{"id":103403,"date":"2026-04-18T19:44:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T19:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/achenbach-camp-cox-beattie-and-mcgee-victorious-at-postponed-pdra-carolina-nationals\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T19:44:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T19:44:07","slug":"achenbach-camp-cox-beattie-and-mcgee-victorious-at-postponed-pdra-carolina-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/achenbach-camp-cox-beattie-and-mcgee-victorious-at-postponed-pdra-carolina-nationals\/","title":{"rendered":"Achenbach, Camp, Cox, Beattie and McGee Victorious at Postponed PDRA Carolina Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three weeks after starting eliminations at the season-opening KTR Drag Racing PDRA Carolina Nationals presented by Pee Dee Fleet at Darlington Dragway, the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series crowned its first winners of the 2026 season Thursday night at Darana Motorsports Park \u2013 Benson, NC. The series completed the Carolina Nationals eliminations during Thursday testing ahead of this weekend\u2019s Summit Racing Equipment East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech, the second of seven races on the 2026 schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mike Achenbach (Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by Jerry Bickel Race Cars), Johnny Camp (WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive), Fletcher Cox (Liberty\u2019s Gears Pro Street presented by KTR Drag Racing), JC Beattie Jr. (PDRA Pro 632 presented by Mark Williams Enterprises), and Connor McGee (1320 Fabrication Super Street presented by Brian\u2019s Heating & Cooling) were victorious in the professional categories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Victories in the sportsman classes went to Bryan LaFlam in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Steve Furr in Greenbrier Excavating & Paving Elite Top Dragster presented by American Race Cars, Donald Bean in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman, and Joe Gary in ATI Performance Products Top Dragster presented by TBM Brakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ashton Halas and Carter Hayes scored victories in Pro Jr. Dragster and Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster, respectively. Halas was quicker off the starting line and ran a 7.901 on the 7.90 index to defeat the 7.916 of Connor Hayes in Pro Jr. Dragster. In the Top Jr. Dragster final, Hayes left first and posted a 12.288 on a 12.27 dial-in to beat Noah Taylor and his 9.081 on a 9.05 dial-in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PRO NITROUS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cMountain Man\u201d Mike Achenbach returned from a brief PDRA Pro Nitrous hiatus in triumphant fashion as he scored his third career win and the first for his new Fulton-powered \u201920 Camaro dubbed \u201cHot Sister.\u201d With nitrous guru Brandon Switzer tuning remotely, Achenbach resumed the Carolina Nationals with a semifinal win over defending world champion Marcus Butner before meeting 2024 world champion Fredy Scriba in the final round. Achenbach left first by .002 seconds and won with a 3.706-second pass to Scriba\u2019s 3.741.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked hard with this new car, doing some testing and whatnot, and I knew the car would come around,\u201d said Achenbach, who last won at the 2023 East Coast Nationals. \u201cIf you just give Brandon Switzer enough time, and even though he\u2019s not here this weekend, he did his best he could do and it turned out really well. It came around really quick and it\u2019s very rewarding. We tried to give him the best car we could and we\u2019re trying to double-up with this thing. We\u2019re here to win a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

PRO BOOST<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The three weeks and drastic changes in location and weather conditions didn\u2019t seem to bother Johnny Camp and tuner Brandon Stroud, who took the ProCharged \u201cHells Bells\u201d \u201969 Camaro to the Pro Boost win at the Carolina Nationals. When the race picked back up at Darana, Camp threw down a 3.642 to defeat Melanie Salemi in a rematch of last year\u2019s East Coast Nationals final round. He kept it rolling with a 3.613 at 208.94 in the final to beat defending world champion Ty Tutterow and his 3.624 at 208.52. Camp\u2019s reaction times were .013 and .014 in the semis and final, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeating the competition that\u2019s out here is always a good feeling,\u201d said Camp, who thanked ProCharger, Pro Line Racing, NGK Spark Plugs, Tatman Electric, and his crew. \u201cIt\u2019s the best of the best. We came out of the last race with good momentum, carried us through here.\u00a0Brandon [Stroud] gets the most out of whatever the track conditions are, and that\u2019s what you\u2019re racing is the track conditions. The race before was stellar air. We made some good licks and got some data and rolled it into this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

PRO STREET<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Last fall, retired NFL star Fletcher Cox earned his first career win as a driver in Pro Street at the PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown, which was rained out at Bristol Dragway and completed at Darana Motorsports Park \u2013 Benson, NC during DragWars. His second career win came in similar fashion Thursday night, as he beat Jerry Morgano in the final round of the postponed Carolina Nationals that started at Darlington and wrapped up at Darana. He used a 4.020 to defeat Joel Wensley Jr. in the semifinals, then left on Jerry Morgano and ran a 3.967 at 188.96 in his Phil Shuler-tuned, nitrous-fed \u201cTraining Day\u201d \u201969 Camaro to beat Morgano\u2019s 3.955 on a holeshot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy team is the greatest,\u201d Cox said. \u201cEverybody worked their butt off all week. We\u2019re short a guy, and we\u2019ve all been busting balls, including myself, but it\u2019s been fun. The mojo is just keep going. I just can\u2019t be proud enough for this team. We just keep going at it, keep going at it, and just taking this momentum on, and hopefully carry it into what we have next.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the win, Cox pulled his \u201c9191\u201d car number off the windows and replaced it with a new number for the car\u2019s new driver, Andy Mac, a grudge racer who\u2019s served as one of the key crew members on the car. Cox stepped out of the driver\u2019s seat to focus on driving his new screw-blown \u201cFixed Income\u201d \u201969 Camaro Pro Mod.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe today was my last day driving \u2018Training Day,\u2019\u201d Cox said. \u201cI say my last day, but who knows, I may wheel it down the road. But this weekend, the main guy that\u2019s been helping, driving the rig, making sure everything\u2019s ready to go besides Phil [Shuler] \u2013 I\u2019m handing the wheel over to Andy Mac and giving him a chance to run for a championship with me moving into Pro Mod and Pro Boost. Me, Phil, and the whole KTR team, hopefully we\u2019re debuting \u2018Fixed Income\u2019 at the next PDRA event in Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n

