Jordan Ensslin. Elijah Morton 4.237 (bye), Hughes 4.179 def. Powers 4.174, Alan Drinkwater 4.153 def. Steven Boone 4.238, and Ensslin 4.218 def. Huffman 4.284.
First-time No. 1 qualifier Nicole Liberty continued her pace in PDRA Pro 632 presented by PTC Torque Converters with low E.T. of the round, a 4.239 at 166.66 on a bye. Other winners included Carson Hoyle 4.262 def. Kyle Salminen 6.866, Jeff Pittman 4.262 def. Ed McLemore 4.384, Lexi Tanner 4.259 def. Brian Clauss 4.358 (red), Jeff Melnick 4.245 def. Gary Hood 11.013, and J.C. Beattie Jr. 4.247 def. Jason Ventura 4.295.
In PDRA Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling, defending event champion and No. 1 qualifier Connor McGee led the way with a 4.635 at 156.59 to defeat Brad McBride. Additional first-round results: Dan Whetstine 4.760 def. Grant Breaud 4.800, Austin Vincent 4.692 def. Matt Schalow 4.757, and Carson Perry 4.715 def. Brooks McMath 4.759.
Among the sportsman fields, MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving, and Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by COMP Cams all completed one round.
Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products ran two rounds, while MagnaFuel Top Sportsman 32, Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster 48 presented by Derrick Wolfe Trucking, and Paragon Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products each completed three rounds.
Officials said all classes will resume competition at GALOT Motorsports Park on Sept. 11, beginning with the continuation of eliminations from Thunder Valley.
