Pro Modified veteran Randy Weatherford fired off a 3.543-second pass at 212.26 mph, the first leg of a new E.T. national record, Friday night at the KTR Drag Racing PDRA Carolina Nationals presented by Pee Dee Fleet at Darlington Dragway. The performance in the third and final qualifying session also gave Weatherford the No. 1 qualifier position in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive at the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season opener.
Tommy Franklin (Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by Jerry Bickel Race Cars), Jerry Morgano (Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by KTR Drag Racing), J.C. Beattie Jr. (PDRA Pro 632 presented by Mark Williams Enterprises), and Matt Schalow (1320 Fabrication Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling) also earned No. 1 qualifier awards in the pro classes.
In the sportsman ranks, No. 1 qualifier awards went to Jamie Fowler in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Josh Duggins in Greenbrier Excavating & Paving Elite Top Dragster presented by American Race Cars, Aaron Glaser in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman, and Taylor Davis in ATI Performance Products Top Dragster presented by TBM Brakes.
The rising stars of the PDRA continued to show out in the Jr. Dragster classes, which completed two qualifying sessions with a third set for Saturday morning. Ten drivers in Pro Jr. Dragster hit the 7.90 index, with Adeline Porcho topping that list with a 7.901 in her Afton, Tennessee-based ’20 Halfscale dragster. Over in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster, where reaction times set the qualifying order, Bunker Hill, West Virginia’s Connor Boyd is the provisional No. 1 qualifier with a .010 reaction time.
In addition to various No. 1 qualifier bonuses, all the No. 1 qualifiers were awarded custom baseball bats through a newly expanded program with Victus Sports and Kasper Performance Edge.
PRO BOOST
Though Carolina Nationals qualifying didn’t benefit from the cool conditions typical of the season opener, Randy Weatherford and team proved that the Pro Boost E.T. record isn’t safe this weekend. Under the lights at Darlington Dragway, Weatherford in his Harts Charger-boosted WS Construction ’69 Camaro dipped below the current record, 3.555, with his 3.543 at 212.26 to highlight the final qualifying session.
“It’s very rewarding. Now, if I can come away with a victory here, it will really be rewarding,” Weatherford said. “The car’s been running pretty good. I’ve got that new 4.9 AJ motor in it from Pro Line. The car I’ve got right now has been flawless. It’s won and it should have won a couple more races, but we had some issues go wrong. But to come out here and do what we did, it just speaks highly of my team and the people behind me and my employees that work hard for me and give me the opportunity to come out here and play this big ball game here. This is what we come for – it’s the trophies, not the money.”
Weatherford will need to run a 3.578 or quicker to back up the record during Saturday eliminations, but the Virginia native is more focused on chasing the race win.
“I think the record will take care of itself,” Weatherford said. “I think the temp tomorrow is going to be 60 degrees. We run .54 all day when it was 75 degrees here. The record will follow.”
Jason Harris, who boasts pairs of world championships in both Pro Boost and Pro Nitrous, ran just one thousandth off the record, a 3.556 at 211.27, in his Harts Charger-boosted “Party Time” ’69 Camaro to qualify second. Lyle Barnett in Tommy Youmans’ Harts Charger-equipped Wright Mowers “Clean Title” ’18 Camaro qualified third with a 3.561 at 212.46.
PRO NITROUS
Three-time Pro Nitrous world champion Tommy Franklin was the quickest of the 20 drivers who attempted to qualify for the 16-car field at the season opener. Driving his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat 3.0” ’69 Camaro, Franklin was solidly in the field in fourth going into the final qualifying session. Franklin and tuner Jeff Pierce turned it up for Q3, where Franklin rolled to a 3.634 at 208.24.
“There’s a great group of cars. We had 20 cars fighting for 16 spots in Pro Nitrous, which is just badass,” said Franklin, who thanked Pat Musi Racing Engines, Jerry Bickel Race Cars, and Red Line Oil. “Thank you to all those racers that came out and put on a heck of a show tonight. My team just put one together. We had some issues – just first-race issues – testing on Wednesday and we got through that, came out here and made a good lap. I say it all the time – these are the best racers in the world. I say that about every class here at the PDRA. So to come out here and go No. 1 qualifier, just to run up front, period, takes a lot.”
“Mountain Man” Mike Achenbach qualified second in his Fulton-powered, Brandon Switzer-tuned ’20 Camaro when he fired off a 3.651 at 207.76. Reigning world champion Marcus Butner and tuner Jay Cox threw down a 3.661 at 207.66 to sit No. 3 in the Musi-powered Butner Motorsports “Heartbreaker” ’69 Camaro.
PRO STREET
For the first time since 2023, Outlaw 10.5 veteran Jerry Morgano charged to the No. 1 qualifying spot in Pro Street. After struggling to get down the track in the first qualifying session, Morgano posted a 3.960 in the second session to enter final qualifying as the provisional low qualifier. He finally locked in the position with a 3.949 at 203.90 behind the wheel of his turbocharged, small-block-powered “Copperhead” ’02 Mustang.
“This is a big deal,” said Morgano, who thanked DiSomma Racing Engines, Bullseye Turbos, and Atomizer Racing Injectors. “We worked our tails off over the offseason, testing and then racing at the Snowbirds, U.S. Street, and World Series. We had a really good showing. We were either super high or super low there. Things went well, and they didn’t, but we just kept plugging away. I’ve got a lot of really good people behind me and it kind of catapulted us into the beginning of the year. My goal coming into this race, I wanted to do my damnedest to try and qualify No. 1. I knew it would be tough. There’s a lot of really fast guys in our class. When we get to run when the sun’s down, anybody can take the No. 1 spot. Luckily it was me today, but really the goal is just to keep plugging away, hit as many as we can, and hope for the best for the season.”
