BUDDS CREEK, Md. — For the second consecutive event on the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series tour, three-time world champion Tommy Franklin qualified No. 1 in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous.
In the final qualifying session Friday night at the BigStuff Total Power Management North vs. South Shootout, Franklin covered the Maryland International Raceway eighth-mile strip in 3.675 seconds at 206.73 mph in his “Jungle Rat 3.0” ’69 Camaro.
Along with Franklin, pro class No. 1 qualifiers included Steve King in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, Fletcher Cox in Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by Menscer Motorsports, Chris Powers in AED Competition Fuel Systems Extreme Pro Stock presented by C.R. Powers HVAC, Jeff Melnick in PDRA Pro 632 presented by PTC Torque Converters, and Connor McGee in PDRA Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling.
Three-time Pro Nitrous world champion Franklin will be the first to admit he struggled in pre-race testing at Maryland, but tuner Jeff Pierce and the Tommy Franklin Motorsports team bounced back in qualifying. Franklin led the way in all three qualifying sessions, but it was his 3.675 at 206.73 in the final session that clinched the top spot. The performance left Franklin confident that his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat 3.0” ’69 Camaro is ready for battle on Saturday.
“We were trying some stuff and had a couple little issues that cost us a couple laps in testing, but we rebounded,” said Franklin, who won at Maryland last year. “The car came out and ran good – real good in Q1, just barely missed it in Q2, and Q3 we were able to put it on the pole. We have a hard-working team over here. All the cars in our camp get a lot of attention and we have a great group of guys that keep them up top. Thanks to Jeff Pierce, Pat Musi power, and everybody that helps me. We’re in really good shape, but there’s a lot of stiff competition.”
Elite Top Sportsman championship runner-up turned Pro Nitrous rookie Tim Paap qualified No. 2 in his Jeffrey Barker-tuned ’16 Corvette. Paap, who won the season opener in his debut and had Killin’ Time Racing’s Stevie “Fast” Jackson fill in for him at the last race, posted a 3.677 at 203.03. Another rookie, two-time Pro 632 world champion Amber Denton, ran a 3.681 at 205.72 in her Musi-powered “OG Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro to sit third. Denton, No. 2 in the points standings, will take on points leader and 2023 event winner Marcus Butner in the Pro Nitrous Marquee Matchup.
One year after qualifying No. 1 at the 2024 North vs. South Shootout, Steve King returned to Maryland International Raceway with a new title: 2025 World Series of Pro Mod champion. Determined to add a Pro Boost world championship to that title, King and the Pilot Racing team took another step in proving their potential by qualifying No. 1 for the second year in a row. King wheeled Gene Pilot’s screw-blown “Savage” ’19 Corvette to a 3.662 at 206.54 to lead the list of 22 drivers who tried to make it into the 16-car field.
When Fletcher Cox retired from playing professional football with the Philadelphia Eagles, he dove headfirst into another competitive outlet: racing in PDRA Pro Street as a driver.
Cox, a longtime team owner in the sport, made his Pro Street debut at the last race on tour and immediately made a statement. He reached the semifinals in one of the largest fields in class history, proving just how serious he is about his new endeavor. He made another statement at the North vs. South Shootout, where he qualified No. 1 in just his second race. Cox fired off a 4.027 at 192.03 in the heat of the day behind the wheel of his Phil Shuler-tuned, nitrous-fed “Training Day” ’69 Camaro.
“This means a lot,” said Cox, a Super Bowl champion. “We went out there and tested good. We ran good in qualifying. Ran good during the day, made some really good laps. The team did a really good job of turning the car around and making sure that I had a fast and safe car down the racetrack. But to come out my second race and qualify No. 1, what more can I ask for? Especially when it’s [girlfriend] Kaycee’s birthday tomorrow.”
Two-time and reigning Extreme Pro Stock world champion Chris Powers continued his qualifying domination by taking the top spot for the third consecutive race. By three thousandths of a second, he held off 2023 world champion Alan Drinkwater for the No. 1 position in a tense final qualifying battle. Powers posted a 4.122 at 175.34 in his Sonny’s Racing Engines/ATI Performance ’21 Camaro, setting him up in prime position to chase this weekend’s special $10,000-to-win prize presented by C.R. Powers HVAC.
After struggling in his Pro 632 world championship defense season last year, Jeff Melnick is finding his way back to the top of the class. For the second consecutive race, he took Alan O’Brien’s Patrick Barnhill-tuned Greenbrier Excavating & Paving ’20 Camaro to the No. 1 spot in qualifying. With power from engine builder Barry Allen, Melnick recorded a 4.168 at 170.64 in the final qualifying session to secure the top spot that he held through all three sessions.
Young gun Austin Vincent dominated Super Street qualifying in the first two races of the season, but fellow young gun Connor McGee stopped that streak Friday night when he took the top spot. After two of three planned qualifying sessions, McGee sat atop the qualifying order with a 4.656 at 154.26 in his nitrous-fed, Fulton-powered Brian’s Heating & Cooling ’90 Mustang. He’s chasing his second win of the season after winning the season opener in April.
Matt Schalow made a triumphant return after crashing his nitrous-fed ’00 Camaro in eliminations at the most recent event on tour. The Virginia Beach-based driver rolled into Maryland with a new-to-him ’69 Camaro, which he drove to a 4.711 at 155.74 to qualify No. 2. Rookie Carson Perry qualified third, posting a 4.739 at 156.37 in his nitrous-assisted Greenbrier Excavating & Paving ’00 Camaro.
Reigning Elite Top Sportsman world champion Glenn Butcher secured his third consecutive No. 1 qualifier award of the season thanks to a 3.777 at 199.37 in his nitrous-fed Butcher & Son Demolition ’69 Camaro. Bryan LaFlam took the No. 2 spot in his supercharged BigStuff TPM ’67 Mustang with a 3.792 at 193.29. Brian Tiffe, driving for Dr. Gary Schween in the nitrous-fed Schween Motorsports ’21 Corvette, rounded out the top three with his 3.861 at 194.32.
Corey Evans was the quickest of the 52 drivers who sat outside the 16-car Elite field after qualifying concluded, giving him the No. 1 spot in Top Sportsman 48 with a 4.193 at 178.78 in his Middletown, Virginia-based ’18 Camaro.
As he’s done numerous times, Chesterfield, South Carolina-based Elite Top Dragster wheelman Jody Stroud took the No. 1 spot by a bunch. Driving his supercharged “Zombie” ’07 Spitzer, Stroud laid down a 3.68 at 200.77, making him the only driver to dip into the 3.60s in the hot conditions.
