PDRA
Halsey, Salemi, Rice, Melnick, Davis and Essick Score PDRA East Coast Nationals Victories
BENSON, NC – Four-time and reigning Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous world champion Jim Halsey is starting his championship defense 
season with a win as he raced to victory Sunday night at the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Summit Racing Equipment East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech at GALOT Motorsports Park. Halsey defeated fellow multi-time world champion Tommy Franklin in the final round, claiming his third East Coast Nationals victory.
The East Coast Nationals, the first race of the PDRA’s 10th season, was pushed into Sunday when rain and wind forced officials to postpone Saturday eliminations.
Halsey was joined in the winner’s circle by additional pro class winners Melanie Salemi in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, Dwayne Rice in Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition, Jeff Melnick in M&M Transmission Pro 632, Brayden Davis in Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle, and Tim Essick in Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco.
PDRA East Coast Nationals Eliminations Postponed to Sunday
BENSON, NC – Inclement weather on Saturday forced Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) and GALOT Motorsports Park officials 
to postpone eliminations at the season-opening Summit Racing Equipment PDRA East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech to Sunday. Rain and heavy winds put a stop to Saturday morning’s activities, and the forecast for the rest of the day predicted more of the same conditions.
“Between the wind and the rain, we weren’t going to be able to get cars on track until late in the evening,” said Tyler Crossnoe, series director, PDRA. ”With a full day of eliminations left to run, we’ve decided to postpone the rest of the event to Sunday. The forecast for the day looks much better, and will provide the conditions our racers need for safe and competitive racing.”
Qualifying in the PDRA’s professional and sportsman classes was completed Friday night. Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster completed its final qualifying session Saturday morning, and Pro Jr. Dragster ran one pair of its final session.
Cox, Salemi, Powers, A. Franklin, Al-Saber and Riddle Claim First No. 1 Spots of 2023 PDRA Season at East Coast Nationals
BENSON, NC – The Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) kicked off its 10th season with two of the quickest and tightest Pro Nitrous 
and Pro Boost fields in series history Friday night at the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech at GALOT Motorsports Park.
Home track hero Jay Cox fired off a 3.632-second pass at 207.11 MPH to claim the No. 1 spot in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous, while Melanie Salemi recorded a 3.58 at 206.10 to qualify No. 1 in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive for the second consecutive year at this race.
Chris Powers (Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition), Amber Franklin (M&M Transmission Pro 632), Meshal Al-Saber (Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle), and Bill Riddle (Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco) also earned No. 1 qualifier honors in the professional classes.
The low qualifiers in the sportsman classes are Buddy Perkinson in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Pete Maduri in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster, Eric Burnett in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Corbin’s RV, and Brian Maine in Laris Motorsports Top Dragster.
PDRA to Kick Off 10th Season at Summit Racing Equipment East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech
BENSON, NC – The 2023 season will be the Professional Drag Racers Association’s (PDRA) 10th year of all-eighth-mile drag racing, and it 
all begins this weekend, March 29-April 1, at the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech at GALOT Motorsports Park. It’s the first of nine races on the PDRA schedule – eight championship points races, plus the race-your-way-in third annual Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars race in July.
The series is rolling out new programs, as well as expanding existing programs, to celebrate the milestone season.
“PDRA has seen a number of changes across the 10-year period from creation to now being at the top of the doorslammer drag racing world,” said Tyler Crossnoe, series director, PDRA. “This begins my fifth season involved with the series, and to see the growth that has occurred in just that amount of time is wild. The racers are great, the fan base is continuing to grow, and the competition on track is unmatched.”
PDRA Continues Structural Concrete Nitrous Wars, Adds Boost Wars, Horsepower Wars to Engine Builder Challenge Program
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – For the last several years, racers in the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Switzer Dynamics Pro 
Nitrous division have competed in the Structural Concrete Nitrous Wars, a special program rewarding the top engine builders in the class. This season, the PDRA engine builder challenge will expand to include two other professional classes, plus a revamped format.
Racers in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive will square off in Boost Wars, and Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition teams will race off in Horsepower Wars to determine the top engine builders in their respective classes.
Structural Concrete Nitrous Wars, Boost Wars, and Horsepower Wars will pit the top four qualified engine builders at the previous event against each other during Q2 and Q3 in a chance to gain points for each particular class. No. 1 runs No. 4 and No. 2 runs No. 3 in the second round of qualifying as the final two pairs of the category. The two winners advance to be the final pair in the category during the final round of qualifying to go for the bragging rights, the yearly points, and the right to carry each individual class trophy until the next event.
M&M Transmission Takes Over as New Title Sponsor of PDRA Pro 632
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – M&M Transmission, owned by Pro Mod driver and radial standout Mark Micke, will serve as the new class 
sponsor for the Professional Drag Racers Association’s (PDRA) Pro 632 class, series officials announced ahead of the series’ 10th season.
Pro 632 features big-tire doorslammers running either naturally aspirated or nitrous oxide-aided combinations.
