Saturday evening thunderstorms at Bristol Dragway forced Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series officials to postpone the completion of the Thunder Valley Throwdown presented by Larry Jeffers Race Cars to the next race on the schedule. The series completed one round of eliminations in the professional classes and multiple rounds in the sportsman and Jr. Dragster categories before the rain hit. The rest of eliminations will take place in three weeks at the ProFab DragWars presented by PST Driveshafts at GALOT Motorsports Park.
“This is obviously not the ideal outcome, but we fought through rain storms earlier in the day and completed as much racing as we could before these forecasted thunderstorms rolled in,” said Tyler Crossnoe, series director, PDRA. “More rain has moved into the area and is going to stay in the area throughout half of Sunday, effectively losing our back-up date as well. The remainder of the Thunder Valley Throwdown will be completed at GALOT Motorsports Park during the PDRA DragWars event on Thursday, September 11. We will post more detailed information as soon as possible, but the event is concluded for the weekend in Thunder Valley. We appreciate all of our racers and fans who came out to spend their weekend with us at Bristol Dragway.”
The series completed one round of eliminations in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous, WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by Menscer Motorsports, AED Competition Fuel Systems Extreme Pro Stock presented by Allen Competition Engines PDRA Pro 632 presented by PTC Torque Converters, PDRA Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling, MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving, and Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by COMP Cams.
Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products ran two rounds of eliminations, and MagnaFuel Top Sportsman 32, Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster 48 presented by Derrick Wolfe Trucking, and Paragon Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products ran three rounds.
Virginia’s Dane Wood threw down the quickest pass of the opening round in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous, a 3.761 at 199.82, to upset No. 2 qualifier John Vergotz, who ran a 3.760 at 201.52. First-round results: Tommy Franklin 3.907 (bye run), Brian Shrader 3.968 def. Tim Paap 5.524 (red), Marcus Butner 3.806 def. Fredy Scriba 3.779, Cam Clark 3.826 def. Amber Denton 4.208, Dane Wood 3.761 def. John Vergotz 3.760, Tim Molnar 3.825 def. Billy Albert 5.502 (red).
Defending event champion Jason Harris set low E.T. in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive first round of eliminations with his 3.686 at 205.51 next to a red-lighting Don Tolley. First-round results: Preston Tanner 3.688 def. Bubba Greene 5.269, Ed Marx 3.715 def. Kurt Steding 3.727, David Monday 5.202 def. Johnny Camp 3.714 (red), Melanie Salemi 3.709 def. Cameron Hensley 4.55, Jason Harris 3.686 def. Don Tolley 5.928 (red), Steve King 3.732 def. Frank Falter IV 3.803, Randy Weatherford 3.714 def. John Doc 3.722, Ty Tutterow 3.734 def. Raymond Matos (broke).
In a marquee matchup with championship implications in Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by Menscer Motorsports, No. 12 qualifier Ethan Steding advanced with a 4.138 at 186.00 while No. 1 qualifier and points leader Blake Denton broke on the starting line. That opened the window for No. 2 ranked Steding to gain ground on Denton. First-round results: Ethan Steding 4.138 def. Blake Denton (broke), Mikey Sasina 4.178 def. Ty Kasper 4.160, Ron Green 4.092 def. Chris Tuten 4.086, Fletcher Cox 4.144 def. Bill Devine 4.375, Richard Reagan 4.143 def. Adrian Herrera 4.201, Bill Riddle 6.665 def. Scott Kincaid (broke).
AED Competition Fuel Systems Extreme Pro Stock presented by Allen Competition Engines saw the No. 2 and 3 drivers in the points standings lose in the opening round. Two-time and defending world champion Chris Powers lost on a holeshot to Dave Hughes, and recent first-time winner Jeremy Huffman lost to young gun Jordan Ensslin. First-round results: Elijah Morton 4.237 (bye), Dave Hughes 4.179 def. Chris Powers 4.174, Alan Drinkwater 4.153 def. Steven Boone 4.238, Jordan Ensslin 4.218 def. Jeremy Huffman 4.284.
First-time PDRA Pro 632 presented by PTC Torque Converters No. 1 qualifier Nicole Liberty continued to set the pace in the first round of eliminations, as she set low E.T. of the round – 4.239 at 166.66 – on a bye run. First-round results: Nicole Liberty 4.239 (bye run), Carson Hoyle 4.262 def. Kyle Salminen 6.866, Jeff Pittman 4.262 def. Ed McLemore 4.384, Lexi Tanner 4.259 def. Brian Clauss 4.358 (red), Jeff Melnick 4.245 def. Gary Hood 11.013, J.C. Beattie Jr. 4.247 def. Jason Ventura 4.295.
In PDRA Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling, defending event winner and No. 1 qualifier Connor McGee charged to the quickest pass of the opening round, a 4.635 at 156.59, to defeat Brad McBride and his 6.155. First-round results: Connor Mcgee 4.635 def. Brad McBride 6.155, Dan Whetstine 4.760 def. Grant Breaud 4.800, Austin Vincent 4.692 def. Matt Schalow 4.757, Carson Perry 4.715 def. Brooks McMath 4.759.
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