Tension filled the air Friday night as the Extreme Pro Stock class made its way through the Virginia Motorsports Park staging lanes for the second qualifying session at the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals. With conditions that drag racing historian Bret Kepner called “air of the century” going into the weekend, everyone was waiting to see if the scoreboard would flash the first-ever sub-4-second elapsed time for a Mountain Motor Pro Stock car, and if it did, who would be the one to do it.
Two-time world champion Johnny Pluchino laid down a career-best 4.014 at 180.89 midway through the session. John Montecalvo, the defending event champion and 2019 world champion, recorded an excruciating 4.000 at 180.40 in the second-to-last pair. Finally, 2017 NHRA Pro Stock world champion Bo Butner and his wife, Stock Eliminator standout Randi Lyn Butner, rolled through the water box to attempt a historic pass with both Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Elite Motorsports Camaros set up to dip into the 3-second zone.
Tuned by former Mountain Motor Pro Stock driver turned crew chief and engine builder Frank Gugliotta, the Butners were identified as two of the drivers most likely to do it. A wheelie bar issue on the starting line for Bo took him out of contention, as he had a .994 60-foot time compared to Randi Lyn’s .965. He got out of shape and ended up getting off the throttle, but Randi Lyn powered through the eighth-mile mark and lit up the scoreboard with a 3.997 at 176.37.
Back on the starting line, the crew members and crowd in the right lane erupted. Gugliotta was swarmed with congratulatory hugs, handshakes, and pats on the back before PDRA Series Director Tyler Crossnoe approached him for an interview live on the PA system. The crew hopped on the golf cart to head to the top end, and 10-15 minutes later, they came back up the return road with the record-setting car and driver in tow. On the return road, Crossnoe presented Butner, Gugliotta, and the team with a custom trophy, championship ring, and trailer check from class sponsor Liberty’s Gears. The hefty trophy, built using Liberty components, has followed the PDRA tour since 2019.
It was a validating achievement for Butner, whose progress as a rookie driver this season hasn’t always translated to on-track success as Gugliotta and the team have had to work out kinks in her car, which was previously the backup car to JR Carr’s white Camaro now driven by Bo. The humble Indiana native reflected all of the credit to Gugliotta, though, as he’s been pursuing the mark for more than a decade.
“It really means a lot to do that for Frank,” Butner said. “I really did not do my best job shifting. I think it was just meant to be. It was meant to be Frank’s. It was a long time and a lot of things coming together and God willed it to Frank and it’s a whole lot of bookends coming together for him. I’m really excited for him.”
When the Butners came to Virginia Motorsports Park in February so Randi Lyn could practice burnouts in a Pro Stock car, Gugliotta talked about the potential for a 3-second run later in the year. The team planned to go to the World Finals specifically to chase the first 3.99 in the class. But even Randi Lyn admitted she figured Bo would be the one to do it. His car came so close so many times while Carr owned it and drove it, and he has a wealth of experience driving a Pro Stock car.
“I really thought it would be Bo,” Butner reiterated. “Like we all did. Bo’s car is faster. Bo’s car is better. We all totally thought it would be Bo. Even coming up here tonight and Montecalvo going 4.000 right in front of us, I thought, ‘Well, you know, here’s Bo’s chance.’”
Darrel Jackson Jr. photo
Butner was too busy in the car to see the 3.997 on the scoreboard, and in the chaos coming through the radio from Gugliotta on the starting line, it took Butner a minute to realize she’d made Mountain Motor Pro Stock history.
“It was dark in my car and my mind is going a million miles an hour and Frank is yelling and screaming and I’m looking for my ‘chute button and I’m never quite grabbing it,” Butner said. “Then finally, I hear him say ‘3.99’ and then a lot of other things. He was going crazy, and so then I knew it had happened.
“When I pulled off at the end of the track, all the other drivers were just kind of standing there stunned,” she continued. “I think they didn’t know if it happened, didn’t happen, whatever. But I think that they might have started to hear Frank screaming from the starting line and then they knew.”