“Mark, Damon, Troy, and the entire M&M Transmission team have been long-time supporters of not only the PDRA series, but also the racers in the parking lot,” said PDRA Race Director Tyler Crossnoe. “From on-location service and emergency repair to championship-winning products, M&M Transmission continues a winning résumé with the PDRA with the new increased support level by title sponsoring Pro 632 this season.”
Founded by Micke in 1996, M&M Transmission is based out of Jefferson City, Missouri. The team specializes in Turbo 400-based automatic racing transmissions, as well as building custom torque converters and shifters.
Braille Battery Named Official Battery of PDRA
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – Braille Battery, an innovative manufacturer of racing grade lithium batteries, has been named the Official Battery 
of the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA), series officials announced today. The new partnership is facilitated through Tony Christian Racing, the master distributor and representative of Braille Battery’s drag racing specific products.
“It means a lot to all of us at the PDRA that Heather Christian-Kircher and the folks at Braille Battery chose to partner with us as the Official Battery of the PDRA,” said Will Smith, marketing director, PDRA. “Braille lithium batteries have a legendary pedigree in drag racing, and many of our racers already use them. We encourage our racers – and fans – to consider Braille when they’re looking to make their next lithium battery purchase.”
In 2009, Pro Street icon Tony Christian partnered with Braille Battery to bring the first 16-volt lithium battery to market specifically for drag racing. It’s since been used by world champions in PDRA Pro Nitrous and Pro Boost, NHRA Pro Mod, NHRA Pro Stock, and more. Since Christian’s passing in the summer of 2022, his daughter, Heather Christian-Kircher, has continued to operate Tony Christian Racing as a performance parts distributor specializing in Braille batteries.
RC Components Named Official Race Wheel of PDRA
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – RC Components, a longtime manufacturer of racing wheels, has been named the Official Race Wheel of the 
Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA), series officials announced today. RC Components is the latest company to sign on in support of the PDRA’s 10th anniversary season.
“We’re honored that RC Components chose the PDRA to help reach new customers in 2023,” said Will Smith, marketing director, PDRA. “Our racers are always looking for innovative new products that will lead to performance gains. RC Comp’s lightweight wheels are sure to start popping up on PDRA racers’ cars this season.”
“RC is very excited to partner with PDRA for the business side of it, but I’m personally even more excited to be a part of it,” said Rick Ball, president and founder, RC Components. “Being a drag racer for almost 50 years now, I’ve seen a lot. Watching PDRA start up in 2014 and grow so quickly was so exciting. The grassroots racing is going strong, so I knew I wanted to be a part of that growth. I’ve been to a few of their races over the last couple of years and seeing the growth of PDRA, we knew we had to be on that train. All aboard. Let’s go racing.”
Tim Essick Successfully Defends First-Ever PDRA Pro Street Championship
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – Tim Essick made Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) history in 2021 when he won the first-ever world 
championship in the Pro Street category. Following a 2022 season that saw Essick win twice in his ProCharger-boosted “Brown Sugar” ’18 Mustang, the Maryland native is yet again the Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by AFCO world champion.
“It was just a terrific feeling to be able to back it up,” Essick said. “It kind of validates everything that we’ve worked for. It just goes to show that it’s a successful program. It makes you feel good about what you’re doing.”
Essick’s season started with a win at the season-opening East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech at GALOT Motorsports Park. The Pro Street competition at that first race set the tone for the rest of the season.
“That was a huge start to the year,” Essick said. “Through qualifying, we were struggling a little bit. Over the winter, we had changed the transmission and converter, plus we had a hundred pounds thrown on us. But when it came down to eliminations, the air changed and things fell into place and the car ran some really fast passes right up front. Nick Agostino was running real fast as well. Unfortunately, that weather went away and the rest of the year was in slower weather, but that was good momentum to start the year.”
Travis Davis Adds Fourth PDRA Pro Nitrous Motorcycle World Championship
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – Three-time Drag 965 Pro Nitrous Motorcycle world champion Travis Davis didn’t set out to chase the 2022 
Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) title this season, but with hard work, smart calls, and a little luck, the Georgia native secured his fourth PDRA world championship. Davis won it on the strength of two event wins in four appearances at the five races the class attended
“Winning the championship was kind of unexpected, to be honest,” Davis said. “To win four of them, I’m proud of our team and everybody that helps me. We really weren’t focused on the championship, just trying to develop a new engine and take a little time off, but we managed to do it. We didn’t go to the Ohio race, so any time you start skipping races, championships usually aren’t in play. But the races we did show up at, we either won or went rounds and put ourselves in a position to do it. You try to win them all, but you’ve got pretty stiff competition to do that.”
After qualifying No. 1 at the season-opening East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech at GALOT Motorsports Park, Davis sat out the DeCerbo Construction American Doorslammer Challenge presented by Callies at Summit Motorsports Park. He came back at the North vs. South Shootout presented by Line-X and Iron Man Quick Connect Push Bar at Maryland International Raceway, winning that race and the next event, the Drag 965 Summer Shootout presented by Classic Graphix at Virginia Motorsports Park.
