Race Crew Media

DINWIDDIE, Va. (Oct. 18, 2024) – The longstanding 3-second barrier in Extreme Pro Stock fell Friday night when Mountain Motor Pro Stock rookie Randi Lyn Butner recorded a 3.997-second, 176.37 MPH pass in the second qualifying session at the PDRA Pro Line Racing Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by ProCharger. Butner’s pass down the Virginia Motorsports Park eighth mile with husband Bo Butner in the opposite lane marked the first official 3-second pass in Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition. Butner is also the provisional No. 1 qualifier at the last of eight races on the 2024 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series tour.

The pro class provisional No. 1 qualifiers after two of three qualifying sessions are Tommy Franklin in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous, Johnny Camp in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, Brian Weddle in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco Racing, Lexi Tanner in PDRA Pro 632, Brunson Grothus in Drag 965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle, and Derek Mota in Afco Racing Super Street presented by Menscer Motorsports.

The sportsman classes also completed two of three qualifying sessions, with provisional No. 1 spots going to Tim Molnar in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Kyle Harris in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving, Scott Wasko in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Corbin’s RV, and Dave Petrofske in Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster presented by Younce RV.

The PDRA’s Jr. Dragster classes wrapped up their second of three qualifying sessions at the end of the night. Carson Hoyle posted a 7.901 E.T. to lead the way in Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products, which saw 51 drivers attempt to qualify for the 32-car field. Prince George, Virginia’s own Jason Geryes used a .003 reaction time to jump to the No. 1 spot in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products.

EXTREME PRO STOCK
Longtime NHRA sportsman standout Randi Lyn Butner arrived at Virginia Motorsports Park ahead of the 2024 season to practice doing burnouts in her new ride, the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Elite Motorsports ’20 Camaro Mountain Motor Pro Stock entry. Several months later, she made history at the same track by lighting up the scoreboard with a 3.997-second pass at 176.37 MPH, breaking the elusive 3-second barrier in Extreme Pro Stock and taking the provisional No. 1 spot in the process. It was the culmination of a seasons-long effort by crew chief and engine builder Frank Gugliotta to print that first official 3-second time slip.

“It really means a lot to do that for Frank,” said Butner, who backed up the record with her 4.012 in the first qualifying session. “This Mountain Motor racing was never my idea. I was perfectly happy in Stock Eliminator. This was all a big collaboration between Bo [Butner, husband], Richard [Freeman, Elite Motorsports team owner], Frank, and our sponsor. They totally thought I could do it and wanted to see what I was made of. I just kind of lucked into this position that so many racers would die to have.

“I really did not do my best job shifting,” Butner added. “I think it was just meant to be. It was meant to be Frank's. It was a long time and a lot of things coming together and God willed it to Frank and it's a whole lot of bookends coming together for him, so I'm really excited for him.”

Butner received a custom shifter-based trophy, championship ring, and $3,500 check from Liberty’s Gears for breaking the 3-second barrier.

Defending event winner and past world champion John Montecalvo nearly beat Butner to the record when he matched the previous class record with his 4.000 at 180.40 in his Kaase-powered JM Racing ’21 Mustang. Johnny Pluchino went to the No. 3 position in his Kaase-powered Feather-Lite Batteries ’13 Mustang with a 4.014 at 180.89.

PRO BOOST
An impressive evening of Pro Boost qualifying ended with a 3.563-second, 209.65 MPH pass by Johnny Camp to take the provisional No. 1 spot after two qualifying sessions. Camp in his Brandon Stroud-tuned, ProCharged “Hells Bells” ’69 Camaro leads the quickest Pro Boost field in history with one qualifying session left before eliminations start on Saturday night. Eight drivers sit outside the 16-car field, including championship contender Kurt Steding, two-time world champion Todd Tutterow, and E.T. national record holder Derek Ward.

“It’s really special, but there's one more round [of qualifying],” said Camp, who thanked his team and sponsors like NGK Spark Plugs, Pro Line Racing, Chris Tatman Electric, and Hoosier Racing Tires. “You never know. This thing could turn upside down, but we're happy that we made a good pass. The track’s good, the motor is staying together. All the credit goes to Brandon and the crew. That's what does it. I'm just along for the ride. It’s the toughest field ever. It could shuffle around again tomorrow. We’re hoping to hang on. We're gonna go out there and try to maybe go faster and try to hold on to the spot.”

