BENSON, N.C. — Intermittent rain showers attempted to halt qualifying multiple times on Friday at the PDRA Drag Wars presented by Big Stuff Total Power Management, but the fans who stuck it out were treated to one of the most intense final qualifying sessions of the season.
With 28 entries in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, drivers were bumping in – and likewise getting bumped out – on nearly every pass in the third and final session.
At the end of the night, it was 2025 PDRA Pro Boost world champion and defending event winner Ty Tutterow who took home the No. 1 qualifier award, running a 3.556-second elapsed time at 209.79 mph.
After three qualifying sessions in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Ryan Bush made the most of his PDRA Pro Nitrous debut, taking the No. 1 spot with a 3.629-second pass at 209.56 mph.
Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by KTR Drag Racing also completed three rounds of qualifying, where former two-time Pro Street champion Tim Essick earned the No. 1 qualifier award with a 3.893 at 195.65 mph. Due to curfew, the other two professional categories finished the night with two qualifying sessions. Pro 632 presented by Mark Williams Enterprises saw points leader J.C. Beattie Jr. take the No. 1 spot with a 4.130 at 172.89, and Connor McGee used a 4.484 at 164.43 to qualify No. 1 in 1320 Fabrication Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling.
Following two qualifying sessions, No. 1 qualifier awards in the sportsman categories went to Jamie Fowler in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Alan O’Brien in Greenbrier Excavating & Paving Elite Top Dragster presented by American Race Cars, Ronnie Proctor in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman, and Bruce Holland in ATI Performance Products Top Dragster presented by TBM Brakes.
Defending PDRA Pro Boost world champion and 2025 Drag Wars event winner Ty Tutterow, son of two-time Pro Boost world champion Todd “King Tut” Tutterow, continued his torrid stretch Friday night in Benson, looking eerily similar to the late-season performance that won him a championship a year ago. Piloting Justin Smith’s Larry Jeffers-built Quik Fuel ’68 Camaro, Tutterow took to the No. 1 spot in the final session a jaw-dropping 3.556-second pass at 209.79 mph.
“We always plan to go up there and better our last run, and there were a couple people that went up there and ran pretty close to the same run that we did earlier, or maybe a little better,” said Tutterow. “But the weather got a lot better. We were able to really stand on it and give it everything we had for that last run, and it worked out. I really figured it would run a low .56. I didn’t think it was going to dip quite into a .55, but that was great.”
The run helped Tutterow, currently sitting third in points, edge slightly closer to points leader Jason Harris. The performance is looking like a repeat of how Tutterow finished 2025, and giving him confidence that he can repeat as the series champion.
“We got the pole again and all these points help,” Tutterow said. “It’s still an uphill climb to try to win the championship, but that’s our end goal…and try to win two races along the way. The car’s there. The team’s there. I gotta be there and we just gotta have some luck on our side.”
Johnny Camp, currently sitting second in points, qualified No. 2 in his ProCharger-equipped, Brandon Stroud-tuned “Hells Bells” ’69 Camaro, running a 3.576 at 210.80 mph.
A trio of Pat Musi-powered ’69 Camaros led the way Friday night in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by Jerry Bickel Race Cars, but it was newcomer Ryan Bush and tuner Jeff Pierce who stole the show in a potential spoiler role, snatching away the No. 1 spot from several championship contenders with a 3.629-second pass at 209.56 mph in his PDRA Pro Nitrous debut with “El Chapo.”
Defending PDRA Pro Nitrous world champion Marcus Butner qualified second in his Jay Cox-tuned, Butner Construction “Heartbreaker” ’69 Camaro, earning valuable championship points with his 3.631 at 207.69 mph.
Two-time class points champion Tim Essick might not compete quite as often as he used to, but he continues to impress in his ProCharger-equipped, “Brown Sugar” ’18 Mustang. Essick was the only driver to dip into the 3.80’s on Friday night in Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by KTR Drag Racing, taking the top spot with a 3.893 at 195.65.
Making the run even more impressive was the fact that Essick broke the rear end in Q2 and the team just barely made it to the lanes in time for their final pass.
Ron Green was the quickest screw-blown combination in the field, using a 3.914 at 198.00 mph in his silver ’00 Firebird during the final session to earn the No. 2 position.
For the second race in a row, points leader J.C. Beattie Jr. took his nitrous-fed ATI Performance Products ’18 Camaro to the top of the qualifying sheet in Pro 632 presented by Mark Williams Enterprises. The two-time event winner this season ran a 4.130 elapsed time at 172.89 mph, earning valuable points with just two races left in the season.
Jeff Pittman is second in points, and was second in qualifying as well, posting a 4.137 at 171.05 mph in his Hickory Enclosed Trailer Sales ’68 Chevelle.
The season-long battle between young guns Connor McGee and Austin Vincent continued in Benson, with McGee dealing the first blow of the weekend in 1320 Fabrication Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling.
In the second qualifying session, McGee ripped off a staggering 4.484-second blast at 164.43 mph in his Fulton-powered Brian’s Heating & Cooling ’90 Mustang, the quickest pass in Super Street history. Due to the track’s curfew, the reigning points champion didn’t receive a third session to attempt backing up his record, but he will have a bye in Saturday’s first round of competition, allowing him the opportunity to take a shot at it if the conditions are favorable.
Vincent, the points leader and defending event winner, ran a 4.520 at 154.09 mph in his Vincent Performance ’88 Mustang to take the No. 2 spot.
For the third time this season, Jamie Fowler led the way in Elite Top Sportsman, piloting his nitrous-assisted, Fulton-powered ’69 Camaro to a 3.788-second pass at 199.14 mph. Fowler’s speed gave him the edge over 2025 Elite Top Sportsman world champion Bryan LaFlam, who qualified second with an identical 3.788 at 193.05 mph in his supercharged BigStuff TPM ’67 Mustang. Bruce Thrift, the No. 1 qualifier in Bristol, qualified third, running a 3.797 at 195.31 in his nitrous-assisted, PAR-powered ’06 Pontiac GTO to a 3.815-second pass at 195.05 mph.
2025 world champion Alan O’Brien will lead the Elite Top Dragster field heading into eliminations on Saturday. Piloting his unique quad turbo, AMC-powered ’23 Racetech dragster, O’Brien lit the scoreboards with a 3.678-second pass at 205.22 mph. Leicester, North Carolina’s Will Creasman was just one thousandth behind, running a 3.679 at 198.96 mph in his Procharger-equipped ’22 Racetech dragster. Gray Kimble rounded out the top three, driving his ProCharger-powered ’18 Miller entry to a 3.697 at 198.44.
