HARTSVILLE, S.C. — Pro Modified veteran Randy Weatherford fired off a 3.543-second pass at 212.26 mph, the first leg of a new E.T. national record, Friday night at the KTR Drag Racing PDRA Carolina Nationals presented by Pee Dee Fleet at Darlington Dragway.
The performance in the third and final qualifying session also gave Weatherford the No. 1 qualifier position in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive at the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season opener.
Tommy Franklin (Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by Jerry Bickel Race Cars), Jerry Morgano (Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by KTR Drag Racing), J.C. Beattie Jr. (PDRA Pro 632 presented by Mark Williams Enterprises), and Matt Schalow (1320 Fabrication Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling) also earned No. 1 qualifier awards in the pro classes.
Though Carolina Nationals qualifying didn’t benefit from the cool conditions typical of the season opener, Randy Weatherford and team proved that the Pro Boost E.T. record isn’t safe this weekend. Under the lights at Darlington Dragway, Weatherford in his Harts Charger-boosted WS Construction ’69 Camaro dipped below the current record, 3.555, with his 3.543 at 212.26 to highlight the final qualifying session.
“It’s very rewarding. Now, if I can come away with a victory here, it will really be rewarding,” Weatherford said. “The car’s been running pretty good. I’ve got that new 4.9 AJ motor in it from Pro Line. The car I’ve got right now has been flawless. It’s won and it should have won a couple more races, but we had some issues go wrong. But to come out here and do what we did, it just speaks highly of my team and the people behind me and my employees that work hard for me and give me the opportunity to come out here and play this big ball game here. This is what we come for – it’s the trophies, not the money.”
Weatherford will need to run a 3.578 or quicker to back up the record during Saturday eliminations, but the Virginia native is more focused on chasing the race win.
“I think the record will take care of itself,” Weatherford said. “I think the temp tomorrow is going to be 60 degrees. We run .54 all day when it was 75 degrees here. The record will follow.”
Jason Harris, who boasts pairs of world championships in both Pro Boost and Pro Nitrous, ran just one thousandth off the record, a 3.556 at 211.27, in his Harts Charger-boosted “Party Time” ’69 Camaro to qualify second. Lyle Barnett in Tommy Youmans’ Harts Charger-equipped Wright Mowers “Clean Title” ’18 Camaro qualified third with a 3.561 at 212.46.
Three-time Pro Nitrous world champion Tommy Franklin was the quickest of the 20 drivers who attempted to qualify for the 16-car field at the season opener. Driving his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat 3.0” ’69 Camaro, Franklin was solidly in the field in fourth going into the final qualifying session. Franklin and tuner Jeff Pierce turned it up for Q3, where Franklin rolled to a 3.634 at 208.24.
“Mountain Man” Mike Achenbach qualified second in his Fulton-powered, Brandon Switzer-tuned ’20 Camaro when he fired off a 3.651 at 207.76. Reigning world champion Marcus Butner and tuner Jay Cox threw down a 3.661 at 207.66 to sit No. 3 in the Musi-powered Butner Motorsports “Heartbreaker” ’69 Camaro.
For the first time since 2023, Outlaw 10.5 veteran Jerry Morgano charged to the No. 1 qualifying spot in Pro Street. After struggling to get down the track in the first qualifying session, Morgano posted a 3.960 in the second session to enter final qualifying as the provisional low qualifier. He finally locked in the position with a 3.949 at 203.90 behind the wheel of his turbocharged, small-block-powered “Copperhead” ’02 Mustang.
Morgano’s future son-in-law, Joel Wensley Jr., qualified second on the strength of a 3.968 at 194.97 in his ProCharged ’14 Camaro. Ron Green, who led the pack after the first qualifying session, stepped up to a 3.972 at 200.53 in his screw-blown “Game Changer” ’00 Firebird but slid to third.
Half of the drivers in Pro 632 dipped into the 4.10s, but J.C. Beattie Jr. separated himself from that pack with a 4.127 at 172.55 in his nitrous-assisted ATI Performance ’18 Camaro. That pass in the final qualifying session was enough to give Beattie his first career No. 1 qualifier award.
Jeff Pittman, now in his second season in the class, went to the No. 2 spot in his Barry Allen-powered Hickory Enclosed Trailer Sales ’68 Chevelle with a 4.159 at 171.23. Michigan’s Doug Nicholl returned from a one-year hiatus and picked up where he left off, as he qualified third with a 4.161 at 168.86 in his Musi-powered ’68 Camaro.
Last season, the young guns led the way all year in Super Street. That trend continued Friday as a trio of young wheelmen topped the qualifying order after three sessions.
Virginia Beach’s Matt Schalow drove his nitrous-assisted, Knieriem-powered ’69 Camaro to a 4.608 at 158.34 to take the No. 1 qualifier spot for the first time in his career. Schalow, who’s been a part of the class since the beginning, brought out the car midway through last season after a crash at the second race of the season sidelined his previous car.
Defending world champion Connor McGee, based out of Pelion, South Carolina, qualified No. 2 in his Fulton-powered ’90 Mustang with a 4.621 at 155.49. Championship runner-up Austin Vincent, who converted his nitrous-fed Vincent Performance ’88 Mustang to EFI over the winter, went to the third spot with his 4.646 at 137.83.
South Carolina’s own Jamie Fowler, who earned his first career Elite Top Sportsman win at this event in 2023, scored the No. 1 qualifier award. He laid down a 3.740 at 199.29 in his nitrous-fed, Fulton-powered Pee Dee Fleet ’69 Camaro to hold off 2024 world champion Glenn Butcher, who delivered a 3.760 at 202.16 in his nitrous-fed, Albert-powered Butcher & Son Demolition ’69 Camaro to qualify second. Engine builder Scott Duggins ended up third in his ProCharged PAR Racing Engines ’63 Corvette with a 3.783 at 194.72.
In Top Sportsman 32, Aaron Glaser held off two of the most recent world champions, Jeff Talvacchio and Joe Roubicek, to qualify No. 1 with a 4.185 at 172.74 in his nitrous-assisted ’69 Camaro.
Inman, South Carolina-based Elite Top Dragster competitor Josh Duggins claimed the No. 1 qualifier position in his ProCharged PAR Racing Engines ’14 Maddox dragster when he posted a 3.725 at 202.61 in the final session.
Two-time world champion Steve Furr led the way going into Q3 and ended up second in his ProCharged ’13 American dragster with a 3.731 at 200.09. Brian Anderson wasn’t far behind with a 3.734 at 196.51 in his ProCharged ’23 Race Tech dragster in third.
