BUDDS CREEK, Md. — Travis “The Carolina Kid” Harvey’s Pro Mod hot streak continued Saturday night when he raced to victory in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive at the Hoosier Tire PDRA North vs. South Shootout presented by Callies Performance.
Competing at his car owners’ home track, Maryland International Raceway, Harvey delivered a wire-to-wire victory in the screw-blown Redd Topp Trucking/Holland Enterprise ’19 Camaro, using a 3.595-second pass at 209.36 mph to defeat Derek Ward and his 3.624 at 207.75 in the final round.
Just a few weeks after using a perfect .0000 reaction time to win the $125,000 IHRA Pro Mod Mania, Travis “The Carolina Kid” Harvey returned to the winner’s circle, where he was joined by dozens of friends and supporters. Harvey, who’s also won in NHRA Pro Mod, secured his second career Pro Boost win when he drove the screw-blown Redd Topp Trucking/Holland Enterprise ’19 Camaro owned by Vaughn Myles and Eric Holland to a 3.595 at 209.36 in the final round. Maryland’s own Derek Ward chased Harvey out of the gate, but he couldn’t catch him with a 3.625 at 207.75.
“This is my car owners’ home track, and we’ve been struggling every time we come here, so it feels good to finally get a win for them here,” said Harvey. “If it wasn’t for Vaughn and Eric, I couldn’t race, so to do it in front of their home crowd is awesome. I’m just blessed and I thank God and my crew, Danny [Perry, crew chief], his boys, my son [TJ], all the team. They got in and did everything they need to do. Everything fell our way. You have your days where you can’t do anything wrong, and that’s how it was today. I’m just on a streak and I just hope it keeps going.”
Harvey qualified a season-best third and used a string of 3.61s to reach the final round, starting with a 3.610 at 208.84 over Joel Wensley Sr. and his 3.668. He left on Mike Decker Jr. in the second round and followed through with a 3.616 at 208.81 to Decker’s 3.751 in the second round. Harvey then met two-time Pro Boost world champion Jason Harris in the marquee matchup of the event in the semifinals. The two North Carolina natives have battled each other since the earliest days of their illustrious careers. This one went Harvey’s way as he left first and ran a 3.610 at 208.46 to hold off Harris and his quicker 3.603.
Ward, who won the 2024 World Series of Pro Mod, qualified No. 8 in his return to PDRA competition driving his screw-blown ’68 Firebird. He won his first-round match against Puerto Rico’s Gabriel Andino with a 3.644 at 208.55 to Andino’s 3.657. In the second round, Ward upset Ty Tutterow, the reigning world champion, defending event winner, and No. 1 qualifier. Tutterow made the second-quickest pass of the event, a 3.589, but he was behind from the start, allowing Ward to move on with a 3.648 at 208.52. Ward kept things rolling in the semifinals with a 3.633 at 208.52 to defeat Raymond Matos, who slowed to a 5.731.
Fredy Scriba, the 2024 Pro Nitrous world champion, showed no signs of new-car blues when he rolled out his brand-new Robert Hayes-built, Musi-powered “Sorcerer” ’69 Camaro at his home race. The Millersville, Maryland-based driver recorded two of the quickest passes of the event on his way to a second consecutive North vs. South Shootout victory. In the final round, he won on the starting line when 2020 Elite Top Sportsman world champion Buddy Perkinson went red by .011 seconds. Scriba charged to a 3.653 at 207.72 to put an exclamation point on the weekend.
Scriba, who qualified sixth, started eliminations with a 3.652 at 206.48 over 2015 world champion “Tricky” Rickie Smith and his 3.699. A .020 reaction time and a 3.661 at 206.54 was enough to upset No. 1 qualifier Tim Paap and his 3.659 on a holeshot in the second round. Scriba ended up with a bye run in the semis, which he used to merely take the tree in preparation for the final round.
Perkinson, who was chasing his first career win in the class, qualified fourth in his Musi-powered LAT Racing Oil ’69 Camaro. He cut .00 reaction times in the first two rounds, using a 3.652 at 205.85 to beat Chris Rini in the first round and a 3.691 at 204.45 to eliminate reigning world champion Marcus Butner and his 3.699 in the second round. Semifinal opponent Dane Wood, who earned holeshot wins in the first two rounds, went red by .014 seconds on a 3.667 pass, while Perkinson raced to a 3.657 at 205.88 to earn lane choice in the final.
Second-generation PDRA racer Joel Wensley Jr. earned his long-awaited first career Pro Street victory in a final-round match over fellow young gun Scott Kincaid. Wensley, who earned prior round wins on the starting line and at the finish line, led the race from start to finish in his ProCharged ’14 Camaro. He fired off a weekend-best 3.944 at 197.71 to finish ahead of Kincaid and his 3.996 at 193.93.
Wensley qualified No. 7 but stepped up on race day. He was one of just three drivers to dip into the 3-second zone in the first round, recording a 3.976 at 197.42 to knock out two-time world champion and home track hero Tim Essick and his 3.998. In the second round, Wensley left on Morgano and ran a 3.960 at 197.88 to win on a holeshot over Morgano’s 3.935, the quickest pass of the weekend. Points leader Blake Denton went red by .002 seconds on a 3.982 pass against Morgano in the semifinals, but Wensley was prepared with his 3.973 at 196.62.
Kincaid qualified No. 2 in his screw-blown ’69 Camaro before advancing past the first round with a 4.025 at 193.68 over a red-lighting Michael Ziccardi. He lifted to a 4.918 at 129.47 on a second-round bye run, then he improved to a 3.986 at 193.60 to defeat teammate Richard Reagan’s 3.984 on a holeshot in the semis.
