Drag Illustrated Issue 178, September / October 2022 | Page 61

Special Section

THIS EDITION OF THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST REPRESENTS PERFORMANCES FROM THE SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NORTHERN NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENSKE RAC- ING SHOCKS , AUGUST 11-13 , AT MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY . EDITOR ’ S NOTE : DRAG 965 PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE DID NOT COMPETE AT THIS EVENT .

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER
PRO NITROUS
PRO BOOST
EXTREME PRO STOCK
PRO OUTLAW 632
PRO STREET
CHRIS RINI JIM HALSEY FREDY SCRIBA
PRESTON TANNER TODD TUTTEROW ROB COX
JOHNNY PLUCHINO CHRIS POWERS JR CARR
DARYL STEWART AMBER FRANKLIN WALT LANNIGAN JR .
TIM ESSICK NICK AGOSTINO BILL LUTZ
Chris Rini had to wait several years to get his first Pro Nitrous win , but his second victory came just a few weeks later . After qualifying No . 2 in Bryant Marriner ’ s Buck-powered ATI Performance ’ 69 Camaro , Rini ’ s consistency carried him through eliminations to meet low qualifier and points leader Jim Halsey in the final round . Rini left first and ran a 3.73 to get the win , while Halsey slowed to a 3.825 after running low E . T . of the prior two rounds in his Fulton-powered “ Daddy Shark ” ’ 68 Camaro . Fredy Scriba ’ s wild weekend ended in the semifinals , where his Musipowered “ Sorcerer ” ’ 69 Camaro fell to Halsey ’ s 3.702 .
Just a couple races after watching younger sister Lexi win her first Pro 632 race , Preston Tanner got to hoist his own PDRA “ 660 Man ” trophy in Pro Boost for the first time . The former Pro Jr . Dragster world champion enjoyed a career-best weekend in his screw-blown “ Sweetheart ” ‘ 15 Corvette , qualifying No . 1 and making some of the quickest passes of eliminations , including a 3.665 to beat Todd “ King Tut ” Tutterow in the final round . Tutterow was appearing in his second consecutive final and fourth of the season after qualifying No . 2 . Rob Cox won the first two rounds as the underdog against heavy hitters Robert Gallegos and Randy Weatherford .
The Extreme Pro Stock championship battle continues to heat up , as 2020 champion Johnny Pluchino overcame challenging conditions to win the race and reclaim his points lead from Tony Gillig . He beat Gillig in a marquee matchup first round , then took out No . 1 qualifier JR Carr on his way to the final . There , he defeated reigning world champion Chris Powers with a 4.308 in his Kaase-powered $ hameless Racing ’ 13 Mustang . Powers in his Sonny ’ s Racing Engines ’ 21 Camaro was appearing in his first final since winning the season opener . Carr looked strong in qualifying and first round , but fell in a semifinal match with Pluchino .
It ’ s become clear that Daryl Stewart and tuner Clayton Murphy have found what they were missing at the beginning of the season . Stewart ’ s Chassis Engineering ’ 17 Camaro ran in the low 4.20s until the final round , where the No . 2 qualifier stepped up to a 4.196 to beat Amber Franklin ’ s 4.223 . Franklin , now a fourtime finalist this season , qualified No . 4 and made solid passes , like a 4.207 in the semis . Walt Lannigan Jr . qualified No . 1 in the car that won this race in 2021 , but his 4.221 in the semis wasn ’ t enough to reach his fourth final of the year .
Defending Pro Street world champion Tim Essick bounced back with his first win since the season opener , using a holeshot and a 4.06 in his ProCharger-boosted “ Brown Sugar ” ’ 18 Mustang to knock out Bill Lutz and his 4.026 in the final round . Nick Agostino , who ’ s now qualified No . 1 at all but one of the five Pro Street races this year , couldn ’ t carry over his qualifying success on race day , falling to Essick in the semis . Lutz ’ s supercharged “ Big Boost ” ’ 67 Camaro qualified third , but was the quickest car in all three rounds , putting the class on notice going into the World Finals .
MONTH _ 2016
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