DINWIDDIE, Va. — With fireworks lighting up the sky and nitro fumes and jet smoke still filling the air, nitrous Pro Modified veteran Fredy Scriba celebrated his first career Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous victory Saturday night at Virginia Motorsports Park’s PBR Night of Fire.
Racing in the fourth annual Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars all-star specialty event, Scriba defeated three-time and defending world champion Tommy Franklin in the final round to secure the $15,000 check, a custom ProStars trophy and bragging rights. Though championship points weren’t on the line, the ProStars race marked the halfway point in the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season.
Virginia’s own Ron Green also earned his first career win in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco Racing, while reigning WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive world champion Jason Harris and past PDRA Pro 632 world champion Amber Franklin won in their respective classes. Dan Whetstine scored a second consecutive win in Afco Racing Super Street presented by Menscer Motorsports.
Winners in the sportsman classes were Tim Molnar in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Frank Falter IV in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving, Ed Foley in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Corbin’s RV, and Will Creasman in Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster.
Victories in the Jr. Dragster categories went to Ryan Harris in Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products and Victoria Beaner in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products. The Pro Jr. Dragster final round saw Fredericksburg, Virginia’s Ashley Franklin leave first with a .005 reaction time, but she broke out with a 7.887.
Harris trailed with his 7.909 to get the win in his Ontario, Canada-based ’08 Halfscale. Beaner, the current points leader, similarly used an 8.908 on an 8.90 dial-in in her Florida-based ’22 Mike Bos dragster to defeat West Virginia’s Will O’Brien, who broke out with a 12.402 on a 12.43 dial-in. Beaner’s win came after swapping an engine for the first round.
PRO NITROUS
Scriba has appeared in two out of the four Pro Nitrous final rounds this season, but he went into ProStars still seeking his first career win in the category. Driving his new Robert Hayes-built, Musi-powered Scriba Welding ’69 Camaro, Scriba used a holeshot advantage and a 3.713-second pass at 209.01 MPH to get the final-round win over three-time and reigning world champion Tommy Franklin, who ran a quicker 3.694 at 205.54.
“We’ve been in a lot of finals, so it’s pretty important for us to finally get one,” said Scriba, who thanked his crew: Steve, Doug, Bailey, his parents, wife Shannon, and partners like Pat Musi, Robert Hayes, Marty Chance, Todd Tutterow with Ty-Drive, Adam Lambert with PRS Shocks, and Liberty’s Gears. “Whether it was for money or points, it didn’t really matter, but it’s really important just to get a win, more or less. We’ve been to a lot of finals and it feels really good to finally win one.”
Scriba raced to a 3.755 at 202.21 to get the first-round win over past ProStars winner Dane Wood and his 3.813. He improved to a 3.703 at 205.26 in the semifinals to take down past Elite Top Sportsman world champion Buddy Perkinson and his 3.738.
Franklin in his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro opened eliminations with the second-quickest pass of the round, a 3.743 at 202.85, to knock out Derrick Ford and his 3.874. He met up with the quickest driver of the first round, Marcus Butner, in the semifinals. It was a side-by-side race, with Franklin’s 3.699 at 205.10 finishing ahead of Butner and his 3.713.