BRISTOL, Tenn. — Reigning PDRA Pro Boost world champion Jason Harris returned to the FuelTech Winner’s Circle for the first time this season at the inaugural PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown Saturday night at Bristol Dragway.
In a side-by-side WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive final round against Johnny Camp, Harris laid down a 3.643-second pass at 205.94 MPH to defeat Camp and his 3.663 at 203.68 at the sixth of eight races on the 2024 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series tour.
For the second time this season, three-time and reigning Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous world champion Tommy Franklin doubled up with his daughter, Amber Franklin, who won in PDRA Pro 632.
Harris and the Franklins were joined by professional class winners Daryl Stewart in Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition, Brunson Grothus in Drag 965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Ethan Steding in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco Racing, and Connor McGee in Afco Racing Super Street presented by Menscer Motorsports.
Harris went into the Thunder Valley Throwdown with a win at the non-points Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars all-star event and two runner-up finishes, but he needed a points-earning win to get back into the championship conversation. He accomplished that goal by racing to another final round, where he met the most recent event winner, Johnny Camp.
With tuner Brandon Stroud calling the shots on both cars, Harris left the line first by just four thousandths and charged to a 3.643 at 205.94 in his ProCharged Party Time Racing/Southern Diamond Company ’69 Camaro to stay ahead of Camp and his 3.663 at 203.68.
“This one feels good. It’s historic. It’s Bristol,” said Harris, who thanked his team and family, PDRA, Hoosier Racing Tires, Pro Line Racing, ProCharger, and LAT Racing Oil. “I came here as a kid, 10 or 12 years old, and my dad won two national events here. I came here in ’12 in Pro Nitrous when we ran in another series, but this means a lot. We’ve tried really hard. We’ve been in three finals in the last three races. We’ve had some unlucky luck. We had some bad luck this weekend. Johnny had some bad luck, but right now, I’m driving good and the car’s running good. What else can you ask for? A win at Bristol is big.”
The latest chapter of the Tommy Franklin vs. Jim Halsey Pro Nitrous championship battle saw Franklin, the three-time and defending world champion, get a final-round win over Halsey. Franklin used a quicker reaction time and a 3.694 at 205.29 in his Jeff Pierce-tuned, Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro to get one round closer to Halsey, the points leader going into the weekend.
Halsey recorded a 3.696 at 203.40 in the runner-up effort. It was Franklin’s second win in three final-round appearances this season, and like the last win, he got to share the winner’s circle with his daughter, Pro 632 winner Amber Franklin.
Past Pro 632 winner Daryl Stewart earned his first career Extreme Pro Stock win at Norwalk earlier this year, then he sat out the next two events. He returned to the PDRA tour in Bristol and picked up where he left off, adding a second consecutive win behind the wheel of his Clayton Murphy-tuned, Kaase-powered Chassis Engineering ’12 Camaro. He moved first in the final round against first-time finalist Jordan Ensslin, then set low E.T. of the event, a 4.125 at 174.96, to deny Ensslin and his 4.189 at 169.64.
Pro 632 points leader Amber Franklin came out victorious in a final-round battle between the two most recent world champions in the class. Reigning world champion Jeff Melnick qualified No. 1 and ran well in the first two rounds, but Franklin stepped up with the quickest pass of the event to earn her second win of the season in four final-round appearances. She drove her Musi-powered “OG Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro to a 4.192 at 170.49 to hold off Melnick and his 4.238 at 169.06.
Two of the strongest riders in Pro Extreme Motorcycle met up in the final round for the second time in four races. No. 1 qualifier Brunson Grothus continued his class-leading performance with a win over two-time and reigning world champion Chris Garner-Jones. Grothus left first by just a thousandth of a second, then he rode Robert Varela’s turbocharged Dallas Flat Glass Distributors Hayabusa to a weekend-best 4.02 at 185.54 to finish ahead of Garner-Jones and his 4.069 at 172.96. It was Grothus’ second win of the season.
Pro Street points leader Ethan Steding continued his standout rookie season with his third win of the year. Facing fellow rookie Dan Norris in the final round for the second time, Steding fired off the quickest pass of the event to notch his third win in decisive fashion. He left on Norris and posted a 3.956 at 191.84 in his Todd and Ty Tutterow-tuned, roots-blown P2 Contracting “College Fund” ’24 Camaro, while Norris had problems and had to lift to an 8.03 at 50.77. The victory extended Steding’s points lead as he pursues a Pro Street world championship to join his 2021 Pro Jr. Dragster title.
Second-generation small-tire racer Connor McGee has made his presence known in Super Street this season, and that continued at Bristol, where McGee qualified No. 1 for the first time and went on to earn his second win of the year. McGee drove his nitrous-assisted, Fulton-powered ’90 Mustang to low E.T. of the event, a 4.629 at 154.40, in the final round to knock out points leader Dan Whetstine, who ran a 4.743 at 157.89.
Two veterans of fast Top Sportsman racing, Dewayne Silance and John Benoit, met up in the Elite Top Sportsman final round. The race was over on the starting line, though, as Benoit left too soon in his Buck-powered ’17 Camaro, while Silance posted a 3.887 on a 3.89 dial-in in his Fulton-powered ’68 Camaro to get the win in his second final round of the season.
Points leader Mark Reese extended his lead with a second consecutive win in Top Sportsman 48. Driving his ’08 Mustang, Reese left first and ran a 4.311 on a 4.29 dial-in to defeat Dwayne Gallogly and his 4.197 on a 4.18 dial-in in the final round.
Longtime Elite Top Dragster standouts Michael White and past world champion Matt Cooke weren’t the quickest in qualifying, but they used consistency to reach the final round. There, White in his ProCharged ’15 Maddox dragster cut a .006 light and ran a 3.827 on a 3.81 dial-in, while Cooke broke out with a 3.842 on a 3.85 dial-in, handing the win to White.
Eighty Top Dragster competitors showed up to Bristol, and after the 16 quickest drivers split off into the Elite field, the next 48 quickest drivers made up the Top Dragster 48 field. New Hampshire’s Nick Meloni and Virginia’s TJ Harper were the two drivers left standing in the final round. The two had nearly identical reaction times, then Meloni turned on the win light with his 4.321 on a 4.32 dial-in in his TT Motorsports ’16 Dan Page dragster. Harper wasn’t far off with his 4.357 on a 4.34 dial-in.
In the sportsman categories, Dewayne Silance (MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines), Michael White (Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving), Mark Reese (MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Corbin’s RV), and Nick Meloni (Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster presented by Younce RV) also walked away with Bristol trophies. Jake Hodge raced to victory in Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by COMP Cams, driving Tyler Crossnoe’s ’23 Race Tech dragster to the final-round win over Kyle Eggers in his ’92 Beretta.
The PDRA’s rising stars in the Jr. Dragster classes also took part in the Thunder Valley Throwdown, with Carson Hoyle and Kylie Varnier earning wins in Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products and Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products, respectively.
In an all-North Carolina final round, Hoyle ran a 7.936 in his ’23 Mike Bos dragster to get closer to the 7.90 index than Kameron Helms, who left first but ran a 7.969 in his ’13 Mike Bos entry. Top Jr. Dragster championship contenders Varnier and Braydon Crayton squared off in the final round, with Varnier’s better reaction time and 9.113 on a 9.10 dial-in defeating Crayton’s 8.955 on an 8.95 dial-in.