BENSON, N.C. — Reigning Pro Boost world champion Jason Harris took over the points lead in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive Saturday night when he earned his second consecutive win of the season.
In a side-by-side 3.62-second final round against Todd “King Tut” Tutterow, Harris turned on the win light by five thousandths of a second to claim the ProFabrication PDRA DragWars presented by PST Driveshafts event win.
It was a rematch of the final round at the 2024 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season opener at GALOT Motorsports Park, as well as the first GALOT win for the Pittsboro, North Carolina, native.
Fredy Scriba earned his first career Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous win, taking over the points lead in the process. Reigning Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco Racing world champion Bill Riddle collected his first event win of the season. Chris Powers, the 2021 Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition world champion, won to pad his points lead. Past PDRA Pro 632 world champion Amber Franklin Denton secured the 2024 world championship while also winning the event. Afco Racing Super Street presented by Menscer Motorsports points leader Dan Whetstine also won.
Sportsman class victories went to Tim Lawrence in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Steve Furr in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving, Dave Muller in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Corbin’s RV, and Joe Gary in Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster presented by Younce RV. Lauren Freer picked up the win in Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by COMP Cams, defeating Michael Jackson in the final round.
The PDRA’s rising stars in the Jr. Dragster classes also took part in DragWars, with TJ Harvey and Griffin Davis winning in Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products and Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products, respectively. Harvey, son of Pro Boost standout Travis Harvey, was quicker off the line in the Pro Jr. Dragster final round and posted a 7.937 to get the holeshot win over Ashton Halas’ 7.927, both on a 7.90 index. In an all-Virginia Top Jr. Dragster final round, Davis grabbed a sizable advantage on the starting line and ran a 9.009 on an 8.97 dial-in to turn on the win light over championship contender Kylie Varner and her 9.092 on a 9.03 dial-in.
Reigning Pro Boost world champion Jason Harris started his title defense season at GALOT by racing to the final round, but he fell into a slump that saw him drop his first-round matches at the next three races. Things picked back up in the middle of the season, and his rebound continued when he met Todd “King Tut” Tutterow in the DragWars final round for a rematch of the season opener final round. With five PDRA world titles between the two, the final round lived up to expectations. Harris in his ProCharged Southern Diamond Company “Party Time” ’69 Camaro left the line first by one thousandth of a second, then lit up the scoreboard first with a 3.622 at 207.53 MPH. Tutterow was just five thousandths behind at the finish line with his 3.626 at 207.88.
Harris went into the weekend just over two rounds behind points leader Kurt Steding, who lost in the first round, so Harris is the new points leader.
Maryland’s Fredy Scriba has been having the best season of his PDRA Pro Nitrous career, starting with two runner-up finishes in the first three races. He then won the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars all-star event to hoist his first PDRA 660 Man trophy, but a points-earning win eluded him until Saturday night. Lined up against nitrous Pro Modified legend “Tricky” Rickie Smith in the final round, Scriba won when Smith went red on a 3.872 at 205.16 pass. Scriba was ready for a race, though, as he set low E.T. of race day with his 3.684 at 206.54 in his Musi-powered “Sorcerer” ’69 Camaro.
With points leader Jim Halsey suffering a weekend-ending crash in Friday’s final qualifier and No. 2 in points Tommy Franklin losing in the opening round, Scriba took over the points lead with just one race remaining. The three drivers are separated by less than a round.
Reigning Pro Street world champion Bill Riddle suffered first-round exits at the first three races of the season, but he’s finding some late-season success to close out the season. He qualified No. 1 at the most recent event at Bristol, then he reached his first final round of the season at DragWars. He turned that into a win by making the only 3-second pass of eliminations, a 3.981 at 188.81, to deny first-time finalist Richard Reagan, who pedaled his way to a 4.456 at 182.26. The win was the culmination of lots of work to repair body damage, wounded parts, and even his RV.
Chris Powers’ bid for a second Extreme Pro Stock world championship received a major boost when he raced to the final round, then defeated championship challenger and two-time world champion Johnny Pluchino. Powers led wire to wire in his Chuck Samuel-tuned Sonny’s Racing Engines ’21 Camaro, running a 4.101 at 175.16 to reach the finish line before Pluchino, who wasn’t far behind with a 4.105 at 177.65. It was Powers’ second win in three final-round appearances this season, putting him very close to clinching the championship.
Pro 632 points leader Amber Franklin Denton went into DragWars with a sizeable lead, but she knew her path to a second Pro 632 world championship wasn’t a clear one. Qualifying No. 1 made it a little clearer, but she had a full field of consistent and competitive racers standing in her way.
The past Pro Jr. Dragster world champion held her own and locked up the championship before taking down championship runner-up Walter Lannigan Jr. in the final round. Lannigan grabbed a slight holeshot, but Franklin’s Musi-powered “OG Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro laid down a 4.16 at 171.82 to drive around Lannigan’s 4.188 at 169.30.
The top two drivers in Super Street points, Dan Whetstine and Derek Mota, charged through three rounds to square off in the final round. Whetstine padded his lead over Mota with a nearly maximum points weekend, qualifying No. 1 and defeating Mota in the final round. Whetstine in his ProCharged “Red Velvet” ’91 Mustang set low E.T. of eliminations with his 4.612 at 160.56, while Mota left hard but got out of shape and had to coast through the finish line to a 6.704 at 79.11.
Nitrous cars ruled the late rounds in Elite Top Sportsman, where Tim Lawrence met past world champion and No. 1 qualifier Tim Molnar in the final round. Lawrence had the quicker reaction time in his Albert-powered Bell ’13 Camaro and ran a 3.908 on a 3.88 dial-in to get the win over Molnar, who posted a 3.79 on a 3.77 dial-in in his ’68 Camaro.
Hood scoops and big cubic inches were also the theme in the Top Sportsman 32 final round between Dave Muller and past world champion Joe Roubicek. Muller was away first in his New Jersey-based Dave Muller Automotive & Trailer ’00 Camaro and lit up the scoreboard with a 4.418 on a 4.40 dial-in, defeating Roubicek and his 4.237 on a 4.22 dial-in in his ’68 Camaro.
The ultra-competitive fast bracket racing in Elite Top Dragster was on full display in the final round, which saw two-time and reigning world champion Steve Furr and Danielle Gonzalez both lay down 3.88-second passes. Gonzalez was dead-on her dial-in in her ’23 American dragster compared to Furr’s 3.87 dial-in, but it was Furr’s .010 reaction time in his ProCharged Right Trailers ’13 American dragster that gave him the win by just two thousandths.