U.S. Street Nationals winner and current Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service points leader Ken Quartuccio continued his torrid streak on Thursday night at Bradenton Motorsports Park, earning the World Series of Pro Mod provisional No. 1 qualifying spot in Pro Modified with a 3.596 elapsed time at 207.69 mph. Quartuccio leads a group of 80 drivers attempting to qualify for the $150,000-to-win, 32-car field.
The WSOPM weekend also includes the third annual Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational and the second annual Pro 10.5 Challenge. 2024 NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world champion and two-time PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Johnny Pluchino is the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Mountain Motor Pro Stock, while Joel Wensley Jr. is on top in the Pro 10.5 Challenge.
Sportsman racing is also represented with the second annual Intercontinental Top Sportsman Championship and the second annual Intercontinental Top Dragster Championship. Reigning PDRA Top Sportsman world champion Glenn Butcher (Top Sportsman) and Russ Whitlock (Top Dragster) are the provisional low qualifiers after their first qualifying session.
New to the WSOPM in 2025, Lil Gangstas began their quest for $25,000 – the biggest payout in class history – with two time trial runs.
Thursday night also featured the inaugural 16-car Jr. Dragster Shootout during the traditional WSOPM Racer & Crew Welcome Party presented by Strange Engineering. At the end of the night, 15-year-old Bobby Starr took home the $1,500 payday.
Pro Mod is scheduled to get three more qualifying sessions on Friday before drawing chips to determine first-round pairings for Saturday’s eliminations. All other classes are scheduled for two more qualifying sessions.
PRO MOD
Fresh off wins at the U.S. Street Nationals in Pro Mod and Lights Out 16 in Radial vs. the World, Ken Quartuccio continued his streak of dominance on Thursday night, jumping to the top of the 80-car qualifying order in Dustin Nesloney’s screw-blown ’69 Camaro out of the Scott Tidwell Racing camp, firing off a 3.596 at 207.69 mph.
“I just love this place. I love everything about it,” Quartuccio said. “When Vic (Alvarez) went 3.61, I honestly thought at that time of the day it was going to be hard to beat. But as the sun went down, (tuner) Steve Petty slowly dialed the car in to go a little faster. When I went through the finish line and saw a .59, I was pretty excited about that. I believe a turbo car is going to qualify No. 1 tomorrow night, and I’m 100% OK with it. I know that I can go rounds with what I’ve got.”
Quartuccio started off the day by going straight to the top with a 3.644 at 205.85 in the first qualifying session, earning $5,000 from Pro Line Racing for the run, winning their “Off The Trailer” Bonus Program awarded to the lowest E.T. during Q1.
“I’ve been dealing with Pro Line for over 10 years, but I’ve never had them give me money,” said Quartuccio. “When they put that challenge up, I said to [Steve] Petty, ‘I only ask for one thing. We’re gonna be late in the session, we’ll know what everybody runs…I want that Pro Line money. I want Eric [Dillard] to have to hand me a check instead of me handing him a check.’ It’s all in good fun, though, and it means a lot to win that and keep the momentum going.”
Quartuccio has displayed a remarkable string of consistency over the past few months, with a runner-up finish to Kye Kelley at the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks followed by the aforementioned victories at the U.S. Street Nationals and Lights Out 16. Quartuccio says their consistent performance is a testament to the entire team.
“We just have a great handle on the car,” Quartuccio said. “Pro Line has been wanting to work on a good screw program, and they’ve got great cars out here now. We’re just developing it. And keep in mind, that’s a famous car I’m driving – it’s a GALOT car from way back. It works really good, and we just had to find a sweet spot.”
Quartuccio is also in a great position to secure a sizeable number of points if he remains at or near the top of the qualifying order, inching him that much closer to the Winter Series points championship and an extra $25,000. However, he says he’s trying not to think about it and focus solely on what’s in front of him.
“I’ve been in a lot of championship battles over the years,” said Quartuccio. “I don’t want to get caught up in that – I just want to enjoy the moment. As soon as I start thinking about that stuff, it’s going to mess me up. I don’t want to do anything to change my focus right now. Just stay the course, just react and not think, and just enjoy this whole experience. The Winter Series is the greatest thing for Pro Mod racing. You’ve got 80 of the best guys out here – that’s a pretty special thing, and I just want to enjoy it.”
Reigning back-to-back PDRA Pro Boost world champion and 2023 WSOPM semifinalist Jason Harris returned from an illness that kept him out of the U.S. Street Nationals to take the provisional No. 2 spot with his 3.603 at 208.23 mph in his ProCharged Party Time Racing ’69 Camaro.
“Missing U.S. Street hurt me really bad,” Harris said. “I was really sick and it just wasn’t meant to be. Coming into this race, I’ve been really close – I’ve been to the semis, I’ve been down to eight – I just told ‘em I was coming for blood. I’m not going to leave anything on the table. I’m going to do what I need to do to win. I was gonna come with two broke legs to get to this race. This is the biggest race in Pro Mod, and it’s one of the best feelings in the world to come to this race.”
Two drivers making their DI Winter Series debut find themselves in the third and fourth spots, respectively. PDRA veteran Johnny Camp sits at No. 3 in his ProCharger-boosted “Hells Bells” ’69 Camaro with a 3.609 at 206.80. Bradenton Motorsports Park co-owner Victor Alvarez held the top spot for much of the evening qualifying session in his twin-turbo ’69 Camaro before eventually dropping to the No. 4 spot with a 3.611 at 219.94.
