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FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (Nov. 8, 2024) – For the first time since 2019, the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series crowned a first-time world champion in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous when Fredy Scriba clinched the 2024 season title. Scriba emerged as a championship contender at the start of the season, but a late-season charge propelled Scriba and his Maryland-based team to the points lead at the second-to-last race of the season. He closed the season with back-to-back wins in four final-round appearances.
“I don't really know what to say. It's been a ride,” Scriba said. “We worked hard all year and things just came together at the end. We peaked at the right time. Struggled in the summertime a little bit, but I felt like we had a really good car. Our team's awesome.”
At the season-opening East Coast Nationals at GALOT Motorsports Park, Scriba debuted a new “Sorcerer” ’69 Camaro built by Robert Hayes with power from Pat Musi Racing Engines. He reached the final round, falling to first-time winner Brian Shrader, also in a Hayes-built, Musi-powered hot rod. Two races later, he notched another runner-up finish to four-time world champion Jim Halsey at the American Doorslammer Challenge at Summit Motorsports Park.
Though it wasn’t a points-earning event, Scriba earned his first win in Pro Nitrous at the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars all-star race in July. Scriba consistently went rounds at the next three points races, but his season reached a turning point at the penultimate race of the season, DragWars at GALOT. When points leader Halsey suffered a crash caused by a mechanical failure in the final qualifying session and second-placed Tommy Franklin lost in the opening round, the door opened for Scriba to take the points lead. He accomplished that by scoring his first points-earning victory in the class.
Scriba, Halsey, and Franklin were separated by less than one round going into the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park. Halsey, who prepared his four-time championship car for battle after his new-for-2024 “Daddy Shark” Camaro was totaled, lost in the first round. Scriba and Franklin were on track for a winner-take-all final round, but Franklin went out in the semifinals. With the championship in hand, Scriba went on to defeat first-time finalist Dane Wood in the final round.
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“I tried not to think about it too much, but we knew with the path we were on that it was probably going to come down to me and Tommy in the final,” Scriba said. “We made it that far, but it didn't work out that way. I can't say I'm sad about that. It was hard to celebrate because after the semis, we had some broken parts we had to go back and fix, so we couldn't really celebrate too much. We had to focus on getting the car ready.”
Scriba is now just the fifth Pro Nitrous world champion in the 11-year history of the PDRA. He joins Jason Harris (2014, 2018), Rickie Smith (2015), Tommy Franklin (2016-2017, 2023), and Jim Halsey (2019-2022) in the exclusive club.
“I grew up racing against most of them,” Scriba said. “Ran a lot of rounds against Jimmy and Rickie and Tommy. It's pretty cool to race against them. I hope it's not the last [championship], but it's pretty cool to be in the same level with those guys. It's really tough competition out here. There are no gimme rounds in this class. Everybody is separated by three to four hundredths. It’s just awesome to race against these guys.”
Scriba shared the credit for his 2024 success with a group that includes his family-based team and the manufacturers that provide the equipment he used to win the championship.
“I’ve got a ton of people to thank,” Scriba started. “First off, my mom and dad [Fred and Anne]. Without them, I couldn't do this. My crew: Steve, Doug, Bailey, as well as my wife, who supports me a lot with this racing; and my kids back at home.
“Two really important people that made this really work are Robert Hayes and his whole team, who built the car, and Pat Musi and Ralph [Musi] and the whole Musi team, who provided the horsepower.
“There's a ton of other people that are involved in providing all the awesome parts for this car,” Scriba continued. “Marty Chance at Neal Chance Converters, Todd Tutterow at Ty-Drive, Craig Liberty at Liberty's Gears, Graham Western at EFI Tech, and Adam Lambert at PRS Shocks.”
Franklin, driver of the Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro, finished second in points with two wins in three final-round appearances and two No. 1 qualifier awards. Halsey in his Fulton-powered “Daddy Shark” ’69 Camaro finished third with two wins in four final-round appearances and six No. 1 qualifier awards. He also set a new class E.T. national record.
The Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series will celebrate its 2024 world champions at the annual PDRA Championship Awards Banquet on Friday, Dec. 13 in downtown Indianapolis.
Photos by Tara Bowker and Gary Rowe