Longtime Top Sportsman competitor Jeff Pittman had a breakout weekend in Pro 632, where he scored his second consecutive No. 1 qualifier award on his way to earning his first career win in the class. With power from engine builder Barry Allen and Alan O’Brien’s Greenbrier Excavating & Paving team and tuning by Patrick Barnhill, Pittman set low E.T. of all three rounds on race day. He faced fellow second-year Pro 632 racer Carson Hoyle in the final round, where the two drivers left the line together before Pittman in his Hickory Enclosed Trailer Sales ’68 Chevelle pulled ahead with a 4.147 at 171.27 to Hoyle’s 4.183 at 168.58.
Pittman’s 4.139 at 171.53 in the opening round against Tara Jarvis’ 6.158 ended up being low E.T. of the event. He rolled to a 4.156 at 171.23 to hold off Jason Ventura and his 4.228 in the semifinals.
Hoyle, who qualified second in his Musi-powered ATI Performance Products ’69 Camaro, kicked off race day with a 4.170 at 160.42 to send home Maryland’s Gary Hood in round one. He knocked out another local racer, Cameron Gibson, in the semis with a 4.164 at 167.68 to Gibson’s 4.233.
Reigning Super Street world champion and defending event winner Connor McGee added a dominant win – his second in three consecutive final rounds – to pad his points lead over championship runner-up Austin Vincent. It was Vincent who tried to stop McGee in the final round, but McGee in his Fulton-powered Brian’s Heating & Cooling ’90 Mustang threw down low E.T. of the event, a 4.525 at 156.95, to get a decisive win. Vincent moved first before recording a 4.655 at 158.86 in the runner-up effort.
“Last year, we won this race and it was a big momentum boost in the points,” said McGee, thanked Brian’s Heating & Cooling, Driven Racing Oil, Tub O’ Towels, Bucked Up Energy, Abby’s Performance, and Fulton Racing Engines. “In every class, it seems to always be this halfway point in the season, things start to turn around, so I’m glad it didn’t turn around for us and it just kept going our way. I think now we have at least two rounds [on Vincent], so that feels really good to just have that consistency and that momentum going into the rest of the year.”
As the No. 1 qualifier, McGee earned a bye run in the opening round, which he used to set low E.T. of the round, a 4.565 at 152.90. He ran a consistent 4.567 at 157.36 in the second round to beat 2025 event runner-up Matt Schalow and his 4.634. McGee then stepped up to a 4.533 at 156.50 over Frank Saffelle III, who slowed to a 6.055, in the semis.
Vincent qualified No. 2 in his Vincent Performance ’88 Mustang and was the second-quickest driver in the first round with his 4.573 at 155.10 over Troy Hill. A 4.647 at 154.40 followed in the second round to beat Kenny Fox and his 5.091. Vincent lifted to a 7.212 at 84.48 on a semifinal bye run.
Though Mike Keeler didn’t have the quickest car in Elite Top Sportsman, he used a combination of consistency and quick reaction times to walk away with the 660 Man in a final-round battle between nitrous-fed old-school vs. new-school Corvettes. Keeler, the No. 15 qualifier in his Middletown, Virginia-based ’63 Corvette, ran a 4.099 on a 4.08 dial-in to beat Brian Tiffe and his 3.833 on a 3.81 dial-in. Tiffe was the No. 4 qualifier in Gary Schween’s Ohio-based Schween Motorsports ’18 Corvette.
In Top Sportsman 32, Stafford, Virginia’s Stacy Johnson in his ’68 Camaro moved first and ran a 4.476 on a 4.47 dial-in to defeat Mike Daymude, who broke out with a 4.239 on a 4.24 dial-in in his Hedgesville, West Virginia-based ’08 Dodge Stratus.
Two-time Elite Top Dragster world champion Steve Furr raced to his second win in three races behind the wheel of his ProCharged ’13 American dragster. Furr’s final-round package – a .005 reaction time and a 3.797 on a 3.79 dial-in – proved too hard to beat for opponent Linzie Coleman, who broke out with a 3.836 on a 3.84 dial-in in his ProCharged ’17 American dragster. Notably, Furr took out points leader Josh Duggins in the semifinals, tightening up the championship battle.
Providence Forge, Virginia’s Chad Traylor is a past world champion in Top Sportsman, but it was Top Dragster 32 where he showed off his championship abilities at Maryland. In the final round, Traylor cut a quicker light and posted a 4.235 on a 4.23 dial-in in his ’26 Maddox dragster to win over Brooke Hall Gary, who ran a 4.356 on a 4.35 dial-in in her ’22 American dragster.
The North vs. South Shootout also featured the PDRA’s sportsman ranks, where winners were Mike Keeler in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Steve Furr in Greenbrier Excavating & Paving Elite Top Dragster presented by American Race Cars, Stacy Johnson in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman 32, and Chad Traylor in ATI Performance Products Top Dragster 32 presented by TBM Brakes.
Emma Crane (Pro Jr. Dragster) and Wyatt Piercey (Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster) were victorious in the Jr. Dragster classes. It was a Maryland vs. Virginia final-round battle in Pro Jr. Dragster, with Dunkirk, Maryland’s Crane using a 7.892 to defeat Forest, Virginia’s Katelyn Page and her 7.891 in a double breakout. In Top Jr. Dragster, Piercey cut a quicker reaction time and ran an 8.918 on an 8.91 dial-in in his Salisbury, North Carolina-based dragster to turn on the final win light over Henrico, Virginia’s Acelynn Christian, who posted an 8.980 on an 8.95 dial-in.
A pair of locally based bracket racers squared off in the final round of Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by Philadelphia Racing Products. Jason Kirby was first off the line in his ’70 Nova and ran a 6.031 on a 5.99 dial-in to defeat Donnie Yeatman’s 7.456 on a 7.44 dial-in in his ’88 Beretta.