2017 WSOPM champion Mike Bowman rounded out the top five with his twin-turbo ’69 Chevelle, running a 3.622 at 219.86. Brazilian Sidnei Frigo sits on the 32-car bump spot with his 3.667 at 204.54 in his Artivinco Racing ‘69 Camaro.
PRO 10.5
Joel Wensley Jr. made some statement passes to close out last year’s PDRA Pro Street season, and he’s back at it this weekend in the $25,000-to-win Pro 10.5 Challenge. The Dearborn, Michigan-based driver fired off a 3.925 at 194.32 in his Patrick Barnhill-tuned, ProCharged ’14 Camaro during the second session, which saw almost every driver step up in big ways. Twenty-five drivers made qualifying attempts, and it took passes in the 3.90s to qualify in the top five.
“This was extremely rewarding,” said Wensley, who thanked DiSomma Racing Engines and PTP Tuning. “After last year we ended up putting a new front clip on the car to try to lighten up some weight on the nose. The first pass out we come in with a 1.04 60-foot off the trailer. Unfortunately, it backfired on that run because of some valve seat issues and we didn’t get much data after that, but we came back and we were like, ‘Man, I guess we’re right back where we were.’ It was definitely rewarding and a big sigh of relief.”
Wensley and the other 24 drivers attempting to qualify for the 16-car field will get two more qualifying sessions on Friday before going into Saturday eliminations, where pairings will be determined using random chip draws.
“It’s a cool feeling,” Wensley said of leading the stacked field. “I don’t think I’ve been a No. 1 qualifier, ever, so to be at the top of the field going into tomorrow, knowing that we can swing for the fences and give it whatever it’s got, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Texan Rob Valden ran to the No. 2 spot in Charlie Cooper’s turbocharged ’22 Mustang with a 3.943 at 203.83. Driving the nitrous-fed “Bonnie” ’69 Camaro as a tribute to the late Lizzy Musi, Blake Denton qualified third posting a 3.952 at 191.73.
MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK
After semifinal and runner-up finishes in the past two editions of the Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational, Johnny Pluchino went into this year’s running of the $25,000-to-win race on a mission to win. He’s not one to chase No. 1 qualifying awards, but he’s on his way to checking that box as well after making the quickest passes of both Thursday sessions. The reigning NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world champion recorded a 4.096, then improved to a 4.061 at 177.60 in his Kaase-powered Ross Environmental Services ’13 Mustang.
“To go out there in the middle of the day, in the heat of the day, and go low E.T. and then come back and lay one down when it gets cool out, it’s really all you can ask for,” said Pluchino, also a two-time PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion. “It’s starting the season exactly how we want. It’s the first race for us and it’s pretty gratifying.”
Mountain Motor Pro Stock will get two more qualifying sessions on Friday, but it’s Saturday eliminations that Pluchino is anticipating the most.
“We’re an extremely confident group no matter what,” said Pluchino, who thanked partners like Ross Environmental Services and Kelling Equipment. “I said it a while ago – you don’t want to pull the orange car in the chip draw this weekend. You just don’t want to do that. Pull somebody else. You don’t want to pull this orange car.”
Two-time and reigning PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Chris Powers qualified second in his Sonny’s Racing Engines ’21 Camaro on the strength of a 4.074 at 178.10. Tony Gillig, who’s filling in for 2023 PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Alan Drinkwater as the driver of the Drinkwater family’s Kaase-powered ‘08 Mustang, is third with a 4.096 at 176.93.
TOP SPORTSMAN
Nitrous cars are in command of Top Sportsman qualifying after the first session, with reigning PDRA Elite Top Sportsman world champion Glenn Butcher racing to the provisional No. 1 spot. He posted a 3.877 at 179.97 in his Albert-powered ’69 Camaro to take the top spot by a sizable margin. No. 2 qualifier David Crafts ran a 4.023 at 181.96 in his Lisbon Falls, Maine-based ’63 Corvette. Texan Bob Gulitti and his 4.030 at 181.64 in his ’67 Shelby Mustang rounded out the top three.
TOP DRAGSTER
The top three drivers in Top Dragster are packed tightly together with a trio of 3.88-second passes in the first qualifying session. Russ Whitlock drove his Mocksville, North Carolina-based ’08 Race Tech dragster to the provisional No. 1 spot with a 3.885 at 188.96. Les Feist wasn’t far behind with his 3.888 at 184.93. Matt Sackman, who’s also licensed in Top Fuel, qualified third with a 3.889 at 185.21 in his supercharged Sackman Boyz Racing ’10 Spitzer dragster.
Pro Mod will be the first class on track Friday morning at 10 a.m. for its third qualifying session, followed by Q3 for Pro 10.5 and Mountain Motor Pro Stock. Additional Pro Mod sessions are scheduled for 4 and 8 p.m.
General admission tickets are available for $39.99 per day on Friday and Saturday. Children ages 12 and under get in free. Fans can also watch the race through the official event livestream on www.FloRacing.com.
For a detailed schedule, tickets, and other event info, visit www.WorldSeriesOfProMod.com or www.Facebook.com/worldseriesofpromod.
This story was originally published on February 27, 2025. 
The post Ken Quartuccio Continues Reign With Provisional No. 1 Spot Thursday at World Series of Pro Mod first appeared on Drag Illustrated.