Fredy Scriba Dips Into 3.60s to Qualify No. 1 at NEOPMA Pro Challenge at MDIR

BUDDS CREEK, MD – Maryland’s own Fredy Scriba jumped to the top of the qualifying order Saturday night at the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) Pro Challenge at Maryland International Raceway. Scriba recorded a 3.695-second pass at 203.12 mph in his nitrous-fed “Sorcerer” ’69 Camaro in the final qualifying session to lead the field.

“That was a good run,” said Scriba, who won the 2021 NEOPMA season opener at MDIR. “The air was kind of muggy tonight, so that’s probably the best we had in it right there. The track was good, not the best we’ve seen. But you have to race the track. I thought it was a good run for the air and what the track would hold right now.”

With the No. 1 qualifying effort, Scriba earned a first-round bye run to start eliminations on Sunday. He’ll take on the winner of the No. 8 and 9 match-up between Mike Decker Jr. and Kevin McCurdy, who both ran 3.777 in qualifying.

“It’s going to be pretty hot tomorrow, so it will be good to have a bye and go out and test the track out and try something that may or may not go down,” Scriba said. “That way we’ll know where the limit is for second round. Having a bye is definitely an advantage.”

Scriba thanked nitrous Pro Mod guru Dean Marinis for helping with tuning advice for the Musi-powered, Bickel-built ’69 Camaro, specifically when it comes to the torque converter setup.

“Dean’s been helping us out a lot, getting us converted over to the automatic with the torque converter,” Scriba said. “It’s helped switching over to the converter from a clutch, and he’s definitely been key to helping us get this car straightened out.”

Matt Deitsch, who also drives a Musi-powered ’69 Camaro, held the No. 1 spot with his 3.721 at 202.97 until Scriba took the top spot. Deitsch ended up No. 2 by speed, as Chuck Ulsch ran a 3.721 at 202.06 in his supercharged ’68 Camaro.

The first-round pairings are Fredy Scriba (bye), Mike Decker Jr. vs. Kevin McCurdy, Tommy Gray vs. Tyler Hard, Derek Ward vs. Dave Norris, Matt Deitsch vs. Cody Helger, Chuck Ulsch vs. Gary Hood, and Steve King vs. Andy Jensen.

NEOPMA eliminations are scheduled to begin Sunday at noon EST at Maryland International Raceway.