PDRA
Melanie Salemi a Fan Favorite in Pro Boost
PITTSBORO, NC – Midway through last season, Melanie Salemi waltzed into GALOT Motorsports Pro Boost as if 
she’d done it all her life. In just her second race out in her ‘68 Firebird she won the whole shebang, giving her early confidence and notoriety among fans. Salemi has continued to gain experience behind the wheel this season, going rounds consistently to earn a fourth place points standing. While driving takes top priority at events, the Canada-born racer puts a special focus on interacting with fans.
During this season Salemi implemented a t-shirt giveaway program to connect with her youngest fans. She came up with several trivia questions that would be read over the PA. The first kid to reach the tower with the right answer won a Melanie Salemi t-shirt. The idea was such a hit that other drivers began to follow suit. Salemi says she loves the chance to interact with the kids, who meet her at the trailer to cash in on their prize. Still, there are some fans who don’t immediately recognize the petite young woman as pilot of the blown Pro Mod that can cover the eighth-mile in just 3.78 seconds. Salemi tells of how she recently surprised a fan:
Ric Fleck’s Pro Mod Passion
PITTSBORO, NC – The term “Pro Mod” has come to mean many things in recent years. So many, in fact, that it’s easy 
to forget what embodied Pro Modifieds in the beginning. For diehards like Ric Fleck, however, there is only one way to effectually “Pro Mod”. It’s not just about the power adder utilized or how fast one can get down the track, although many Pro Mod teams have narrowed it down to exactly that. No, for racers like Fleck, Pro Mod means embracing the look as much as the performance. His 1941 Willys, a body style made famous by early Pro Mod pioneers like Scotty Cannon and Tommy Mauney, is as fun to watch for its flashy paint scheme as it is for it’s on track performance, which, by the way, is stout in PDRA’s Pro Boost this season. Fleck currently sits third in GALOT Motorsports Pro Boost points with semi-final appearances at the last two events.
“For me Pro Boost, hands down, is the best class there is,” Fleck remarked. “If you look at the finals last year in Virginia, the entire field is within seven numbers of each other. From 3.79 to a 3.86 out of 16 cars, even with the difference of the turbo cars and the blower cars; that’s really tight. That tells ya something. It’s really a good tuners race. There’s enough rules in place to keep everybody competitive, but not too many rules so that you can’t stand out.”
Fan-Voted Pro Nitrous Wars Shootout to Highlight PDRA Action at Maryland
BUDDS CREEK, Md – Four of the best racers in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by MoTeC will face off in a 
special shootout race at the 2nd annual Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) North-South Shootout, July 14-16, at Maryland International Dragway. Fans of the PDRA Racing Facebook page voted to decide the pairings for the Flatout Gaskets Pro Nitrous Wars Shootout, set to run during Friday qualifying. The $5,000-to-win race-within-a-race is in addition to the PDRA’s usual four professional classes, four sportsman categories, and the special-feature Extreme Pro Stock and Outlaw 10.5 classes.
Pro Nitrous has been one of the most competitive classes this season, with three different drivers seeing the winner’s circle in the first four races. Tommy Franklin won the season opener at Tulsa, Travis Harvey scored the Rockingham win, and Jay Cox won the two most recent PDRA races in Texas and Michigan. Steve Jackson, twice a runner-up to Cox, joins Franklin, Harvey and Cox as the four competitors in the Flatout Gaskets Pro Nitrous Wars Shootout.
Small Budget, Big Personality, Frankie Taylor Topping PX Competition Once Again
PITTSBORO, NC – Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor has been in a self-proclaimed slump lately, but with a runner up at the 
PDRA Texas Nationals, followed by a win at the PDRA Summer Drags, he seems to be rising quickly back to the top of NAS Racing Pro Extreme competition.
“I’m adamant on getting the record back,” explained the Mad Man, who has held the PX record at 3.65, 3.62, 3.59 and 3.58 seconds. “Competing with the best means you have to beat the best. In Michigan, we did just that, beating Jason Scruggs and Brandon Snider on hole shots and turning on the win light. Doing so put us number three in points, which is our best points position in PDRA so far.”
Owner of Taylor Automotive in Dickinson, Texas Taylor still holds the quarter-mile blown, full-bodied outlaw record at 5.47 at almost 264 miles per hour. Although he’s confident he could go even faster with the knowledge he has gained since setting the record in 2014, for now his focus remains beating the best in the world on the eighth-mile.
You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down
PITTSBORO, NC – In March of this year PDRA Pro Extreme pilot, Terry Leggett, went in for a regular eye checkup. 
He walked away with a long list of upcoming appointments and treatment options. Leggett had melanoma eye cancer.
