PDRA
Fort Lee Gets Taste of Drag Racing
Tommy Franklin displayed his record-setting Camaro for military
PITTSBORO, NC – The Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) is expressing its appreciation for the military 
by extending free tickets to any military personnel (retired or active duty) who present their military ID at the upcoming World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, Virginia, October 22-24. To personally express this gratitude to the military, one of the series standouts took time out of his competition schedule to visit the service men and women stationed at Fort Lee.
Virginia native Tommy Franklin is in the thick of the championship hunt for one of the PDRA’s toughest classes for the second year in a row. His eye-catching ‘69 Camaro has twice reset the Pro Nitrous elapsed time record. Though the Camaro wasn’t topping its usual speeds of over 200 MPH, it turned heads sitting perfectly still at the recent display event at the Fort Lee military base in Fort Lee, Virginia. For Franklin and the PDRA, this was the perfect opportunity to give back.
Smith Doesn’t Count Franklin Out in Pro Nitrous Championship Bid
PITTSBORO, NC – It’s been an exciting season for PDRA Pro Nitrous. We’ve seen new threats rise to the top, behind-
the-scenes rivalries played out on the big stage, power wars, and an intense championship chase. Now the focus is on two men. Heading into the PDRA Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by Mel Bush Motorsports the championship battle is boiled down to points leader Rickie Smith and part owner of the PDRA Tommy Franklin.
Franklin was the early season favorite, winning the first event, resetting the national elapsed time record, and gaining the early points lead. But with Smith’s win at the very next event, he quickly decided to throw his hat in the ring for the chase. The two then battled all through the year, exchanging trips to the winner’s circle and the points lead. Smith’s win at Dragstock XII gave him a decisive lead with one race to go. If Smith qualifies and wins round one, the Pro Nitrous Championship will be his. Still, Franklin retains a chance, and a fierce hope, of not being the bridesmaid for the second year in a row.
Less Than One Round Separates #1 and #2 in Pro Boost
PITTSBORO, NC – Precision Turbo Pro Boost is a unique animal in the Professional Drag Racers Association class 
lineup. While the other professional categories are grouped together by similar motor combinations, Pro Boost has a mix of configurations competing against each other. Despite the variety of the class, it is proving to be the most tightly contested. With just one race left in the PDRA tour, less than one round separates Kevin Rivenbark’s blown 2015 Corvette from Kevin Fiscus’ twin turbo 2012 Mustang.
Rivenbark and Fiscus have been neck-and-neck all year. By winning the first event of the season, Fiscus gained the early points lead, but it wasn’t long before Rivenbark captured his own PDRA trophy and took over the points lead. Rivenbark started out the year in his trusty 1967 Mustang, then debuted a new 2015 Corvette halfway through the season. Working out new car bugs cost him the points lead at the Summer Drags, and once again Fiscus was back on top. At the most recent PDRA event, Dragstock XII, Rivenbark was able to go one round further than Fiscus, giving him the lead by 80 points. Now there are just four qualifiers and four elimination rounds left to determine who will be the next PDRA Pro Boost World Champion.
Championships on the Line at PDRA World Finals
PITTSBORO, NC – The world’s quickest and fastest eighth-mile drag racing series is coming to Virginia Motorsports 
Park, October 22-24. The Brian Olson Memorial PDRA World Finals presented by Mel Bush Motorsports is the last event in a year long battle, brought to you at speeds over 200 MPH. Drivers from across the world have fought hard all year to be in Championship contention and a chance at top dog bragging rights. They’ll be laying it all on the line as they vie to be the next World Champion.
In NAS Racing Pro Extreme continual front-runner Jason Scruggs leads the points, and while he’s no stranger to winning, he’s got his work cut out for him in Dubai’s Bader Ahli. Scruggs’ fire-engine red ‘69 Camaro and Ahli’s midnight black ‘69 Camaro will face off to see which is the baddest doorslammer in the country. Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous – the class for nitrous breathing machines – also has a tough Championship battle on the line. Multi-time Champion Rickie Smith and nemesis Tommy Franklin have been trading the spotlight all year, but now there’s only four rounds left to see who is the top dog of 2015. Precision Turbo Pro Boost has proven to be one of the most exciting classes of the PDRA and promises to be the class to watch at the World Finals, as less than one round separates points leader Kevin Rivenbark from number two man, Kevin Fiscus.
Southern Racers Vie for Top Dragster Title
PITTSBORO, NC – In the quickest and fastest sportsman category in drag racing, two racers with roots deep in 
southern, eighth-mile bracket racing are going toe-to-toe to be crowned the next PDRA Top Dragster World Champion.
