Drag Illustrated Issue 152, January 2020 | Page 85

[ PRO NITROUS ]
Jim H alsey
J
im Halsey ’s 30-year fast
doorslammer racing career accomplish-
ments read like a Hall of Fame, all-star
list of successful endeavors. From the
first 5-second quarter-mile nitrous Pro Mod
pass to winning some of the biggest races in Pro
Modified racing, the stats on the back of Halsey’s
trading card included all but one achievement: a
world championship. That changed in 2019 when
Halsey secured the PDRA Switzer Dynamics Pro
Nitrous world championship.
“For as long as I’ve been in it, it’s a lifetime goal
to be a champion in a national organization like
this,” Halsey said after clinching the title at the
World Finals. “We ran IHRA for years, we ran
ADRL. I’ve won Indy, I’ve won Shakedown, I’ve
won Yellowbullet Nationals, but I’ve never won
a big series championship against competition
like we have here. It’s just awesome.”
Halsey, who isn’t big on rambling on and on
about his performance, let his Brandon Swit-
zer-tuned, Fulton-powered “Daddy Shark” ’68
Camaro do the talking for him. He dominated the
headlines all season, starting and ending the year
with pairs of back-to-back victories. The Havre
de Grace, Maryland, driver also runnered-up
midway through the season at the Northern Na-
tionals, then set the E.T. world record with a 3.613
at the World Finals.
“It’s just the best feeling in the world right now,”
added Halsey, who thanked his team led by Swit-
zer and longtime crew chief Eric Davis. “We’ve
had an excellent year to start with, and to finish
it off with the win, the championship and the
record going into the winter, it’s pretty awesome.”
Halsey’s team also includes his girlfriend of 32
years, Cathy Crouse. On top of racing together,
the couple works together in the family busi-
nesses, Cecil County Dragway and Structural
Concrete, Inc.
“Cathy has been with me the whole way,” Halsey
said. “We did make a mistake one time. Eric was
with me and we went testing without her. That
was a pretty bad day. We won’t do that again.”
Another consistent player in Halsey’s program
is engine builder Gene Fulton, who tied with
Pat Musi for the 2019 PDRA Engine Builder of
the Year honors. One of Fulton’s 959ci bullets
powered Halsey’s entire championship season.
“We won this championship on one engine,”
Halsey revealed. “We did have a spare engine at the
last race. We tested it Thursday and put it in the
trailer in case we needed it, but we won 4-5 races
this year with one engine. I’m very proud of that.”
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
Wayne Newby
Ja n u a r y 2 0 2 0
400 THUNDER TOP FUEL
//
Gary Phillips
400 THUNDER PRO ALCOHOL
DragIllustrated.com
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