PRO 632\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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J.C. Beattie Jr. had a career-best start to the season at the Carolina Nationals when he earned his first career No. 1 qualifier award behind the wheel of his nitrous-fed ATI Performance Products Camaro three weeks ago. When racing resumed at Darana, Beattie earned a confidence-boosting semifinal win over two-time and defending world champion Jeff Melnick with a 4.179 before taking a side-by-side win over Jeff Pittman in the final round. Pittman left first, but Beattie fired off a 4.117 at 172.72 to drive around Pittman\u2019s 4.136 at 171.01. It was Beattie\u2019s first career win in Pro 632 competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we had to wait a few weeks, and last time we ran [Jeff] Melnick, the two-time champion, he got us, so I was hoping it was our turn \u2013 and it was \u2013 to beat him in the semis and then go on to the finals,\u201d said Beattie, who thanked his team, Reher-Morrison, and ATI Performance Products. \u201cWe had a goal of qualifying No. 1 and winning a race, and we checked those off quick. We want to double-up with my son [James Beattie III] winning a race in Pro Jr. Dragster. He lost in the semifinals, but we\u2019ll try again starting this weekend, which is great, and I\u2019m going to try to keep on going and take the No. 1 points position a little farther.\u201d<\/p>\n

SUPER STREET<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Reigning Super Street world champion Connor McGee admitted the three-week break between the first two rounds of the Carolina Nationals and the completion of the event Thursday night didn\u2019t make it easy on him as a driver, but he showed why his Brian\u2019s Heating & Cooling team won last year\u2019s season title. McGee threw down a 4.626 in the semis to take out championship runner-up Austin Vincent, then unloaded a 4.516 at 158.61 in the final round. McGee didn\u2019t need the near-record performance to get the win, though, as his opponent, 2024 world champion Dan Whetstine, went red by .018 seconds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super challenging,\u201d said McGee, who credited his team and partners like Brian\u2019s Heating & Cooling, Abby\u2019s Performance, Fulton Racing Engines, Driven Racing Oil, Bucked Up Energy, and Tub O\u2019 Towels. \u201cWhen you\u2019re at the track for the whole four rounds, you don\u2019t have a lot of time. You\u2019re working in between rounds. If you hurt something, you\u2019re really busy, but even if you don\u2019t, still, the rounds get quicker and quicker. So, to have three weeks, that\u2019s so much time to just sit there and think about every possible scenario. I knew who I had to race next round, and honestly, it\u2019s a tough matchup. Me and Austin [Vincent] have battled for the last two years and it\u2019s always been super close, so to just walk away from that win and then the final-round win, it\u2019s just really rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

TOP SPORTSMAN\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Elite Top Sportsman reigning world champion Bryan LaFlam kicked off his title defense with the Carolina Nationals win when final-round opponent Jeff Melnick \u2013 the two-time and reigning Pro 632 world champion \u2013 went red by .003 seconds. LaFlam ran a 3.843 on a 3.80 dial-in in his supercharged Big Stuff TPM \u201967 Mustang.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A red-light start decided the winner in Top Sportsman 32 as well, as past world champion Joe Roubicek went red by .010 seconds in his nitrous-fed \u201968 Camaro, allowing Donald Bean to cruise to the win with a 4.351 on a 4.35 dial-in in his Sunset Beach, North Carolina-based \u201901 S10.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TOP DRAGSTER<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Two-time Elite Top Dragster world champion Steve Furr picked up the win in his ProCharged \u201913 American dragster in a battle between the No. 2 qualifier and low qualifier Josh Duggins. Furr ran a 3.904 on his 3.90 dial-in while Duggins threw away his chances with a .001 red light and lifted to a 3.989.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the Top Dragster 48 final, Joe Gary left the line first and rolled to a 4.385 on a 4.38 dial-in to defeat JB Donati, who ran a 4.223 on a 4.24 dial-in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on April 18, 2026. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post Achenbach, Camp, Cox, Beattie and McGee Victorious at Postponed PDRA Carolina Nationals<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three weeks after starting eliminations at the season-opening KTR Drag Racing PDRA Carolina Nationals presented by Pee Dee Fleet at Darlington Dragway, the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series crowned its first winners of the 2026 season Thursday night at Darana Motorsports Park \u2013 Benson, NC. The series completed the Carolina Nationals eliminations during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103403\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}