Drag racing’s most dynamic 1/8th mile circuit opens for season business from North Carolina…

The East Coast Nationals, the first event of the 2022 PDRA schedule was hosted by cutting edge GALOT Motorsports Park (Benson NC).

PRO NITROUS – “Mountain Man” Mike Achenbach once thought he wouldn’t run in PDRA Pro Nitrous because the competition was so tough, but after now winning two events over the last year, he’s proven that he’s one of those tough competitors himself. The Pennsylvania native recorded a weekend-best 3.668 at 206.80 in his Brandon Switzer-tuned “Deep Purple” ’69 Camaro in the final round to knock out nearby Smithfield, North Carolina’s Jay Cox in the final round. Cox slowed to a 4.366 at 127.33 in the runner-up effort.

“This win means a lot,” Achenbach said. “We struggled with the car at the end of last year. We took it to Brandon [Switzer]’s shop, went over it, did some different things to it, and I think he’s got a handle on it now. We’ll see what happens. I’m so new at this out here. I said I would never really run over here because it’s the best of the best. I started over here last year at a couple races and really liked it. It’s a family-oriented deal. I just love it.”

Mike “Mountain Man” Achenbach – scored in Pro Nitrous racing with his PA-based Camaro.

Achenbach qualified fifth and started eliminations with a 3.726 at 203.58 victory over Dane Wood’s 3.761. He ran in the 3.60-second range for the rest of race day, running a 3.689 at 205.04 to knock out Chris Rini in the second round and a 3.672 at 206.57 to eliminate two-time world champion Jason Harris and his 3.75 in the semifinals.

PRO BOOST – North Carolina drag racing hero Todd “King Tut” Tutterow added another Pro Boost victory to his list of accomplishments when he beat fellow North Carolinian Stan Shelton in the final round. Tutterow in his screw-blown P2 Contracting/FTI Performance ’20 Camaro fired off a 3.588 at 212.29 to overcome Shelton’s holeshot advantage and 3.61 at 210.70.

“A man told me before, you can’t win them all if you don’t win the first one,” said Tutterow, who was the 2021 championship runner-up. “We’ve got Kurt Steding and Wendi Steding [of P2 Contracting and P2 Racing] and Paul Lee and Greg [Samuel] at FTI supporting us. I have a good bunch of guys at my shop keeping all this stuff going. This is very important to me. We had 24 cars here, a good bunch of cars. Any one of them could’ve won. We just put runs together and it all worked out. I just need to get Kurt up here in the winner’s circle. I’d like to see us go one and two in the finals.”

Todd “King Tut” Tutterow won in the event’s marquee Pro Boost class category.

Tutterow, who won the first Pro Boost world championship in 2014, qualified No. 2 to set up a first-round matchup with Robert Cox. Cox went red on a 3.685 pass, while Tutterow advanced with a 3.644 at 210.50. Tutterow used a .009 reaction time and a 3.605 at 211.73 to win over Jason Lee and his perfect .000 light and 3.637 in the second round. Tutterow and semifinal opponent Johnny Camp both went red, but Camp went red first on his 3.602 pass and Tutterow posted his quickest pass of the weekend, a 3.585 at 212.59, to move on to the final.

Canadian Scott Wildgust’s first PDRA event in the Smokies Garage Mustang produced a superb semi-final round placing.

Tractor pulling veteran Stan Shelton enjoyed his best weekend yet in Pro Boost competition driving his screw-blown Culp Lumber ’67 Mustang. He qualified No. 9 and opened eliminations with a holeshot win over two-time NHRA Pro Mod world champion Stevie “Fast” Jackson in a 3.635-to-3.627 race. Another huge holeshot win followed in the second round when he knocked out No. 1 qualifier and record setter Melanie Salemi and her 3.57 with a 3.602. A consistent 3.603 gave Shelton the semifinal win over Scott Wildgust and his 3.858.

EXTREME PRO STOCK – After winning the Extreme Pro Stock world championship last season, Chris Powers still felt like he had something left to prove as the 2022 season started. His new Sonny’s Racing Engines/ATI Performance ’21 Camaro made its competition debut at the East Coast Nationals and proceeded to qualify No. 2 and carry Powers to victory, proving that Powers will be a championship contender again this season. Final-round opponent Justin Kirk left the line just ahead of Powers, but lost traction almost immediately. Meanwhile, Powers unleashed low E.T. of the weekend, a 4.014 at 178.76.

Chris Powers – the PDRA’s defending World Champ – won in XPS class racing 

“Sonny’s with us,” said Powers, referring to the late Sonny Leonard. “He’s done so much for us with my career and our performance. Kelly [Ward] and Francis [Leonard] and Jr. [Ward] still doing all the work and keeping things running with the shop, this is all credit to them showing their power. They’ve got the smoke. We proved it on that last lap there. I can’t say enough for Chuck Samuel and Rob Bealko. This is all credit to them. They work their butts off on this car. To have a brand-new car like this and come out and win, it’s special.”

Powers, who was also the defending event champion, had the quickest run of the first round with his 4.025 at 178.97 on a single since opponent Kurt Neighbor broke after the burnout. Powers then ran a 4.033 at 177.58 over Elijah Morton, followed by a 4.031 at 177.28 to beat Tony Gillig in the semis.

