With record fields on hand for the season-opening Summit Racing Equipment East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech, the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series kicked off professional qualifying a day early at GALOT Motorsports Park. Thursday afternoon saw racers in six of the PDRA’s seven professional categories put numbers on the board in the first qualifying session, with two more sessions set for Friday.
A pair of rookies – Tim Paap in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous and Tim Dutton in Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by Menscer Motorsports – took the provisional No. 1 spots in their respective categories. Melanie Salemi led the way in a stacked WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive field, while reigning world champion Chris Powers went to the top in AED Competition Fuel Systems Extreme Pro Stock presented by Jon Kaase Racing Engines. Lexi Tanner took the provisional No. 1 spot in PTC Converters Pro 632 and Austin Vincent went to the top in PDRA Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling.
The PDRA’s sportsman classes also started qualifying, with Glenn Butcher (MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines), Jody Stroud (Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving), Steve Furr (MagnaFuel Top Sportsman), and John Platt Jr. (Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster presented by Derrick Wolfe Trucking) taking the provisional No. 1 positions.
The Jr. Dragster classes – PDRA Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products and Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products – will begin qualifying Friday morning.
PRO NITROUS
Unseasonably warm conditions challenged everyone in Thursday qualifying, but especially the nitrous-assisted racers in Pro Nitrous. Rookie Tim Paap, who’s making the move up from Elite Top Sportsman, navigated the conditions the best out of the 17 competitors who made an attempt in the first session. Driving his Musi-powered Paap Auto Body ’16 Corvette tuned by Killin’ Time Racing’s Jeffrey Barker, Paap recorded a 3.696-second pass to set the pace with two sessions to go on Friday.
Three-time world champion Tommy Franklin charged to the No. 2 spot in his brand-new, Musi-powered “Jungle Rat 3.0” ’69 Camaro on the strength of a 3.702 at 205.16. Engine builder Billy Albert took Stan Nance’s Structural Mechanical ’20 Camaro to the third spot with a 3.707 at 204.70.
PRO BOOST
Melanie Salemi, a two-time Pro Boost winner at the East Coast Nationals, fired off an early shot by racing to the provisional No. 1 spot in Eddie Whelan’s screw-blown Al-Lee Installations “Purple Reign” ’68 Firebird. Twelve drivers dipped into the 3.60s in Q1, but it was Salemi’s 3.637 at 205.47 that led the way in a session that saw 27 drivers put up a number.
Kurt Steding, last year’s championship runner-up, qualified No. 2 with a 3.652 at 205.69 in his screw-blown P2 Contracting ’69 Camaro. North Carolina’s own Travis “The Carolina Kid” Harvey laid down a 3.654 at 205.72 in the screw-blown Redd Topp Motorsports ’19 Camaro to sit third.
PRO STREET
Though a huge group of 21 Pro Street entries took to the GALOT eighth-mile strip in the first qualifying session, rookie Tim Dutton was the only driver out of 21 who managed to dip into the 3-second range. Dutton’s ProCharged ’19 Corvette, which has won in Pro 275, fired off a 3.979 at 187.13 to take the provisional No. 1 position. Dutton is also competing in Pro Boost, where he qualified No. 5.
Chris Tuten, runner-up in the Pro 10.5 Challenge at the World Series of Pro Mod, also threw down in the opening session with a 4.036 at 187.31 in his turbocharged ’87 Mustang. Nick Agostino, who’s bouncing back from a crash at the WSOPM, went to the third spot in his turbocharged “Cannoli Express” ’69 Camaro with a 4.061 at 198.06.
EXTREME PRO STOCK
Reigning Extreme Pro Stock world champion Chris Powers reminded everyone why he’s a two-time world champion when he recorded a 4.101 at 176.35 in his Sonny’s Racing Engines ’21 Camaro to jump to the provisional No. 1 spot. It was a validating early-season accomplishment for Powers, who spearheaded an offseason effort to generate presenting sponsors for each of the eight Extreme Pro Stock races. Jon Kaase Racing Engines is the presenting sponsor for the East Coast Nationals.