While Gleason Tennessee’s Justin Melton has a three round lead over North Carolina native, Derrik Sholar, both racers believe this Championship is far from over.
Local racers picked off early season wins, but PDRA series followers began adding up points as the year went on. Melton won the North-South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway in July, taking over the points lead. Sholar answered back at the very next event, winning the Memphis Drags. Now only 212 points separate the two as the World Finals approaches.
Craig Sullivan, A Sportsman Racer with a Professional Attitude
PITTSBORO, NC – Most racers count their biggest wins by the number of trophies or oversized checks lining their 
shop walls. But for PDRA Top Dragster racer Craig Sullivan, winning often means something different altogether. Although he continually finishes in the top five of whatever division he races, his “big wins” can’t be measured on the track.
“I won the Jon Kaase Shootout at Norwalk in 2004,” Sullivan told, recounting one of his best memories from racing. “That was a special time because my wife and all three of my kids were there. We’ve been close to several championships in the JEGS Quick 32 Series. We’ve been second, third and fifth, but anytime that we can go out with a new product and start testing and be successful with it is a win for us. When we launched American Race Cars’ first hardtail Top Dragster in 2011 there were a lot of skeptics. But the car was fast right out of the box, and it was consistent.
TS Points Leader Ronnie Davis Makes Astounding Offer
PITTSBORO, NC – There’s one event left in the PDRA’s sophomore tour, which means championships are on the line 
and a year’s worth of racing boils down to four short rounds. In Top Sportsman Ronnie “The King” Davis leads the pack, 185 points over current reigning champion Dan Ferguson. Ferguson has been no slouch competitor this year, leading the points from the season opener, where he won, up until the Memphis Drags. This means that the young, self-funded driver from Pennsylvania was the sole points leader for Top Sportsman for 13 consecutive races.
The weekend after the PDRA Dragstock event in Rockingham, N.C. Ferguson took his 2002 Firebird to Norwalk Raceway Park for the Shakedown at Norwalk. One fateful run, Ferguson clocked a 6.41 elapsed time at 210 MPH. Everything was smooth until he pulled the parachutes, and one got tangled in his wheelie bars sending Ferguson on two wheels and up against the wall. While he managed to walk away unscathed, the Firebird told a different story.
PDRA Gears Up for World Finals and More
PITTSBORO, NC – In just one month the Professional Drag Racers Association will close out their sophomore season and crown their second round of World Champions at the PDRA World Finals presented by Mel Bush Motorsports. Throughout this year, hundreds of teams have vied for a PDRA event title, but only a few have earned the right to compete for World Championship bragging rights. As momentum from the PDRA’s stellar opening season carried into 2015, teams continued to make record-breaking runs, fan counts increased and partnerships with some of the best names in the industry grew.
“We expect nothing more than to continue our growth trends on into 2016,” stated PDRA Race Director Bob Harris. “We were affected by Mother Nature at most of our events this year, but even despite that we have had a great season and look forward to crowning our Champions in a few short weeks.”
Keith Haney ready to win Dragstock XII at Rockingham Dragway
ROCKINGHAM, NC – Keith Haney and his Keith Haney Racing team have done everything but win this year, so he 
has one goal for this weekend’s PDRA Dragstock XII at Rockingham Dragway: Win.
“I said it before and I’ll say it again: We’re not pretenders, we’re contenders,” Haney said. “It’s time to race this Camaro to the winner’s circle this weekend. That’s what I’m going for. I won’t be satisfied with anything but a win. I’ve got a runner-up this year, some round-wins, but I need to go win some races in PDRA against the best.”
Haney and his Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Pro Nitrous Chevrolet Camaro have performed well since a switch to a new Reher-Morrison Racing Engines powerplant in May, and he raced to a runner-up finish in the Throw Down in T-Town at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park last month.
IMPORTANT PDRA SCHEDULE CHANGE / NEWS
Bradenton, FL – After numerous phone calls and tough decisions over the past two weeks, PDRA and Bradenton Motorsports Park, unfortunately regret to inform everyone that the Inaugural Mel Bush Motorsports Sunshine State Shootout event has been canceled for 2015. Due to circumstances beyond our control or Bradenton Motorsports Park’s control unseasonably like wet weather has forced drainage issues near the finish line unable to be repaired at this time in prelude to our once scheduled Oct. 1-3, 2015 event.
Both track promoters, the entire Bradenton Motorsports Park race track staff have been working tirelessly for the past two weeks in an attempt to repair the race track back to their great track performance standards. Unfortunately this huge repair will not be completed in time for our PDRA 2015 race in Bradenton, FL.