PRO 632 – Making his Pro 632 debut, Orlando, Florida’s Alan Drinkwater put the class on notice with consistently quick reaction times and an equally solid Kaase-powered ’04 Escort prepared by two-time Pro 632 world champion Johnny Pluchino. Drinkwater raced past some of the toughest drivers in the class to win in his debut, ultimately running a 4.213 at 169.64 in the final round to finish ahead of Walt Lannigan Jr.’s 4.208 at 169.59. It was Drinkwater’s third holeshot win in four rounds.

Alan Drinkwater won in his debut for the ever popular Pro 632 class

Drinkwater recorded a 4.181 at 169.66 on a first-round single, then left first on Daryl Stewart to win with a 4.183 at 170.00 over Stewart’s 4.142. It took Drinkwater’s best performance of the day, a .017 light and a 4.17 at 170.26, to get the semifinal win over Amber Franklin and her 4.12.

Lannigan was making his return to Pro 632 competition as the new driver of $hameless Racing’s Musi-powered ’68 Camaro, which won the last two world championships with Wes Distefano driving. Lannigan and tuner Troy Russell picked up where Distefano left off, qualifying No. 1 and charging through eliminations. He used a 4.215 to beat Mike Murphy, a 4.14 to defeat Lexi Tanner, and a 4.111 on a semifinal bye run to earn lane choice for the final round.

PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE – As the defending world champion in Pro Nitrous Motorcycle, all eyes were on Chris Garner-Jones and his T.T. Jones Racing Hayabusa to see if he would continue his championship performance. Garner-Jones and his family-based team delivered, qualifying No. 3 and racing into the final round, where Garner-Jones won in a side-by-side race with Jeff House. The two riders left the line with nearly identical reaction times, then Garner-Jones maintained his slight lead with a 4.08 at 174.41 to beat House’s 4.086 at 173.78.

Chris Garner-Jones – Pro Nitrous Motorcycle winner

Garner-Jones struggled momentarily in the opening round with his 4.225 at 167.14, but he bounced back with a 4.044 at 176.28 in a semifinal win over Meshal Al-Saber and his 5.525.

House and his Fast By Gast Hayabusa scored a major round one win over multi-time world champion Eric McKinney, running a 4.068 to McKinney’s 4.11. It was a warmup for House’s semifinal matchup against another multi-time champion, Travis Davis, who ran a 4.055 to come up short to House’s 4.045.

PRO STREET – Defending world champion Tim Essick proved that offseason rule changes and a mix of new Pro Street competitors can’t slow him down, as he picked up another win to start the season in his ProCharger-boosted “Brown Sugar” ’18 Mustang. In the final round, Essick posted a 3.966 at 194.07 to stop No. 1 qualifier Nick Agostino, who slowed to a 4.849 at 113.28.

Defending World Champ Tim Essick – was the winner in Pro Street

After qualifying No. 2, Essick threw down a 3.912 at 193.96 in the first round to set low E.T. of the event and knock out Bill Riddle and his 4.10. The Maryland driver then went a 3.959 at 193.63 to eliminate Pro Street newcomer Tommy Youmans’ 4.00.

Agostino, a Canadian Outlaw 10.5 veteran making his Pro Street debut, laid down a 3.939 to defeat another first-time Pro Street racer, Bill Lutz, in the first round. He tested the limits on a second-round bye run, pedaling to a 4.489.

Ontario’s Nick Agostino – making his PDRA Pro Street class debut – qualified #1 and went to the final round.

The PDRA also crowned winners in the sportsman classes, including Steve Drongowski in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by US Rail, Steve Furr in Lucas Oil Elite Top Dragster presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance, Doug Crumlich in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman 32 presented by Vortech Superchargers, and Tisha Wilson in Lucas Oil Top Dragster 48 presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance. Nathan Tanner scored the win in Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by COMP Cams, using a .002 reaction time and a 6.885 on a 6.88 dial-in in his ’67 Nova to defeat Cody Strickland in the final round.

California’s Doug Crumlich won in the MagnaFuel Top Sportsman 32 eliminator

Benson, North Carolina’s own Bladen Core grabbed the win in Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster presented by PRP, running a 7.949 on a 7.90 dial-in to beat Justin Kirby. Carter Jackson won on the starting line in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by PRP when Reese Corker went red in the final round. Jackson ran 8.971 on an 8.90 dial-in.

The PDRA season will continue later this month at the second annual Vortech Superchargers Doorslammer Derby presented by Stroud Safety, April 28-30 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

ABOUT THE PDRA — Based in Fredericksburg, Va., the Professional Drag Racers Association is the top sanctioning body in the United States for the sport of eighth-mile drag racing. The PDRA’s professional categories include Pro Boost, Pro Nitrous, Extreme Pro Stock, Pro Nitrous Motorcycle, Pro Outlaw 632 and Pro Street. The series also features sportsman racing in Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Pro Jr. Dragster and Top Jr. Dragster. The 2022 PDRA schedule consists of eight national events.

For more information on the PDRA, visit www.PDRA660.com

Link to the LMLCMedia Photo Gallery from this event: HERE 

Posted by Nate Van Wagnen
Photos by Steve Embling, Eric Embling & Tara Bowker