It’s been a little over a month since the last PDRA race, and the BigStuff TPM North vs. South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway proved that the teams were ready to be back in action. The only thing hotter than the racing were the track temps, with temperatures in the 120 and 130 degree range for most of the weekend. Tuners had their hands full trying to decide just how much power the surface could take, but once eliminations started, we got to see plenty of great side-by-side racing action.

Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous

For the second race in a row, Tommy Franklin found himself as the number one qualifier in the field of twelve Pro Nitrous entries. The 2024 PDRA Pro Nitrous World Champion, Fredy Scriba, had a rough start to the year but came into Maryland International Raceway ready and showing why the number one is on the window. During eliminations, Scriba in his ’69 Camaro was cutting great lights and, coupled with making solid, consistent runs, proved he was going to be the one to beat. On the other side of the ladder, Billy Albert was making his way through the competition and found himself in the final round against Scriba. Fredy had the starting line advantage, and they were door to door all the way to the finish line, where Scriba’s win light came on running 3.712 at 206.29 mph versus Albert’s 3.727 at 206.42 mph.

Top Qualifiers: Tommy Franklin 3.675 at 206.73 mph, Tim Paap 3.677 at 203.03 mph and Amber Denton 3.681 at 205.72 mph

WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty Drive

Pro Boost continues to fill the pits with some of the baddest Pro Mods around, and the North vs. South Shootout had 22 of them trying to find their way into the field. Going into race day, it would be Steve King in the “Savage” Corvette that held the number one spot. King and his team kept that momentum going as he worked through the tough field round by round, where they made it all the way to the finals. Starting in the number eleven spot, Ty Tutterow (nicknamed Maverick) in the 1969 Camaro that his dad drove last year, piloted his way to the final round by defeating Ed Burnley and Jason Harris. In the final round matchup, Tutterow kept pace with his reaction times, cutting a 0.024 against King’s 0.042, respectively, and stayed in the lead all of the way to the stripe, getting the win over King with a 3.667 at 206.54 mph to King’s 3.680 at 205.35 mph.

Top Qualifiers: Steve King 3.662 at 206.54 mph, Johnny Camp 3.663 at 205.91 mph, and Jason Harris 3.666 at 205.54 mph

Liberty’s Gears Pro Street Presented by Menscer Motorsports

Pro Street continues to grow and saw a full 16-car field as 20 racers made the trip to Maryland International Raceway looking to take home a PDRA 660 Man. In his second race since becoming a driver, Fletcher Cox took the number one qualifying spot to lead the field. Number eight qualifier Dan Norris was able to get wins over Richard Reagan, Fletcher Cox, and Ethan Steding on his way to the finals. Current points leader Blake Denton in “Bonnie,” the ’69 Camaro once raced by the late Lizzy Musi, worked his way to another final by getting wins over Shelby Kendrick, Tim Essick, and Scott Kincaid. In the final round, Norris and Denton were almost dead even off the starting line, and at the stripe, it was Denton’s 4.019 at 201.49 mph to Norris’ 4.055 at 185.72 mph for the win. This was Blake’s third trip to the finals and second event win for 2025.

Top Qualifiers: Fletcher Cox 4.027 at 192.03 mph, Blake Denton 4.082 at 199.43 mph, and Bill Riddle 4.110 at 186.20 mph

AED Competition Fuel Systems Extreme Pro Stock presented by C.R. Powers HVAC

For the third PDRA race in a row, Chris Powers took his Sonny’s powered ’21 Chevrolet Camaro to the number one qualifier spot. Number six qualifier Elijah Morton started off his way to the finals by getting the win over Chris Powers in the first round, which set him up to get the competition bye in round two. Alan Drinkwater came into Maryland third in the points standings, only three points behind Chris Powers. Drinkwater defeated Steven Boone and Jeremy Huffman to make his second final round appearance this season. The final round of Alan Drinkwater and Elijah Morton was slated to be a good one as they had run within 0.01 of each other’s time in the previous rounds. As the cars staged, it would be Drinkwater with the starting line advantage, and he was able to hold on to that lead and get the win. With this win, Drinkwater takes over the points lead with three races left in the season.

