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Halsey,
Salemi, Rice, Melnick, Davis and Essick Score PDRA East
Coast Nationals Victories |
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BENSON, N.C. (April 3, 2023) – Four-time and reigning
Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous world champion Jim Halsey is
starting his championship defense season with a win as he
raced to victory Sunday night at the Professional Drag
Racers Association (PDRA) Summit Racing Equipment East
Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech at GALOT Motorsports
Park. Halsey defeated fellow multi-time world champion
Tommy Franklin in the final round, claiming his third East
Coast Nationals victory.
The East Coast Nationals, the first race of the PDRA’s
10th season, was pushed into Sunday when rain and wind
forced officials to postpone Saturday eliminations.
Halsey was joined in the winner’s circle by additional pro
class winners Melanie Salemi in WS Construction Pro Boost
presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, Dwayne Rice in
Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED
Competition, Jeff Melnick in M&M Transmission Pro 632,
Brayden Davis in Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle, and Tim
Essick in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco.
Winners in the sportsman classes are Henry Underwood in
MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing
Engines, Steve Furr in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite
Top Dragster, Zach Houser in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman
presented by Corbin’s RV, and Justin Fordyce in Laris
Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster. Michael Morton picked
up the win in Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by COMP
Cams, defeating Richard Payne in the final round.
The PDRA East Coast Nationals also included the Jr.
Dragster classes. In Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster
presented by PRP, past world champion and No. 1 qualifier
Brayden Davis defeated Danika Miles in the final round
just moments after winning in his Pro Nitrous Motorcycle
debut. Davis used a .001 reaction time and a 7.962 to beat
Miles’ 7.944, both on the 7.90 index. McKenzee Hogan was
victorious in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented
by PRP, cutting a .037 reaction time and running 8.912 on
an 8.90 dial-in to beat Wyatt Stanley and his 9.147 on a
9.10 dial-in.
PRO NITROUS
A classic final-round battle between the two winningest
drivers in PDRA Pro Nitrous history ended with Jim Halsey
taking down Tommy Franklin. It was the two drivers’ second
time meeting in the final round of the East Coast
Nationals, and Halsey took the win just as he did in 2021.
This time, Franklin was first off the starting line, but
he had to lift to a 6.841-second pass at 66.45 MPH. In the
other lane, Halsey in his Fulton-powered “Daddy Shark” ’68
Camaro recorded his quickest pass of the day, a 3.646 at
206.20, to claim the first win of the season.
“We struggled quite a bit with some mechanical issues, but
to come out with a win was way better than we did last
year because we lost first round last year at this race,”
said Halsey, who thanked his crew, including tuner Brandon
Switzer, crew chief Eric Davis, Michael McMillan, and wife
Cathy. “There's a few guys that stepped it up. It's
obvious by the qualifying sheets and eliminations. To win
a round on a holeshot, that means I'm doing my job when I
need to. The way the crew worked to keep this thing
running and together all weekend was pretty satisfying.”
Halsey, the four-time and reigning world champion, started
eliminations with a rematch of his first-round race with
young gun Cam Clark at last year’s East Coast Nationals.
Halsey avenged his loss, as Clark went .020 red to
Halsey’s .011 red paired with a 3.67 at 201.01. In the
second round, Halsey cut a perfect .000 reaction time next
to Chris Rini’s .002 light, following through with a 3.649
at 207.30 to Rini’s 5.08. He then used a holeshot
advantage to win over “Tricky” Rickie Smith’s 3.654 with a
3.661 at 206.26 in the semifinals.
Franklin, a two-time world champion, used a .008 reaction
time and 3.683 at 206.95 in his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat”
’69 Camaro to defeat Mike Achenbach’s 3.701 in the first
round. Second-round opponent Ed Burnley went red by .143,
negating his 3.725, while Franklin cut a perfect light and
laid down a 3.646 at 207.69 to move on to the semifinals.
There, Franklin drove around Jay Cox’s .006 light with a
3.659 at 206.86 next to Cox’s lifting 3.805.
PRO BOOST
Melanie Salemi wrapped up three rounds of
ultra-competitive Pro Boost qualifying as the No. 1
qualifier on top of the quickest field in series history.