Dwayne Rice, who won the East Coast Nationals in 2023, started off on the right foot with a 4.127 at 174.48 in his XCalibur Race Engines ’22 Camaro to move into the No. 2 spot. Past world champion Steven Boone qualified third in his Allen-powered Boone Motorsports ’07 Cobalt with a 4.142 at 175.25.
PRO 632
When the 2024 season wrapped up at the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals last October, Lexi Tanner was the last Pro 632 racer standing. She’s off to a strong start in 2025, as she jumped straight to the provisional No. 1 spot after driving her Jeff Pierce-tuned, Musi-powered “Thunder” ’16 Camaro to a 4.201 at 168.58.
Walter Lannigan, last year’s championship runner-up, qualified No. 2 in Chris Holdorf’s Nelson-powered ’10 GTO with a 4.215 at 167.07. Nicole Liberty, who’s moving over to Pro 632 this season, wheeled her Khoury-powered Liberty’s Gears ’99 Firebird to a 4.234 at 168.51 to sit third.
SUPER STREET
A trio of young guns driving nitrous-assisted entries took the provisional top three spots in Super Street, with Kentucky’s Austin Vincent leading the way. Vincent threw down a 4.583 at 152.30 in his ’88 Mustang. It’s a strong start for Vincent, who made three appearances on the PDRA tour in 2024.
Connor McGee, a two-time winner last season, posted a 4.611 at 149.73 in his Fulton-powered Mustang to qualify No. 2. Virginia Beach’s Matt Schalow, who’s chasing his first win in the class, qualified third with a 4.653 at 157.26 in his ’00 Camaro.
TOP SPORTSMAN
Reigning Elite Top Sportsman world champion Glenn Butcher picked up where he left off, wheeling his Albert-powered Butcher & Son Demolition ’69 Camaro to a 3.825 at 196.79 to claim the provisional No. 1 position. A pair of nitrous cars followed him into the top three, with Brian Tiffe taking the Fulton-powered Schween Motorsports ’21 Corvette to the No. 2 spot with a 3.859 at 193.32. Two-time world champion Dan Ferguson, fielding a Wilkins-powered ’00 Viper that previously competed in Pro Mod, qualified third with a 3.913 at 186.10.
Two-time Elite Top Dragster world champion Steve Furr, who’s pulling double duty, is the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Top Sportsman with a 4.192 at 170.04, though he’ll try to put his ProCharged ’68 Camaro in the 16-car Elite field on Friday.
TOP DRAGSTER
Jody Stroud in his supercharged “Zombie” ’07 Spitzer dragster rocketed to the top of the Elite Top Dragster qualifying order with his 3.691 at 199.14. That put him well ahead of past world champion Kellan Farmer, who qualified No. 2 with a 3.816 at 191.46 in his ProCharged Race Tech Race Cars ’20 Race Tech dragster. Another past world champion, Larry Roberts, rounded out the top three with a 3.84 at 183.29 in his ProCharged ’16 Race Tech dragster.
Cocoa, Florida’s John Platt Jr. found himself in the provisional No. 1 spot in Top Dragster – just outside the 16-car Elite field – with a 4.092 at 171.05 in his ’09 dragster.
Friday’s qualifying schedule starts with the Jr. Dragster classes at 9 a.m. Pro sessions are set for 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Tickets are available for $25 for Friday and $30 for Saturday. Discounted junior and kids tickets are also available, while kids 5 and under get in free. Tickets can be purchased at www.PDRA660.com or at the gate.
PDRA fans around the world can catch all the action live on the official event live stream through www.FloRacing.com.
This story was originally published on April 3, 2025. 
The post Paap, Salemi, Dutton, Powers, L. Tanner and Vincent Early Leaders in PDRA East Coast Nationals Qualifying first appeared on Drag Illustrated.