Top Qualifiers: Chris Powers 4.122 at 175.34 mph, Alan Drinkwater 4.125 at 175.37 mph and Jeremy Huffman 4.130 at 176.70 mph

Pro 632 presented by PTC Torque Converters

For the second race in a row, Jeff Melnick in the Greenbrier Excavating and Paving Camaro took the number one qualifying spot. Momentum is a good thing in racing, and Melnick is carrying a lot of it. Two number one qualifiers in a row and now two finals in a row. Jeff faced off against Jason Ventura in the first round, Carson Hoyle in the second, and had the competition bye in the semifinals. Number two qualifier Lexi Tanner worked her way through the field to land herself back into another final. Unfortunately, Tanner went red, giving Melnick the automatic win, where he went on to run 4.224 at 168.91 mph.

Top Qualifiers: Jeff Melnick 4.168 at 170.64 mph, Lexi Tanner 4.197 at 170.06 mph and Jeff Pittman 4.207 at 178.54 mph

Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating and Cooling

Coming into the North vs. South Shootout, Connor McGee already had a win, a semifinal finish, and was in a close points battle with Austin Vincent. McGee made solid runs during testing and qualifying to take the top spot with a 4.656 at 154.26 mph blast. In eliminations, Connor McGee, in the tried-and-tested Mustang once raced by his dad, was going rounds. In round one, he won over Brad McBride, in the second round, he had a competition bye, and in the third round, he won over the last event runner-up, Carson Perry. Matt Schalow and his crew got a handle on their new car and, after qualifying number two, they were worked their way to finals where they met up with McGee. McGee left with the starting line advantage and never looked back. In a close race, McGee got the win over Schalow, running 4.615 at 155.38 mph versus Schalow’s 4.673 at 156.77 mph.

Top Qualifiers: Connor McGee 4.656 at 154.26 mph, Matt Schalow 4.711 at 155.74 mph and Carson Perry 4.739 at 156.37 mph

Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Junior Dragster, and Bracket Results

Elite Top Sportsman saw last year’s Champion Glenn Butcher take the number one qualifier spot with a 3.777 at 199.37 mph. In eliminations, it was Stacy Hall in his ’63 Corvette and Dewayne Silance in his ’68 Camaro going to the finals. Hall had the better reaction time and got the win over Silance.

Elite Top Dragster once again had Jody Stroud take the number one qualifying spot, running 3.680 at 200.77 mph. The finals saw number four qualified Kyle Harris versus number one Jody Stroud. Harris had the better light, and Stroud broke out on the top end, trying to catch Harris. Harris ran 3.820 on his 3.80 dial in versus Stroud’s 3.676 on a 3.69 dial-in.

Top Sportsman had 52 racers looking to make their way in the 48-car field, and at the end of qualifying, Corey Evans took the number one spot with a 4.193 at 178.78 mph. In the finals, it was Steve Furr in his ’68 Camaro versus Nick Meloni in his ’69 Camaro. A red light start for Meloni gave Steve Furr the win.

Top Dragster had 56 fighting it out for a spot in the 48-car field. In the number one spot was Tisha Wilson with a 4.117 at 170.34 mph. The final round had Nick Meloni for his second of the day against Dave Petrofske. Meloni cut 0.008 light and ran dead-on with a one (4.301) on a 4.30 dial to get the win.

Top JR Dragster had Tori Underwood qualified number one with a 0.006, and in the finals it was Wyatt Piercey getting the event win over Hanna Mattingly in a double break-out. Piercey’s 12.055 on a 12.07 dial-in versus Mattingly’s 8.949 on an 8.97 dial-in.

Pro JR Dragster had 61 racers trying to get their way into the 32-car field. This is a 7.90 index, and to get into the field, you had to be 7.924 or better. Number one was held by Donald O’Meara III with a perfect 7.900. In the finals, it was Alyssa Rabon versus Carter Jackson. Both had identical reaction times, but it was Rabon running 7.903 at 83.75 mph that got the win.

Bracket Bash had Codi Cooper face off against Steve Witherow in the finals. Witherow gets the win running 5.527 on a 5.52 dial in.

The next PDRA race will be July 31 – August 2, 2025, at US131 Motorsports Park for the Talbert Manufacturing Northern Nationals presented by Callies.