She didn’t have the dominant race day performance she was
looking for in Eddie Whelan’s newly screw-blown Steady
Eddie’s ’19 Camaro, but she ended up in the winner’s
circle by the end of the night Sunday. Final-round
opponent Johnny Camp set low E.T. of the weekend with a
career-best 3.579 at 209.26, but he was disqualified on
the starting line with a .004 red light. Salemi left with
a .010 light and lifted to a 3.913 at 149.03 for the win.
“Right now, confidence is not our No. 1 thing, only
because the performance of the race car today was not what
we're used to,” said Salemi. “I was under a lot of
pressure because I knew the car wasn't running to its
potential and we didn't have a handle on things so I was
going to have to be on my game driving. In the final, it
was going to the right and had the wheels up. I lifted not
knowing that he red-lit. I didn't even know that I had won
the race until like three minutes after I was out of the
car and walking around. Sometimes a little luck goes a
long way. You can’t win them all if you don’t win the
first one.”
Salemi had a tense first-round matchup with Kenny Lang,
managing to drive through tire shake to a 4.017 at 188.31
to Lang’s 4.104 at 180.38. She lined up against fellow New
York-based driver Joe Albrecht in Fletcher Cox’s
ProCharged ’69 Camaro in the second round. Salemi recorded
a 3.605 at 208.65 to win over Albrecht, who ran a 3.626
but went red by .005. Another red light, a -.009 by Ken
Quartuccio on a career-best 3.599 at 207.37, sent Salemi
and her 4.618 at 110.07 into the final round.
Camp, who recently qualified No. 1 to lead the 61-car
field at the World Series of Pro Mod, qualified third at
the East Coast Nationals in his ProCharged “Hells Bells”
’69 Camaro. He had a .005 light and a 3.624 at 208.71 to
beat Rob Cox in the first round. Camp and tuner Brandon
Stroud stepped up to a 3.605 at 208.55 to move past a
red-lighting Jason Lee in the second round. In the
semifinal pairing with No. 2 qualifier Travis “the
Carolina Kid” Harvey, both drivers cut .001 reaction
times. Camp was quicker down-track, though, winning with a
3.582 at 209.10 over Harvey’s 3.609 at 209.23.
EXTREME PRO STOCK
A first-time Extreme Pro Stock winner was guaranteed when
finalists Dillon Voss and Dwayne Rice made their way to
the starting line. Rice grabbed a starting line advantage
in his DR Grading & Excavating ’22 Camaro and never looked
back, running a weekend-best 4.102 at 176.28 to finish
ahead of two-time Pro 632 world champion Dillon Voss and
his 4.202 at 175.39.
Rice qualified No. 11 before winning first round with a
4.715 at 162.63 over alternate John Konigshofer’s 7.701.
He improved to a 4.143 at 176.03 to beat veteran driver
and tuner Tommy Lee, who lifted to an 8.27 in their
second-round match. The Grove City, Ohio-based driver
fought his way down the eighth-mile strip to a 4.895 at
142.91 in the semifinals against John Montecalvo, who
recently won the Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational at
the World Series of Pro Mod. Montecalvo had struggles of
his own and coasted through to an 11.984.
Voss qualified one spot behind Rice in the No. 12 slot,
then knocked down No. 5 qualifier Jordan Ensslin with a
4.099 at 168.83 in his Voss-powered ’06 Cavalier known as
the “Bad Banana.” The Floridian got up on the wheel for
his second-round pairing with reigning world champion
Johnny Pluchino, using a .005 light and 4.08 at 177.28 to
get the win over Pluchino’s 4.06. Fellow young gun Justin
Kirk couldn’t return for their semifinal matchup, so Voss
moved on to the final round with an unopposed 4.096 at
176.60.
PRO 632
After racing to a semifinal finish in his Pro 632 debut at
the 2022 PDRA World Finals, Jeff Melnick went into the new
season as a contender for the next first-time winner in
the class. He checked that box at the first race of the
season, taking Alan O’Brien’s one-of-a-kind AMC-powered
Greenbrier Excavating & Paving ’20 Camaro to the winner’s
circle. Facing defending world champion Amber Franklin in
the final round, Melnick was .026 off the starting line
and ran a 4.159 at 167.93, while Franklin slowed to an
8.467 at 50.53.
