Lead Photo by Gary Rowe
In a family where world championships are part of the DNA, Ty Tutterow added another chapter to the Tutterow legacy by clinching the 2025 Red Line Oil PDRA Pro Boost world title in October. The second-generation standout followed the path set by his father, Todd “King Tut” Tutterow, who earned Pro Boost crowns in 2014 and 2022.
Ty’s run to the championship looked familiar to fans who watched Todd build a reputation on late-season surges. The younger Tutterow reached the final round at the last five races and won three of them, mirroring the kind of consistency and resilience that helped define his father’s career.
The season opened with Ty stepping into Justin Smith’s screw-blown Quik Fuel ’69 Camaro, the same car Todd drove to third place in 2024. He reached the semifinals at the season opener before missing the field at the Mid-Atlantic Showdown at Virginia Motorsports Park.
But just as Todd so often did during his long run through Pro Mod and Pro Boost, Ty responded immediately. He delivered his first PDRA 660 Man trophy in several seasons at the North vs. South Shootout in Maryland, resetting the team’s confidence and momentum.
That set the stage for the stretch that ultimately secured the championship. He fouled out in a close final at the Northern Nationals in Michigan, then swept the next two events — the Thunder Valley Throwdown (completed at GALOT Motorsports Park) and DragWars — defeating Melanie Salemi in both final rounds. Those victories pushed him well ahead of Salemi entering the October finale.
Before Ty could defend that lead, he had to qualify at Virginia Motorsports Park, the same track where the car had failed to make the field three straight times. That changed immediately in the first qualifying session, where he fired off a 3.584-second pass to sit No. 2 and later finished No. 5.
“Knowing that [Virginia] was our Achilles heel with this car, we came off the trailer and ran a .58, so it was just an immediate sigh of relief,” Ty said.
Both Ty and Salemi won their early-round matchups, lining up for a high-pressure second-round race that would decide the championship. Neither driver posted their best numbers, but Ty reached the stripe first, officially clinching the 2025 title.
He advanced to his fifth straight final round but red-lit against outgoing two-time champion Jason Harris. Harris closed the season second in points, with Salemi finishing third after three final-round appearances.
Ty’s weekend didn’t end with one championship. He also tuned Ethan Steding to his second consecutive title in Liberty’s Gears Pro Street — the kind of multitasking that has long been part of the Tutterow way since Todd built Wake Forest-based WYO Motorsports into a championship-caliber operation.
“It’s another feather in the cap,” Ty said. “I started working in the shop when I was 13–14 years old, trying to learn all the aspects on the car to be well-rounded enough to go around the cars and then get the opportunity to start tuning them as well as driving.”
He credited his entire support system for making the season’s climb feel both familiar and deeply personal. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity that everybody has given me in life. I’m very blessed,” he said.
The title, he added, means more because it continues a Tutterow standard that stretches back decades. “It means the world. It’s a childhood dream come true,” Ty said. “Coming out here and doing all this with family on the weekends just means everything.”
The Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series will celebrate its 2025 champions during the PRI Show in Indianapolis on Dec. 12. For Ty, the banquet will mark the official recognition of a season built on family pride, perseverance, and one more championship added to the Tutterow name.
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