“Back in March I went for just a regular eye checkup and found out I had a melanoma tumor in my eye. The week during Rockingham I had a radioactive plaque put in my eye. It stayed in for five days and then they removed it. I really won’t know anything about the tumor for another five or six weeks. That’s when they’ll do all the resizing of the tumor to see if the radiation killed it or not. I’ll wind up having to have my thyroid removed, too. Probably sometime in July. There’s a strong enough possibility of cancer there that they want to remove it.”
In conversation with Leggett, none would be the wiser about his current health battle. He remains as positive and upbeat as ever. With an easy way about him, indicative in his southern drawl, Leggett takes everything in stride.
Jay Cox Sits on Top of Pro Nitrous Points as Season Nears Halfway Point
PITTSBORO, NC – Although a relative newcomer to PDRA Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by MoTeC 
frontrunners, Jay Cox has found himself right at home in the winner’s circle this season. With four races complete, Cox has been in three finals, securing wins twice. This has been enough to put him in first place, just over 400 points ahead of Travis Harvey.
The Carolina good ‘ol boy says he never dreamed he’d be in this position. “When I was playing baseball I used to tune in and watch all these guys running Pro Nitrous,” told the former minor league player. “I always dreamed about doing it and never thought I’d have a chance. The first PDRA race we went to I had a little 800 cubic inch motor. Just to qualify and be able to run with these big name people – that fulfilled my dream. I never imagined being able to run up front.”
Battle Rages on in Flatout Gaskets Nitrous Wars
PITTSBORO, NC – Four events have thus far produced only two unique engine builder wins in the PDRA Flatout 
Gaskets Pro Nitrous Wars, which awards the number one qualifier at each event with the coveted Nitrous Bottle Trophy to parade and adorn, giving team bragging rights until the next event. Musi Racing Engines swept the first three events showing incredible power. The fourth stop on the PDRA tour finally saw an end to Musi’s reign as Steve Jackson took his Reher-Morrison engine to the number one spot.
Tommy Franklin swept the first event as number one qualifier and inaugural Nitrous Wars winner with his Musi engine and then winning the season opener at its postponed location in Rockingham, N.C. At the Spring Nationals Dean Marinis showed he could run with the best of Pro Nitrous by going straight to the top of the pack and securing his place as a Nitrous Wars contender.
Taylor, Cox, Strickland and Alsaber Win PDRA Summer Drags
MARTIN, MI – Former minor league baseball player Jay Cox earned his second consecutive event win in Pro Nitrous 
at this weekend’s 3rd annual Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Summer Drags at US 131 Motorsports Park. The three other professional class winners, Frankie Taylor, John Strickland, and Meshal Alsaber, were victorious for the first time on the PDRA tour.
Midwest favorites scored the victories in the sportsman classes, with Mick Snyder winning Top Sportsman and Craig Sullivan claiming the Top Dragster win. Michiganders Libby Ledford and Alex Kish picked up the wins in Pro Junior Dragster and Top Junior Dragster, respectively.
The Extreme Pro Stock class rejoined the series regulars for their second race of 2016, with New York’s John Pluchino coming out on top. Outlaw 10.5 driver Frank Pompilio drove his turbocharged entry to the win in the class’ 2016 PDRA debut.
Snider, Jackson, Rivenbark and McKinney Lead Friday Qualifying at PDRA Summer Drags
MARTIN, MI – Some of the Professional Drag Racers Association’s biggest stars came out on the top of the 
qualifying orders after Friday’s three qualifying sessions were completed at the 3rd annual PDRA Summer Drags at US 131 Motorsports Park. Elapsed time national record holder Brandon Snider is number one in NAS Racing Pro Extreme, joined by low qualifiers Steve Jackson in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous, Kevin Rivenbark in GALOT Motorsports Park Pro Boost, and Eric McKinney in Drag 965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle.
In the PDRA sportsman classes, past Pro Extreme world champion Mick Snyder set the bar high in Ronnie Davis Top Sportsman presented by MagnaFuel with his 3.939 elapsed time. Bryan Keller’s 3.688 is the low elapsed time in Lucas Oil Top Dragster heading into Saturday’s final qualifying session. Mia Schultz leads three other young ladies on the Talbert Pro Junior Dragster qualifying order, while a .009 reaction time gave Connor Glaser the top spot in MegaCorp Top Junior Dragster.
Pro Boost’s Kevin Rivenbark Rides Undefeated Momentum into PDRA Summer Drags
MARTIN, MI – The quiet town of Martin, Michigan will come alive with the thunder of 3,000+ horsepower 
doorslammers this weekend as the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) rolls into town for the PDRA Summer Drags. The northernmost event on the nine-race PDRA circuit, the Summer Drags has grown to become one of the largest races of its kind in the region.
One of the biggest stories to watch at Martin is the dominance of Kevin Rivenbark in the GALOT Motorsports Park Pro Boost class. The North Carolina driver won all three prior PDRA events this season behind the wheel of his supercharged GALOT Motorsports 2015 Corvette. Surprisingly, he doesn’t feel any particular pressure to maintain his undefeated record.