“This is the culmination of 40 years of trial and error by
Alan O’Brien and [engine builder] Barry Allen,” said
Melnick, who thanked team supporters Greenbrier Excavating
& Paving, Barry Allen Race Engines, PTP Racing, Mickey
Thompson Tires, and his own Exotic Fabrication. “They’ve
spent a ton of time and effort and money to perfect, blow
up, burn up, smash, and everything to get to this point to
be able to compete with people like Amber Franklin. It's
amazing. I mean, this is probably the first AMC-powered
professional category win since the '70s. It's wild. To do
what we're doing, it is just awesome.”
Powered by a stock bore space, nitrous-fed, small-block
AMC engine and tuned by Patrick Barnhill, the Melnick-driven
Camaro qualified No. 7 before winning first round over
Mike Murphy with a 4.249 at 165.52. In the second round,
defending event champion Alan Drinkwater went red by .022
on a 4.19 pass, and Melnick ran a 4.152 at 170.51 to get
lane choice over Lexi Tanner in the semis. Both drivers
made their best pass of the day, but Melnick’s 4.13 at
169.27 was better than Tanner’s 4.192 at 169.25.
Entering race day as the No. 1 qualifier, Franklin was
determined to defend her championship in her Musi-powered
“OG Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro. She lifted to a 4.681 at
111.63 on a first-round single, then laid down a 4.143 at
172.14 for the second-round win when opponent Gary Hood
couldn’t make the run. Franklin and tuner Jeff Pierce then
stepped up to a 4.128 at 171.75 in the semifinals to
defeat Doug Nicholl’s 4.165 and set low E.T. of the event.
PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE
A unique pairing rolled to the starting line for the Pro
Nitrous Motorcycle final round, as Kuwait-based No. 1
qualifier Meshal Al-Saber lined up next to 17-year-old
Brayden Davis, who made his debut this weekend. After
taking down two world champions, Davis cut a .004 reaction
time to leave on Al-Saber and his .022. The
third-generation rider was ahead at the finish line, too,
posting a 3.992 at 175.34 next to Al-Saber’s 3.998 at
172.04. Right after winning on his father’s
championship-winning Timblin Chassis motorcycle, Davis won
in the Pro Jr. Dragster final round for a rare double-up.
“This was a dream, perfect weekend,” said Davis, who
thanked parents Travis and Brandy and supporters like
Timblin Chassis, Monster Race Products, DTM Performance,
MaxxECU, Fast By Gast, and Worldwide Bearings. “I knew the
performance was there with my dad and Dan Wagner on the
computer. When those two get together, great things are
just bound to happen.
“I knew I needed to do my part riding,” Davis continued.
“I felt real comfortable on the bike this weekend. Dad
told me to just focus on the tree and stay consistent. It
got us in the winner's circle, but the performance side of
it, it’s a new experimental motor we're doing and it's
actually smaller CC and it's showing a lot of potential.
It stayed together, and it had more in it, but we were
just trying to play it safe and make sure we could go down
the racetrack and be competitive.”
Davis, a past Top Jr. Dragster world champion and the son
of multi-time and reigning Pro Nitrous Motorcycle world
champion Travis Davis, started his first-ever race day in
the class with 2021 world champion Chris Garner-Jones in
the other lane. Davis left the line first and ran a 4.015
at 175.18 to beat Garner-Jones’ 4.006 on a holeshot. He
then left first against multi-time world champion Eric
McKinney before beating McKinney’s 4.024 with a 3.985 at
175.82.
Al-Saber on Brad McCoy’s Q80 Racing Hayabusa was supposed
to face Terry Wynn in the first round, but Wynn couldn’t
make the call. Al-Saber used a 4.015 at 176.56 to earn
lane choice over Ashley Owens in the second round. He left
on Owens and recorded a 3.98 at 177.58 to defeat Owens’
4.044, earning lane choice for the final round by .005.
