Pro Boost racer Ty Tutterow captured his first Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series victory since his 2017 rookie season Saturday, leading a field of professional winners at the North vs. South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway.
Joining Tutterow atop the podium were Pro Nitrous champion Fredy Scriba, Blake Denton in Pro Street, and Alan Drinkwater in Extreme Pro Stock.
Tutterow piloted the screw-blown Quik Fuel ’69 Camaro previously driven by his father, Todd “King Tut” Tutterow, to a 3.667-second pass at 206.54 mph to defeat top qualifier Steve King’s 3.68-second run in the Pro Boost final.
“It’s been a while,” Tutterow said. “It’s a good race car. It’s a comfortable race car. To know and watch what the car’s doing going down the track by watching on the outside and sitting in the seat just gives you a little bit more of an advantage and a feel for the car. The track was changing all day long. It would get sun on it. The prep would change just a little bit, then you come out here for the finals and get some shade on it again and that’s the time to step back on it.”
Scriba, a Maryland native and reigning Pro Nitrous world champion, earned an emotional victory in front of his family after a rocky start to the season.
He held off Tommy Franklin Racing’s Chris Albert in the final with a 3.712-second pass at 206.29 mph, edging Albert’s 3.727 at 206.42 mph.
“This one’s really special,” Scriba said. “My grandmother passed away a few weeks ago. This one means a lot to me and my family. My wife and kids are here. All of our family is here for this one, so this one’s really awesome. We struggled a lot this year and it feels good to make some good, clean laps and go A to B. That’s all that really mattered.”
Denton outlasted Dan Norris in a Pro Street final shaped by shifting track conditions. Denton drove “Bonnie,” his nitrous-powered ’69 Camaro, to his second win in three events with a 4.019 at 201.49 mph, pulling away from Norris’s 4.055 at 185.72 mph.
“This was special because it’s Father’s Day weekend, and for my dad and for the team’s dads and for Pat and Liz [Musi], I knew this would be special for them,” Denton said. “To get it done with Lizzy’s car, it just makes [Pat] feel better. It feels good to get another win, especially when you’re chasing a championship. As long as you can get ahead in the season, it just helps you in the long run, and that’s what we’re shooting for this year.”
Extreme Pro Stock standout Drinkwater returned to form with his first win since clinching the 2023 title. He defeated defending event winner Elijah Morton with a 4.157-second pass at 173.99 mph in his Kaase-powered ’08 Mustang, besting Morton’s 4.182 at 174.91.
“We’ve been needing to win for a while,” Drinkwater said. “We’ve been battling the heat out here all weekend and we’ve been fighting issues. It just feels good. I know C.R. Powers sponsored the race, so I appreciate the $10,000 and the PDRA for putting it on. It definitely makes the weekend of sweating and the 14-hour haul back to Florida worth it. I think we went to No. 1 in points, so we’re going to try to run with the momentum and see if we can wrap this deal up like we did back in ’23.”
Additional professional winners included Jeff Melnick in Pro 632 and Connor McGee in Super Street.
In the sportsman categories, past champions dominated. Stacy Hall won Elite Top Sportsman, Kyle Harris took Elite Top Dragster, Steve Furr earned Top Sportsman 48 honors, and Nick Meloni secured the Top Dragster 48 title.
Bernard Weaver claimed victory in the Edelbrock Bracket Bash.
Junior Dragster victories went to Alyssa Rabon in Pro Jr. Dragster and Wyatt Piercey in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster. Rabon defeated Carter Jackson after matching .045 reaction times; Jackson broke out with a 7.894 to Rabon’s 7.903.
Piercey, son of former Top Dragster champion Tisha Wilson, launched ahead of Hanna Mattingly and ran a 12.055 on a 12.07 dial-in. Mattingly broke out with an 8.949 on an 8.97 dial.
The Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series takes a midseason break before resuming competition at the Northern Nationals, July 31 through Aug. 2, at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.
