The first PDRA Triple Threat Bracket Series event of 2026 brought a schedule change due to inclement weather on Saturday but the action on track started as fierce as ever for the first event on the schedule this season at Virginia Motorsports Park.
Bruce Hensley started the weekend off with the Super 64 Shootout win on TBM Brakes Thursday. Hensley brought out a new dragster for this event and immediately took it to the winner’s circle in a double breakout final round against New York’s Tyler Rudolph. Hensley was .007 and 4.457 on his 4.46 dial to emerge victorious while Rudolph was .013 and 4.418 on his 4.43 dial to breakout more in the money round. Steve Witherow and Luke Harris were the semi-finalists in the warm-up shootout.
Kyle Hustwayte took home the first main event big check of the season on L&L Transmission/Star Machine Friday with a $15,000 victory over a red-lighting Bobby Eley in the final round in a dragster vs. door car matchup. Hustwayte, from Stafford, Virginia, drove his Maddox dragster to the winner’s circle and did so with a number of good laps to earn the first PDRA Triple Threat Bracket Series event win of the season. Allan Talley was the lone semi-finalist while Dink Holmes and Bo Snoddy bowed out at the quarter-final round. Joe Foley from Mooresville, NC won the No Box portion, picked up the $750 bonus and rolled into the main event after defeating a red-lighting Kris Bunch by only three thousandths of a second (-.003) in the final round. Randy Biddle and Jake Wood were the semi-finalists.
Ray Miller III continued his streak of wins in the PDRA Triple Threat Bracket Series driving the Harbaugh family NexGen Race Cars dragster to a win on Red Line Oil/Star Machine Sunday with the second $15,000 winner’s purse on the line. Miller defeated Davis Adkins in the final round, a matchup of the last remaining double entered racers who both had two entries with nine total remaining on the day. Miller was .006 in the final round and ran 4.663 on his 4.65 dial to defeat Adkins who was .015 and ran 5.737 on his 5.72 dial. PDRA Pro Street racer Blake Denton was the lone semi-finalist in his American Race Cars dragster while Daniel Hambright and Ray Miller III were the quarterfinalists. Joe Foley swept the No Box portion on the weekend, picking up the second No Box bonus of the weekend and rolling into the main event after defeating Maryland’s Steve Ryan in a double breakout final round. Mike Snoddy was the lone semi-finalist.
On Sunday, there were two 32-car Jr. Dragster Shootouts for the up-and-coming stars in the sport. With losing Saturday due to weather, event promoters decided to offer both races on Sunday instead of a combined purse and one event to give these talented young drivers two chances at the PDRA winner’s circle.
Carter Jackson took home the first win of the day over Mallory Mattox in a double breakout final round. Jackson held a reaction time advantage with his .024 and ran 7.897 on his 7.91 dial while Mattox was .063 leaving the starting line and ran 7.874 on her 7.90 dial. Alyssa Tilghman was the lone semi-finalist in race one.
Alyssa Tilghman continued her day of success, finishing out race two with a victory over Carter Sparkman in the final round. Tilghman was .005 leaving the starting line and ran a 7.943 on her 7.90 dial to secure the final victory of the weekend for the Jr. Dragster category. Kylie Varnier was the lone semi-finalist.
The PDRA Triple Threat Bracket Series will be back on track for the second race of the series on July 30-August 2 at Virginia Motorsports Park in N. Dinwiddie, Virginia. Formore information and event details, visit www.pdra660.com.
This story was originally published on May 6, 2026. 
The post Hustwayte, Miller and Hensley Capture First PDRA Triple Threat Bracket Series Wins of 2026 first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
