DINWIDDIE, Va. (July 13, 2024) – With fireworks lighting up the sky and nitro fumes and jet smoke still filling the air, nitrous Pro Modified veteran Fredy Scriba celebrated his first career Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous victory Saturday night at Virginia Motorsports Park's PBR Night of Fire. Racing in the fourth annual Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars all-star specialty event, Scriba defeated three-time and defending world champion Tommy Franklin in the final round to secure the $15,000 check, a custom ProStars trophy, and bragging rights. Though championship points weren't on the line, the ProStars race marked the halfway point in the 2024 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season.
Series and track officials worked through the night to rebuild the racing surface after all-day rain showers on Friday into Saturday morning soaked the track. Saturday's forecast improved into sunny, hot conditions that gave racers the chance to put on a show for the fans. The PBR Night of Fire show also included passes by Scott Palmer and Alex Laughlin in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Top Fuel dragsters, the Larsen Motorsports Jet Dragsters, Rick Ream's wheelstander, fireworks, and a concert by country music recording artist Tyler Farr.
Virginia's own Ron Green also earned his first career win in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco Racing, while reigning WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive world champion Jason Harris and past PDRA Pro 632 world champion Amber Franklin won in their respective classes. Dan Whetstine scored a second consecutive win in Afco Racing Super Street presented by Menscer Motorsports.
Winners in the sportsman classes were Tim Molnar in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Frank Falter IV in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving, Ed Foley in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Corbin's RV, and Will Creasman in Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster.
Victories in the Jr. Dragster categories went to Ryan Harris in Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products and Victoria Beaner in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products. The Pro Jr. Dragster final round saw Fredericksburg, Virginia's Ashley Franklin leave first with a .005 reaction time, but she broke out with a 7.887. Harris trailed with his 7.909 to get the win in his Ontario, Canada-based '08 Halfscale. Beaner, the current points leader, similarly used an 8.908 on an 8.90 dial-in in her Florida-based '22 Mike Bos dragster to defeat West Virginia's Will O'Brien, who broke out with a 12.402 on a 12.43 dial-in. Beaner's win came after swapping an engine for the first round.
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PRO NITROUS
Maryland native Fredy Scriba has appeared in two out of the four Pro Nitrous final rounds this season, but he went into ProStars still seeking his first career win in the category. Driving his new Robert Hayes-built, Musi-powered Scriba Welding '69 Camaro, Scriba used a holeshot advantage and a 3.713-second pass at 209.01 MPH to get the final-round win over three-time and reigning world champion Tommy Franklin, who ran a quicker 3.694 at 205.54.
"We've been in a lot of finals, so it's pretty important for us to finally get one," said Scriba, who thanked his crew: Steve, Doug, Bailey, his parents, wife Shannon, and partners like Pat Musi, Robert Hayes, Marty Chance, Todd Tutterow with Ty-Drive, Adam Lambert with PRS Shocks, and Liberty's Gears. "Whether it was for money or points, it didn't really matter, but it's really important just to get a win, more or less. We've been to a lot of finals and it feels really good to finally win one."
Scriba raced to a 3.755 at 202.21 to get the first-round win over past ProStars winner Dane Wood and his 3.813. He improved to a 3.703 at 205.26 in the semifinals to take down past Elite Top Sportsman world champion Buddy Perkinson and his 3.738.
Franklin in his Musi-powered "Jungle Rat" '69 Camaro opened eliminations with the second-quickest pass of the round, a 3.743 at 202.85, to knock out Derrick Ford and his 3.874. He met up with the quickest driver of the first round, Marcus Butner, in the semifinals. It was a side-by-side race, with Franklin's 3.699 at 205.10 finishing ahead of Butner and his 3.713.
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PRO BOOST
Reigning Pro Boost world champion Jason Harris broke through to claim his first win of his championship defense season when he recorded the quickest pass of the day in the final round. His opponent, Johnny Camp, had to shut off after the burnout after developing a leak. With the Virginia Motorsports Park track surface all to himself, Harris drove his ProCharged Party Time Racing/Southern Diamond Company '69 Camaro to a 3.635 at 205.13 to put a punction mark on the $15,000 win.
"It's a big deal because this is kind of like an all-star race – the best of last year and the best of this year," said Harris, who thanked his team and supporters like Southern Diamond Company, Pro Line, and Hoosier Racing Tire. "I haven't really done much this year, but last year got me going. It's another notch on your belt. It's another big win. It's a special trophy. It's a special deal. We had crappy weather, obviously, but to win against the best of qualifying and winning from last year to this year, I think speaks for itself. We got our car back. I didn't want to win like that with John breaking in the finals, but a W is a W and I'll take it any day."
Harris threw down low E.T. of the first round, a 3.663 at 205.38, to defeat Camp for the first time of the day. He went even quicker in the semifinals, streaking to a 3.647 at 205.79 to move on past Melanie Salemi, who had to lift to a 4.382.
Camp lost to Harris in the first round, but his 3.704 made him the quickest losing driver of the round. With six cars on the grounds for an eight-car field, race officials announced the quickest losing driver in the first round would be reinstated to ensure two complete pairs in the semifinals. There, Camp stepped up to a 3.655 at 204.45 to get the win over Derek Ward, who slowed to a 4.064.
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PRO 632
When an unfavorable weather forecast prevented all eight qualified Pro 632 drivers from attending ProStars, race officials declared that the quickest losing driver in the first round would be reinstated to provide fans with two complete semifinal matchups. That unique twist in the fan-focused event played out well for 2022 world champion Amber Franklin, who bounced back from her first-round holeshot loss to defending world champion Jeff Melnick by beating Melnick on a holeshot in the final round. Franklin posted a 4.201 at 168.89 in her Musi-powered "OG Jungle Rat" '69 Camaro to hold off Melnick's 4.195 at 170.08, which set low E.T. of the day.
