A combination of overnight rain and more inclement weather on Monday led Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) officials to cancel the remaining rounds of eliminations that were left to complete at the Proline Racing Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by ProCharger at Virginia Motorsports Park.
“This is certainly not how we wanted to finish the 2022 season,” said Tyler Crossnoe, series director, PDRA. “We got to work on the track as soon as possible this morning and spent several hours trying to get it ready to go racing. Unfortunately, the rain we received overnight saturated the racing surface and isn’t allowing us to get the track prepped the way we want it. We’re not going to send racers down the track unless it’s absolutely safe. Tuesday’s forecast doesn’t look any better. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to cancel the rest of the event.”
Officially, the event is complete as of Sunday. The round of Top Dragster that was not completed will revert to the previous round’s points total. All purses are split evenly among the remaining contestants.
The drivers left in competition in the pro classes are listed below.
Pro Nitrous: Tommy Franklin, Jay Cox, Jim Halsey, and Dane Wood
Pro Boost: Todd Tutterow, Johnny Camp, Preston Tanner, and Melanie Salemi
Extreme Pro Stock: JR Carr, Johnny Pluchino, Elijah Morton, and John DeFlorian
Pro 632: Walter Lannigan Jr., Alan Drinkwater, Jeff Melnick, and Daryl Stewart
Pro Nitrous Motorcycle: Paul Gast and Chris Garner-Jones
The Pro Street and Super Street drivers decided to split on Sunday night.
The 2022 world champions are Jim Halsey in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous, Todd Tutterow in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, Johnny Pluchino in Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition, Amber Franklin in $hameless Racing Pro 632, Tim Essick in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by AFCO, Henry Underwood in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by US Rail, Larry Roberts in Lucas Oil Elite Top Dragster presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance, Joe Roubicek in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Vortech Superchargers, Tisha Wilson in Lucas Oil Top Dragster presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance, and Chris Suppers in Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster presented PRP.
The two championships left to decide, Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle and Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by PRP, came down to the last completed round of competition. Therefore, the champions are Travis Davis in Pro Nitrous Motorcycle and Hannah Sheppard in Top Jr. Dragster.
The PDRA will celebrate its 2022 world champions at the annual PDRA Awards Banquet on Friday, Dec. 9 during the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show in Indianapolis.
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