Reigning world champion and points leader Jason Harris, who’s also tuned by Stroud, missed the No. 1 spot by six thousandths of a second with his 3.569 at 210.44 in his ProCharged Southern Diamond Company “Party Time” ’69 Camaro. James Beadling, who was the provisional No. 1 qualifier after the first session with a 3.583, is now qualified third in his screw-blown ’20 Camaro with a 3.582 at 205.29. Joel Wensley sits on the bump spot with a 3.630 at 210.87.

PRO NITROUS
Three-time and reigning Pro Nitrous world champion Tommy Franklin started the World Finals ranked third in the points standings less than one round behind points leader Fredy Scriba. Looking to accumulate as many points as possible to chip away at that deficit, Franklin fired off a 3.616 at 208.62 in his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro in the final qualifying session to take the provisional No. 1 spot. The pass came around 24 hours after Franklin dropped a 3.599-second pass in Thursday’s pre-race testing.

“We thought we could get close to the 3.59,” said Franklin, who credited his team, tuner Jeff Pierce, and partners like Pat Musi Racing Engines and Red Line Oil. “Hitting the 3.59 barrier was just cool for us. It was just personal. We got out here and we got to do it at PDRA. That's really cool. We thought the conditions were there, and honestly, the racetrack was just really tight and we just underpowered it a little bit for the racetrack, so it left a little bit out there, but it was a good run. Pro Nitrous is a heck of a class, heck of a group of competitors. We’re just going to keep fighting one round at a time. It’s going to be a tough field. This thing is nowhere close to being done.”

Scriba, who took over the points lead when he earned his first career points-earning Pro Nitrous win at the last race on tour, drove his Musi-powered “Sorcerer” ’69 Camaro to a 3.631 at 208.97 to sit behind Franklin in second. Marcus Butner in his Musi-powered “Heartbreaker” ’69 Camaro is third with a 3.644 at 206.32. Thirteen of the 16 qualifiers ran in the 3.60-second range.

PRO STREET
Brian Weddle, who raced to the final round at the Mid-Atlantic Showdown at Virginia in his Pro Street debut earlier this spring, turned heads again when he dropped a 3.864 at 199.49 in Friday’s second qualifying session to take the provisional No. 1 position. The pass in his screw-blown JW Racing ’68 Camaro was also quicker than the current E.T. national record. If Weddle can back it up later in the weekend, he’ll pick up another 50 points towards his world championship pursuit. Points leader and fellow rookie Ethan Steding came into the weekend needing to qualify to clinch the title, but he’s currently outside the field with one session left to bump in.

“Realistically, we’ve still got a shot at this,” said Weddle, who thanked partners including Deebo Tuned, 1320 Fabrication, Frederick Line-X, XLR8 Diesel Trucks, Iron Man Push Bars, Xtreme Racing Engines, Atomizer Fuel Systems, Competitive Wiring, and RF Engineering. “We were 100% swinging for it. Our mentality was, we were in, and as long as you're in, you’ve got a chance. They had the big bat out. But it was great. That was a hell of a pass considering it's like the stockest car in the class. You can't really ask for anything better than that.”

Michigan-based young gun Joel Wensley Jr. laid down a 3.911 at 195.03 in his ProCharged ’14 Camaro to qualify second behind Weddle. Two-time world champion and current E.T. record holder Tim Essick went to the third spot with a 3.919 at 187.65 in his ProCharged “Brown Sugar” ’18 Mustang.

Steding is No. 17 with a 4.158, and he’ll need to run quicker than Ron Green’s 4.132 to bump into the field.

PRO 632
Past race winner Lexi Tanner is on the verge of a new accolade in Pro 632, as she’s the provisional No. 1 qualifier for the first time in her career. Driving her Musi-powered Tanner Motorsports ’18 Camaro, she posted a 4.144 at 170.36 in the second session.

“We've had a really challenging season,” said Tanner, who credited her family-based team and tuner Jeff Pierce and his wife, Sam, for their efforts. “This is our fourth season in the class – our third one trying to really be serious with our program – and it just means the world. Every race we come here hoping to just get faster and make all these little adjustments all year that just had a little bit of reward each time, and then to come out and run our new personal best by a ton means so much.”

Rookie Chevy Floyd took Jack Gaddy’s ’68 Camaro to the No. 2 spot with a 4.156 at 170.97. Chris Holdorf, who returned to the driver’s seat of his Nelson-powered Freedom Grow ’10 GTO previously driven by Walter Lannigan Jr. all season, is third with a 4.161 at 170.23.