"It feels really good to bounce back [from the first-round loss]," said Franklin, who dedicated the win to the late Lizzy Musi. "Losing on a holeshot never feels good no matter what round it is, but in this race, to be able to be put back in, it's definitely not taken for granted and I knew I wanted to go after it even harder. That last win light felt really good."
Franklin set low E.T. of the opening round with her 4.211 at 168.66, but Melnick's quicker .042 reaction time and 4.223 at 168.81 were enough to hold her off. But as the quickest losing driver of the first round, Franklin got the chance to come back for the semifinals. She used a 4.206 at 168.85 to finish ahead of Jason Ventura and his 4.231 by just .002 seconds.
After defeating Franklin in the first round, Melnick laid down a 4.205 at 169.91 in the semifinals to beat Jayme Thompson's 4.23 and earn lane choice for the final by just a thousandth of a second.
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PRO STREET
With hard work and a little help from his friends, Chesterfield, Virginia's Ron Green hoisted a Pro Street trophy for the first time in his career. Green wounded the engine in his ProCharged "Gamechanger" '00 Firebird in his first-round win, but fellow racer Joel Wensley Jr., who suffered engine problems of his own on the pre-race shakedown run, provided parts and assistance to get Green back on track for the final round. The win light came on in Green's lane right out of the gate, as opponent Tim Essick went red by .021 seconds on his 4.079-second pass. Green still made a full pass, setting low E.T. of the event with his 4.028 at 193.07.
"This is definitely special. It's big time for us, man," said Green, who thanked his crew, including tuner Ronnie Green Jr., as well as the Franklin family and series director Tyler Crossnoe for putting on the event. "We've been trying to seal the deal for a while. We had some mishaps today – took a rod out, went through the pan. Thanks to my buddy Joel Wensley and their whole crew. They helped us get the thing back together. They gave me a spare head and they stayed here until we got it up and running and stayed here until we won this thing. This is big."
Green won in the opening round when opponent Scott Kincaid went red by .059 seconds on a 4.167 pass. Green charged to a 4.151 at 178.05, but a puff of smoke and the lower-than-normal speed indicated a wounded engine.
In the first round, Essick ended up racing unopposed as Wensley Jr. suffered engine damage on his shakedown run and wasn't able to return. Essick recorded a 4.141 at 182.65 to earn lane choice for the final.
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SUPER STREET
As the most recent Super Street winner on the PDRA tour, Dan Whetstine rolled into ProStars with momentum from his first win of the season. He turned on two more win lights at ProStars to extend his streak in his ProCharged "Red Velvet" '90 Mustang. Tuned by two-time Pro Street world champion Tim Essick, Whetstine set low E.T. of the event by almost a tenth of a second with his 4.645 at 157.56 in the final round. His opponent, Matt Schalow, had to lift to a 5.99 at 91.12 after getting out of the groove.
"My crew worked really hard today with all the heat and everything," Whetstine said. "I feel like we've got a combination now that we can get down in the heat and then we can go fast at nighttime if we need to. The car is pretty well balanced right now. Big thanks to my tuner, Tim Essick. He made some right calls today. We kind of get some data off his car and I get the benefit of that with him running right before me. I'm very lucky to have the guys around me on my team: Tim Essick; my friend, Tim Savoy; my wife, Michelle; and Dawn. Good times, man. Good times."
Whetstine threw down a 4.726 at 153.93 in the opening round, setting low E.T. of the round and defeating young gun Connor McGee and his 4.762.
Schalow was the second-quickest driver of the first round with his 4.754 at 155.35, which was enough to hold off defending world champion Blake Denton and his 4.779.
TOP SPORTSMAN
It was an all-nitrous affair in the Elite Top Sportsman final round, as 2021 world champion Tim Molnar met up with fellow Midwesterner Tim Paap. The race was over at the starting line when Paap let go of the button .005 seconds too soon in his Paap Auto Body '16 Corvette. Molnar in his GEM Attachments '68 Camaro ran a 3.84 on a 3.82 dial-in to collect the $4,000 win.
"Crazy" Ed Foley prevented Mike Alexander Jr. from keeping the Top Sportsman title in Virginia. Foley in his nitrous-fed '05 Cobalt was quicker off the starting line and ran a 4.293 on a 4.29 dial-in in the final round to defeat Alexander, who broke out in his ProCharged '63 Corvette with a 4.19 on a 4.21 dial-in.
TOP DRAGSTER
Two of the young guns in Elite Top Dragster, Frank Falter IV and Kellan Farmer, battled it out for $4,000 in the final round. Both drivers ran slower than their dial-ins, but it was Falter's quicker light and 3.895 on a 3.70 dial-in in his supercharged "Candy Man" '22 Miller dragster that got the win over Farmer, who ran a 3.992 on a 3.82 dial-in in his ProCharged Race Tech Race Cars dragster.
Both Top Dragster finalists, Will Creasman and Chad Traylor, turned on the red light in the final round, but Traylor did it first, handing the win to Creasman. After going .007 red, Creasman ran a 4.469 on a 4.46 dial-in in his '07 Race Tech dragster. Traylor in his '22 Maddox dragster was .017 red and posted a 4.493 on a 4.50 dial-in for runner-up honors.
For complete ProStars results, visit www.PDRA660.com.
The Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series will get back to championship points-earning competition at the Northern Nationals presented by Talbert Manufacturing, Aug. 1-3, at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.
Photos by Tara Bowker
