Major news items posted from Drag Illustrated & from the PDRA circuit….
A Winter Windfall! — Drag Illustrated and Florida’s Bradenton Motorsports Park have announced the creation of a three-race Pro Modified series known as the Drag Illustrated Winter Series.
Featuring the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals, the U.S. Street Nationals, and culminating with the World Series of Pro Mod, the Drag Illustrated Winter Series will bring the biggest names, best drivers and most competitive race teams in the world to Florida’s Gulf Coast for three of the biggest weekends in eighth-mile drag racing – during next Winter season.
Collectively, the Drag Illustrated Winter Series will pay out more than $300,000 in the Pro Mod division alone.
“To say that I’m excited about this is the understatement of the century,” said Wes Buck, Founder & Editorial Director of Drag Illustrated.
“Fans have always looked back fondly on drag racing’s early days in Southern California, but we’re about to create a new ‘golden era’ for this sport along the Florida Gulf Coast. It’s no secret that I believe Pro Mod to be the universal language of drag racing. In my eyes, this is a brand of drag racing that is unrivaled in action, excitement and competition, but perhaps most importantly in participation. There are hundreds of Pro Mod teams in North America alone, and it’s our mission to bring the best of the best to Bradenton Motorsports Park this winter to do battle.”
The inaugural Drag Illustrated Winter Series season will open with the $50,000-to-win Snowbird Outlaw Nationals on December 6-8, 2024, followed by the now $75,000-to-win U.S. Street Nationals on January 24-26, 2025, and ultimately culminate with the $150,000-to-win World Series of Pro Mod over the weekend of February 27-March 1st, 2025. Accompanying these substantial purse increases for the series’ individual events will be a championship points fund that will reward the series champion and top performers.
“There’s a shared vision for the future of drag racing here between Drag Illustrated and Bradenton Motorsports Park, and I’m super excited to continue the work we’ve already done to propel this sport that we all love to the next level. We won’t stop until we get there.”
The Drag Illustrated Winter Series will utilize the Pro Mod ruleset that has produced the closest competition in the history of the eliminator the last two seasons during the World Series of Pro Mod, which assembled 32-car fields of racers separated by as little as six hundredths of a second.
“Our mission at Drag Illustrated has been, and always will be, to grow and build the sport of drag racing, and that’s rooted in providing value to this community,” continued Buck. “We’ve strategically built out this new series in an effort to provide a perfect complement to the many well-established and successful sanctions, series and independent events that already exist in this space. We’re proud of and grateful for the strong relationships we have in this community with track owners, promoters, series officials, manufacturers, racers and fans, and see this as the natural evolution for the events side of our business.
Maryland’s Derek Ward won a cool $100,000 at last years DI World Series of Pro Mod event hosted at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
“Above all, we’re here to provide the most action-packed ‘offseason’ that drag racing has ever seen for our fans and a can’t-miss opportunity for our racers to compete on a grand stage with world-class event production and organisation. And, again, we couldn’t be more excited about the Drag Illustrated Winter Series, but I promise we’re just getting started.”
The Drag Illustrated Winter Series will continue the World Series of Pro Mod’s tradition of an invite-only format and will be contested on the outlaw eighth-mile.
ABOUT DRAG ILLUSTRATED — Since 2005, DI has informed, inspired and educated drag racers from every walk of the racing life – weekend warrior and street/strip enthusiasts to pro-level doorslammer and Top Fuel racers. From award-winning writing and photography to binge-worthy videos to electric live events, DI meets hundreds of thousands of racers where they live, creating the moments that create conversations.
To learn more, visit www.DragIllustrated.com
PDRA Michigan — Racing in front of a packed house at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Johnny Camp charged to his first WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive event win in over two years g at the PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Talbert Manufacturing. Held in conjunction with the track’s 23rd Northern Nationals presented by Gun Lake Casino, the fifth of eight races on the 2024 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series tour.
Johnny Camp with his Brandon Stroud-led team battled through adversity all weekend, but their efforts were rewarded with Camp’s first Pro Boost win in just over two years. In the final round, Camp in his ProCharged “Hells Bells” ’69 Camaro left on reigning world champion Jason Harris with a .010 reaction time to Harris’s .018 light. He then made his best pass of the weekend, a 3.641 at 203.44, to seal the victory, while Harris had to lift to a 6.011 at 68.52.
Johnny Camp was the latest PDRA circuit Pro Boost event champion.
Racing out of the No. 9 spot, Camp ran a 3.706 at 198.76 to move past Melanie Salemi and her coasting 4.963 in the first round. Camp and second-round opponent Joel Wensley left the starting line together, but it was Camp reaching the finish line first with his 3.673 at 203.34 over Wensley’s 3.73. Camp’s semifinal match with Travis “The Carolina Kid” Harvey ended on the starting line when Harvey went red by .001 seconds, while Camp launched and coasted to an 8.789 at 43.24.
Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous crowned a first-time winner in Michigan’s own Jackie Slone Jr.
That final round was a true David vs. Goliath matchup between one of the most accomplished drivers in the class, 4X world champion Jim Halsey, and a first-time finalist, Michigan’s own Jackie Slone Jr.
A 40-year drag racing veteran, Slone earned his way into the final round using three consecutive holeshot wins, and he grabbed another huge holeshot advantage in the final with his .003 reaction time to Halsey’s .090. This time, Slone didn’t need it, though, as Halsey got out of shape and had to lift to a 5.266 at 93.05. Meanwhile, Slone drove his Musi-powered Slone Boys Racing ’69 Camaro to a conservative 3.742 at 200.36 to earn his first career Pro Nitrous win.
Home state Michigan racer —Jackie Slone Jr. — upset the Pro Nitrous field at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park’s PDRA event.
Qualified No. 8 in his Musi-powered Slone Boys Racing ’69 Camaro, Slone ran a 3.751 at 201.07 to finish ahead of Chris Rini and his 3.742 by .0009 seconds in the first round. Another quick light and a 3.721 at 202.43 was enough to take down Marcus Butner and his quicker 3.701 at 206.90 in the second round. Slone used a .006 reaction time and a 3.718 at 200.00 to get the semifinal win over Fredy Scriba and his 3.712 at 201.43.
In other PDRA eliminator class action Brian Weddle picked up his first career win in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco Racing. Past Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition world champion Chris Powers picked up his first win in over a year, and reigning PDRA Pro 632 world champion Jeff Melnick earned a second consecutive Northern Nationals win.
Victories in the sportsman classes went to Glenn Butcher in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Tony Elrod in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving, Mark Reese in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Corbin’s RV, and Lucas Salemi in Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster presented by Younce RV. Past Top Dragster world champion Tisha Wilson picked up the win in Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by COMP Cams after defeating Pro Jr. Dragster standout Zach Shirkey in the final round.
Canada’s Ryan Harris (Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products) and Allen Buczkowski (Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products) were victorious in the Jr. Dragster classes.
Posted by Nate Van Wagnen
Photos by Tara Bowker – Steve Embling – Luke Nieuwhof