PRO EXTREME MOTORCYCLE
As the No. 2 rider in Pro Extreme Motorcycle points, Brunson Grothus rolled into Virginia Motorsports Park seeking maximum points aboard Robert Varela’s turbocharged Dallas Flat Glass Distributors Hayabusa. He’s on his way to picking up 50 points for setting a new national E.T. record, as his 3.913 at 195.90 in the second session is quicker than the current record, 3.937. He’ll have one more qualifying session to lock in the No. 1 spot, while he can back up the record at any point during the rest of the event.

“That run was pretty special considering this racetrack has kind of owned me my whole career, to be honest,” said Grothus, who thanked his crew led by father Ed and brother Bradley. “It’s going to take more good laps, more A-to-Bs. We’re gonna need a little bit of Lady Luck on our side. It’s drag racing, man. Nothing is ever given. We’ve got a great motorcycle. Our team is unbelievable. We all have our jobs, we all have to execute our jobs, and hopefully luck is on our side.”

Motorcycle drag racing legend Paul Gast is second with a 3.988 at 177.91 on his Fast By Gast Hayabusa. Sophomore rider Brayden Davis ran a 4.035 at 172.65 to sit third on his David Motorsports/Timblin Chassis Hayabusa.

SUPER STREET
After struggling to diagnose a mechanical issue, 2023 Super Street championship runner-up Derek Mota returned to class-leading form Friday night, firing off a 4.500 at 166.25 in the second session. Considerably quicker than his own 4.561-second national E.T. record set at Virginia in the spring, the pass set up Mota and his turbocharged East Point Recovery Centers ’93 Mustang for another record and the 50 points that come with it.

“We’ve just been struggling with the car. We found a broken diode in the converter, so it was very hard to pinpoint,” Mota said. “Me and Jamie [Miller, tuner] sat down all week going over data after data and we finally found it. We got everything here, got in a day early, changed it, and now the car is right back to where it's supposed to be. We've been struggling and now we’ve finally got everything working back together. My team, Jamie, and everybody – I just can't thank them enough. We all put in the time and it's paying off this weekend. I just wish it was a little bit sooner.”

Points leader Dan Whetstine also went quicker than the current record with his 4.54 at 162.49 in his ProCharged “Red Velvet” ’90 Mustang to qualify No. 2. Mota’s teammate, Tommy Thrasher, also dipped into the 4.50s in his turbocharged ’93 Mustang with a 4.574 at 166.15.

TOP SPORTSMAN
Defending event champion and past world champion Tim Molnar took the provisional No. 1 spot in Elite Top Sportsman with a 3.721 at 202.21 in his nitrous-fed ’68 Camaro. Cheyenne Stanley laid down a 3.759 at 207.98 in his turbocharged ’07 Mustang to qualify No. 2. Championship contender and local racer Randy Perkinson drove his ProCharged ’67 Mustang to a 3.763 at 193.71 to round out the top three.

Ohio’s Scott Wasko is just outside the 16-car Elite field with a 4.078 at 176.40 in his ’11 GXP, putting him in the provisional No. 1 spot in Top Sportsman 48.

TOP DRAGSTER
Elite Top Dragster title contender Kyle Harris lowered his career-best E.T. two passes in a row to take the provisional No. 1 spot. He ended the day with a 3.689 at 196.22 in his supercharged ’15 Horton dragster. Young gun Frank Falter IV also dipped into the 3.60s with his 3.69 at 202.24 in his supercharged “Candy Man” ’22 Miller dragster to sit second. Michael White in his ProCharged ’15 Maddox dragster is third with a 3.724 at 196.27.

Dave Petrofske is the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Top Dragster 48, just outside the 16-car Elite field, with his 4.149 at 167.12.

The PDRA Pro Line Racing Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by ProCharger will continue Saturday starting with Jr. Dragster and sportsman final qualifying at 8:30 a.m. The pro classes will run one final qualifying session at 12:15 p.m., with the first round of sportsman and Jr. Dragster eliminations to follow. The pros will run one round of eliminations starting at 6 p.m.
Tickets are still on sale for $30 for Saturday and $25 for Sunday. Discounted junior and kids tickets are also available, while kids 5 and under get in free. Tickets can be purchased at www.PDRA660.com or at the gate.

Fans at home can watch the full event live on the official livestream through www.FloRacing.com.

Photo by Tara Bowker