PRO STREET
Between qualifying and eliminations, Bill Riddle was
making the kind of passes that it looked like it would
take to carry him to another Pro Street win in his
roots-blown Corrigan Race Fuel ’89 Camaro. But after
leaving the line in the final round with a .006 reaction
time, Riddle went into a wheelstand and had to lift.
Reigning world champion Tim Essick was in the other lane
making a smooth 3.949-second pass at 190.54 to take the
victory in his ProCharger-boosted “Brown Sugar” ’18
Mustang. Riddle posted a 5.508 at 82.40 in the runner-up
effort.
“It was just a terrific start to the year,” said Essick,
who thanked supporters like ProCharger, UPR, and Billet
Atomizer before dedicating the win to Nancy Babcock. “Over
the winter, my particular combination got some weight, so
to be able to work with it, find a little bit of E.T.
throughout the winter, then come out at the first race and
be able to apply it, it was perfect. We had a full field
[in Pro Street] and every car that was in that field had
the potential to win, except for one Super Street car that
was testing. Other than that, it's a field full of sharks.
It's great to see it grow to a full field.”
Essick, the No. 3 qualifier, opened eliminations with a
4.112 at 188.17 to get past John Carinci and his 4.177. He
then made his first 3-second pass of the weekend, a 3.961
at 189.55, on a second-round single when Ron Green
couldn’t make the call. A consistent 3.97 at 189.28
followed in the semis to win over a red-lighting Ty Kasper
and earn lane choice for the final round.
Riddle was the No. 1 qualifier, earning a first-round
single. Even without someone in the other lane, he had a
perfect .000 reaction time but lifted to a 6.371 at 65.35.
He found his groove again in the second round, running a
3.936 at 189.15 to beat Jerry Morgano’s 5.102. The
Michigan-based driver ran a 3.977 at 176.63 to defeat
Canada’s Nick Agostino and his 5.287 in the semis.
TOP SPORTSMAN
Reigning Elite Top Sportsman world champion Henry
Underwood was the third defending champion to start the
season with a win. Racing against Arizona’s Bryan LaFlam
in the final round, Underwood cut a .007 reaction time and
drove his ProCharger-boosted PAR Racing Engines ’63
Corvette to a 3.842 on a 3.83 dial-in. LaFlam in his
supercharged ’67 Mustang broke out with a 3.799 on a 3.82
dial-in.
North Carolina’s own Zach Houser kept the Top Sportsman
trophy in the Tar Heel State, taking his ProCharged 2000
Firebird to the win over Mark Reese in the final round.
Reese broke out with a 4.214 on a 4.22 dial-in in his ’14
Mustang, while Houser won with a 4.323 on a 4.19 dial-in.
TOP DRAGSTER
Two champions squared off in the Elite Top Dragster final
round, where 2020 world champion Steve Furr paired up with
reigning world champion Larry Roberts in an all-ProCharger
matchup. Furr was first off the starting line in his Right
Trailers ’13 American dragster and held on to win with a
3.867 on a 3.79 dial-in. Roberts in his Roberts Equipment
’16 Racetech dragster followed with a 3.936 on a 3.81
dial.
A pair of home-state racers, Harmony’s Justin Fordyce and
Wallace’s Jimmy Albertson, met up in the Top Dragster
final round. Albertson had the starting line advantage
with his .002 light, but he slowed to a 4.392 on a 4.36
dial-in. In the other lane, Fordyce fired off a .009
reaction time and ran a 4.352 on a 4.34 to grab the win.
The 2023 PDRA season will continue April 20-22 at the
Mid-Atlantic Showdown presented by Classic Graphix at
Virginia Motorsports Park near Dinwiddie, Virginia.
ABOUT THE PDRA
Celebrating its 10th season in 2023, the Professional Drag
Racers Association is the top sanctioning body in the
United States for the sport of eighth-mile drag racing.
The PDRA’s professional categories include Pro Boost, Pro
Nitrous, Extreme Pro Stock, Pro Nitrous Motorcycle, Pro
632, and Pro Street. The series also features sportsman
racing in Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Pro Jr. Dragster
and Top Jr. Dragster. The 2023 PDRA schedule consists of
eight national events, plus the Summit Racing Equipment
PDRA ProStars. For more information on the PDRA, visit
www.PDRA660.com. |
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