Morgano’s future son-in-law, Joel Wensley Jr., qualified second on the strength of a 3.968 at 194.97 in his ProCharged ’14 Camaro. Ron Green, who led the pack after the first qualifying session, stepped up to a 3.972 at 200.53 in his screw-blown “Game Changer” ’00 Firebird but slid to third.
PRO 632
Half of the drivers in Pro 632 dipped into the 4.10s, but J.C. Beattie Jr. separated himself from that pack with a 4.127 at 172.55 in his nitrous-assisted ATI Performance ’18 Camaro. That pass in the final qualifying session was enough to give Beattie his first career No. 1 qualifier award.
“It’s been a long time coming for us,” Beattie said. “We’ve tried for three years now. We started with N/A [naturally aspirated]. We waited almost two years on a motor, which is well worth the wait now. We stuck it in the car for Bristol last year and came out swinging. Had very few passes on the car and really learned a lot. Made a bunch of mistakes, but Reher-Morrison and Brad [Morgan] put together a really good piece. I’ve got an awesome tuner and the car was a bracket car with a .14 to a .17 and then we turned it up for the final qualifier. It took it. I knew as soon as it got past 60 feet, I think I was already pretty excited, and I saw the .12 pop up. I was like, ‘All right, we got it.’”
Jeff Pittman, now in his second season in the class, went to the No. 2 spot in his Barry Allen-powered Hickory Enclosed Trailer Sales ’68 Chevelle with a 4.159 at 171.23. Michigan’s Doug Nicholl returned from a one-year hiatus and picked up where he left off, as he qualified third with a 4.161 at 168.86 in his Musi-powered ’68 Camaro.
SUPER STREET
Last season, the young guns led the way all year in Super Street. That trend continued Friday as a trio of young wheelmen topped the qualifying order after three sessions. Virginia Beach’s Matt Schalow drove his nitrous-assisted, Knieriem-powered ’69 Camaro to a 4.608 at 158.34 to take the No. 1 qualifier spot for the first time in his career. Schalow, who’s been a part of the class since the beginning, brought out the car midway through last season after a crash at the second race of the season sidelined his previous car.
“It’s almost like a relief more than anything,” Schalow said of qualifying No. 1. “We’ve been battling this car since we bought it. We’ve not even had this car a year, and with the struggles that we went through last year, to finally have that reward and a No. 1 qualifier, it’s big to us. Obviously, the job’s not done. We’ve still got a long day tomorrow and we want to pick up the victory. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, so we’re going to keep on working on it. We’ve still got some stuff we need to figure out, but for the most part it’s coming along real nicely now.”
Defending world champion Connor McGee, based out of Pelion, South Carolina, qualified No. 2 in his Fulton-powered ’90 Mustang with a 4.621 at 155.49. Championship runner-up Austin Vincent, who converted his nitrous-fed Vincent Performance ’88 Mustang to EFI over the winter, went to the third spot with his 4.646 at 137.83.
TOP SPORTSMAN
South Carolina’s own Jamie Fowler, who earned his first career Elite Top Sportsman win at this event in 2023, scored the No. 1 qualifier award. He laid down a 3.740 at 199.29 in his nitrous-fed, Fulton-powered Pee Dee Fleet ’69 Camaro to hold off 2024 world champion Glenn Butcher, who delivered a 3.760 at 202.16 in his nitrous-fed, Albert-powered Butcher & Son Demolition ’69 Camaro to qualify second. Engine builder Scott Duggins ended up third in his ProCharged PAR Racing Engines ’63 Corvette with a 3.783 at 194.72.
In Top Sportsman 32, Aaron Glaser held off two of the most recent world champions, Jeff Talvacchio and Joe Roubicek, to qualify No. 1 with a 4.185 at 172.74 in his nitrous-assisted ’69 Camaro.
TOP DRAGSTER
Inman, South Carolina-based Elite Top Dragster competitor Josh Duggins claimed the No. 1 qualifier position in his ProCharged PAR Racing Engines ’14 Maddox dragster when he posted a 3.725 at 202.61 in the final session. Two-time world champion Steve Furr led the way going into Q3 and ended up second in his ProCharged ’13 American dragster with a 3.731 at 200.09. Brian Anderson wasn’t far behind with a 3.734 at 196.51 in his ProCharged ’23 Race Tech dragster in third.
A long list of Top Dragster drivers attempted to qualify, and the ones that weren’t quick enough for the 16-car Elite field will compete in Top Dragster 48. Taylor Davis of Staley, North Carolina, took the top spot there with a 4.063 at 179.00.
The KTR Drag Racing PDRA Carolina Nationals presented by Pee Dee Fleet at Darlington Dragway will wrap up Saturday starting at 9 a.m. with Jr. Dragster final qualifying. Sportsman eliminations will follow. Pre-race ceremonies and pro eliminations will kick off at 12:15 p.m.
Saturday general admission tickets are available for $30. Discounted Junior and Kids tickets are also available, while kids 5 and under get in free. Purchase tickets 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 March 28, 2026. 
The post Weatherford, Franklin, Morgano, Beattie and Schalow Begin 2026 PDRA Season as Carolina Nationals No. 1 Qualifiers first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