Later in the evening, Gugliotta reflected on the achievement from his perspective. Like Butner, he was quick to point out the others who played a role in the performance.
“I’m very happy for my entire team, for the Butners, Elite Motorsports, Richard Freeman, the Carr family. There’s so many people [involved],” Gugliotta said. “I’m just happy we finally did it. Had to burn a motor up in the process, but I guess it is what it is. That’s the only part I’m not happy about, but I’m really happy to have finally done it.”
Gugliotta has been a part of PDRA Extreme Pro Stock since the series’ inaugural season in 2014. He tuned Carr to numerous No. 1 qualifier awards and event wins, then when Carr sold his complete operation to Elite Motorsports team owner Richard Freeman, Gugliotta stayed on to continue running the program with its new drivers, which were originally Freeman – himself a former Mountain Motor Pro Stock driver – and six-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders. The Butners made a deal to field the cars in the JHG NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock class this season, though they’ve also dabbled in PDRA Extreme Pro Stock. Without a championship battle in play, Gugliotta made the short trip down to Virginia from his Maryland shop with one specific goal in mind.
“Me and Rich Purdy [longtime crew member] were sitting here talking this morning and it was like, do this, do that, and then it was like, you know what? We came here with one goal: to run 3.99. Not to win a race, not to qualify here, not to do this, not to do that. To run 3.99. That was the goal when we left the house. So, we did it.”
With that goal accomplished, Gugliotta and the JHG team can now move their focus to other milestones.
“We’re going to try to win the race now,” Gugliotta said. “That wasn’t the plan coming here, but the plan now is to win the race, without a doubt. I’d like to get her her first win.”
With several NHRA national event wins in Stock Eliminator, Randi Lyn is no stranger to winning, but a Mountain Motor Pro Stock win has eluded her so far. But now that Gugliotta seems to have a handle on her car, she can go to work chasing a PDRA Extreme Pro Stock victory. She cut a .054-second reaction time on the 3.997 pass, which is a combination that should turn on win lights once eliminations begin.
“She really has impressed me from day one,” Gugliotta said. “She’s a fast learner. You tell her something one time and she gets it. She’s very competitive. She’s very hard on herself. She’s hard on me at times. She’s not happy with me sometimes. I’ve told people this: she’s gonna be a very good driver. There’s no doubt. You give her a car and she’s good.”
Darrel Jackson Jr. photo
Track owner and series owner Tommy Franklin congratulated Gugliotta on the starting line and the Butners on the return road. Later, he discussed the significance of the historic moment both personally and from the series perspective.
“I’m not sure a lot of people know, but I raced Mountain Motor Pro Stock back in ’03, ’04, ’05,” said Franklin, who’s working to defend his third Pro Nitrous world championship. “The class has always had a special place for me. I love seeing the class do good. Frank came up to me right before that round and said, ‘I’m not going to try to do it once. I’m gonna try to do it twice with both cars.’ He’s just such a great guy. He’s put a ton of years into Mountain Motor Pro Stock, so he deserves it. I’m not saying there’s not many other people out there that deserve it, but he’s dedicated his life to it, so it’s cool to see it go to him.
“Randi Lyn and the Butners, they’re great people,” Franklin added. “They came here in February just to do burnouts so she could get ready. It was her first time sitting in the car and here we sit, what, eight months later and she was the first one to hit the 3.99. I’m sure there’s a lot of angry guys out there, but props to her. It’s awesome to see her go out there and do it and show them how it’s done.”
With similarly pristine conditions expected for Saturday’s final qualifying session and first round of eliminations, Franklin predicted that we could see more 3-second passes as the weekend progresses.
“It’s a really cool class. I’m glad to see that barrier finally be broken,” Franklin said. “It’ll be good to see it where it goes from now. It seems like once you finally break it, now everybody will break it, right?”
This story was originally published on October 19, 2024.
The post Randi Lyn Butner, Crew Chief Frank Gugliotta React to Historic 3.99-Second Extreme Pro Stock Pass first appeared on Drag Illustrated.