FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Marcus Butner successfully defended his 2025 PDRA Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by Jerry Bickel Race Cars world championship.
Butner clinched the 2026 title during eliminations at the Pro Line Racing Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by ProCharger at Virginia Motorsports Park in mid-September.
After a late-season surge put him in the points lead going into the season finale, Butner held off three-time world champion Tommy Franklin to become just the third driver in Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series history to win back-to-back Pro Nitrous championships.
Butner’s start to the season would satisfy most drivers, but not the defending world champion and his Butner Motorsports team led by tuner Jay Cox. Driving his Musi-powered “Heartbreaker” ’69 Camaro, Butner reached the semifinals at the season opener and qualified No. 1 at stop No. 2, the East Coast Nationals at Darana Motorsports Park. He lost in the second round there and at the next race, the North vs. South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway, softening his hopes for another title.
But things turned around at the Thunder Valley Throwdown at Bristol Dragway, where Butner qualified No. 1 and won the race, defeating Franklin in the final round. The penultimate race of the season, DragWars at Benson, saw Butner qualify second and win again, this time defeating Franklin’s daughter, two-time Pro 632 world champion Amber Denton.
Those back-to-back victories put Butner just over two rounds ahead of Franklin going into the World Finals. The scenario was the exact opposite last year when Butner had to come from behind to win the championship. The momentum gave Butner and his team confidence, but they ran into problem after problem once they got to Virginia.
“We thought we were the most prepared for a race we’ve ever been to,” Butner said. “My guys were so excited to come to [the World Finals] being a couple of rounds up. They checked things that I didn’t even know we had to check. On our first test pass, we broke a four-link bar. We literally had problems from the back end to the front end all at the same time, and if I didn’t have such good guys, there’s no way we could have fixed it. No way.”
With parts from competitors like Franklin and Dane Wood, Butner’s team went to work repairing the car for qualifying. Their efforts paid off when Butner went to the No. 2 spot in the first session. He ended up No. 6 on the final qualifying sheet, setting up a first-round match with class veteran Chris Rini. Butner threw down his best pass of the weekend, a 3.655-second pass at 205.32 mph, to defeat Rini and his 3.681.
Butner’s championship hopes were nearly dashed in the second round on Sunday morning, as he left the starting line after opponent Billy Albert and trailed through the eighth-mile finish line with an off-pace 3.714 to Albert’s 3.702.
But the pendulum swung back in Butner’s direction in the final pair of the round when Dale Brinsfield used a holeshot advantage to upset Franklin. With that, Butner secured the title.
“It was a roller coaster,” Butner said. “I was mad at myself for being a little late on the tree. The car didn’t run near what we thought it’d run, and that’s from problems and problems. I just beat myself up. I felt bad for my crew. They’ve worked so hard to get us to this point. Tommy’s a great competitor, a great man, a great family man, and I’m not saying I don’t pull for him, but this weekend, it was hard to do. He lost and I didn’t know how to feel. It was up and down all at the same time.”
Butner joined an exclusive club of Pro Nitrous world champions when he won his first title, and he joined an even smaller group by winning a second consecutive championship. Franklin won two of his three back-to-back (2016-2017) and Jim Halsey won four straight (2019-2022).
Jason Harris, who won his third Pro Boost world championship this season, also has two Pro Nitrous titles (2014, 2018) for a total of five championships in the series, the most of any driver.
“Somebody said that you can luck up and win a championship, but the second one really solidifies it,” Butner said. “That was what we were trying to do this year. There’s only been a handful of people that’s won back-to-back. Tommy’s done it. Jim Halsey’s done it three times. Jason Harris has done it. Now we’ve done it.”
Butner heaped praise on his team, especially Cox, who earned numerous event wins in Pro Nitrous as a driver before switching his focus to tuning.
“Jay Cox is my program. I would not do it without him,” said Butner, who also thanked partners like Red Line Oil, Pat Musi Racing Engines, Liberty’s Gears, Ty-Drive, Indy Gear, Kinetic Engineering, Modern Racing, Victory Vinyl, PST, and Race Star Wheels. “There’s not a harder working tuner out there, period. If we work until 5 o’clock, Jay’s here working until 5 o’clock. He will help weld. He’ll help build motors. He’ll do anything that has to be done. It is a brotherhood and teamwork that makes this program so successful.”
