{"id":104528,"date":"2026-08-08T06:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/butner-tutterow-mac-beattie-jr-and-vincent-qualify-no-1-at-pdra-thunder-valley-throwdown\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:44:08","slug":"butner-tutterow-mac-beattie-jr-and-vincent-qualify-no-1-at-pdra-thunder-valley-throwdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/butner-tutterow-mac-beattie-jr-and-vincent-qualify-no-1-at-pdra-thunder-valley-throwdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Butner, Tutterow, Mac, Beattie Jr., and Vincent Qualify No. 1 at PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

After hot and humid weather created tricky track conditions for pro teams throughout the day on Friday at the PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown presented by Larry Jeffers Race Cars, the final session under the lights was a welcome relief. With lightning flashing in the background, Marcus Butner and Tommy Franklin went No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in a side-by-side final pass of the session. Butner\u2019s 3.659 at 206.51 mph earned him the No. 1 qualifier award in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by Jerry Bickel Race Cars. It\u2019s Butner\u2019s second No. 1 qualifier award of the season at the fifth of seven races on the 2026 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After three qualifying sessions in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, 2025 PDRA Pro Boost world champion and defending event winner Ty Tutterow took the No. 1 spot with a 3.613 at 207.08 mph.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The PDRA\u2019s other three pro classes also completed three qualifying sessions, with No. 1 qualifier awards going to Andy Mac in Liberty\u2019s Gears Pro Street presented by KTR Drag Racing, J.C. Beattie Jr. in Pro 632 presented by Mark Williams Enterprises, and Austin Vincent in 1320 Fabrication Super Street presented by Brian\u2019s Heating & Cooling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following three qualifying sessions, No. 1 qualifier awards in the sportsman categories went to Bruce Thrift in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Tony Careccia in Greenbrier Excavating & Paving Elite Top Dragster presented by American Race Cars, Randy Perkinson in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman, and Chaz Silance in ATI Performance Products Top Dragster presented by TBM Brakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The PDRA rising stars in the Jr. Dragster ranks completed two qualifying sessions.\u00a0Pheyton Rawlins\u00a0(Pro Jr. Dragster) and\u00a0Mason Dudley\u00a0(Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster) are the provisional No. 1 qualifiers going into Saturday\u2019s final session.\u00a0Rawlins, a Denver, North Carolina native,\u00a0posted a perfect 7.900-second elapsed time to lead Pro Jr. Dragster, which qualifies against a 7.90 index. In Top Jr. Dragster, where the qualifying order is based on reaction time,\u00a0Dudley\u00a0was\u00a0nearly\u00a0perfect, posting a\u00a0.006 in the\u00a0Owings, Maryland-based \u201926\u00a0Halfscale entry.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"
Marcus Butner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Defending PDRA Pro Nitrous world champion Marcus Butner hasn\u2019t had the first half of the season that he would prefer, but in Bristol, the Pat Musi-powered, Jay Cox-tuned, Butner Construction \u201969 Camaro appears to be turning the corner. Butner ran low e.t. in all three sessions, culminating with a 3.659 at 206.51 mph in the final run of the night for the class, earning him the No. 1 qualifier award.<\/p>\n

Despite struggling earlier in the year, Butner entered the event sitting fifth in points, and has put himself in a position to catapult up the standings with a strong showing in eliminations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s on rails right now, there\u2019s no doubt,\u201d said Butner. \u201cWe got a hell of a team here, and we\u2019ve worked hard to get this car back in this shape. We really struggled earlier in the year. We had one No. 1 qualifier, but we couldn\u2019t ever get it done. It\u2019s like we was chasing little gremlins. So we tested a good bit, worked on fine tuning everything, trying to get it back in championship form. It\u2019s really shown up this weekend, thank the Lord. We\u2019re confident. I think it\u2019d go down a dirt road right now and go pretty fast. All this takes a lot of luck. Maybe we\u2019ll get a little lucky, maybe we won\u2019t. We\u2019re gonna do our best either way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three-time\u00a0PDRA Pro Nitrous\u00a0world champion\u00a0and current points leader Tommy Franklin\u00a0ended\u00a0the day\u00a0No. 2 on the qualifying sheet thanks to\u00a0a\u00a03.665\u00a0at\u00a0206.20\u00a0mph\u00a0in his\u00a0Musi-powered \u201cJungle Rat\u00a03.0\u201d \u201969 Camaro.\u00a0\u201cLegend of Thunder Valley\u201d Rickie Smith\u00a0qualified third with a 3.711\u00a0at\u00a0204.26\u00a0in his\u00a0J&A Service\/Parkway Ford \u201822\u00a0Mustang.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"
Ty Tutterow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Defending PDRA Pro Boost world champion Ty Tutterow, son of two-time Pro Boost world champion Todd \u201cKing Tut\u201d Tutterow, won last year\u2019s Thunder Valley Throwdown at Galot Motorsports Park after rain postponed the event in Bristol. Piloting Justin Smith\u2019s Larry Jeffers-built Quik Fuel \u201968 Camaro, Tutterow took to the No. 1 spot on Friday night with a 3.613 elapsed time at 207.08 mph.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were chasing it all day today. We were running really good off the trailer on the first run, the car was kind of driving to the left, and had to abort that run,\u201d Tutterow said. \u201cThat was probably going to be a good .62 or .63 run. Car kind of slowed up a little bit there through the middle, kind of running in the middle of the pack. We thought we\u2019d run a little better than we did. Finally chased it down there in Q3 and it was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The run helped Tutterow, currently sitting third in points, edge closer to points leader Jason Harris and put him in prime position to jump to the top of the standings if things fall his way in eliminations. Harris qualified fifth, meaning the two could potentially meet in the semifinals with huge points implications.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always love running for it in the middle of a race because that gives you a chance to hold your own destiny,\u201d said Tutterow. \u201cYou take and carry your team through to cover that ground when you\u2019re only a round or two behind. You can implement it, and like I said, hold your own destiny. This is probably one of my favorite facilities. This is one of our hometown tracks; we\u2019re only two hours from here. I\u2019d love to be able to get our picture taken here in the winner\u2019s circle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Super Bowl champion and Pro Boost rookie Fletcher Cox\u00a0took the No. 2 spot in his\u00a0screw-blown, KTR Racing\u00a0\u201cFixed Income\u201d \u201969 Camaro with a 3.616 at 207.02 mph.\u00a0Fellow first-year Pro Mod driver Paul Gargus\u00a0continued\u00a0his impressive season,\u00a0qualifying\u00a0third with a 3.622\u00a0at 207.91\u00a0in the\u00a0Harts Charger-powered \u201969 Camaro out of the Scott Tidwell Racing camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"\"
Andy Mac<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Grudge racing and N\/T veteran Andy Mac took over driving duties in Fletcher Cox\u2019s nitrous-powered, \u201cTraining Day\u201d \u201969 Camaro earlier this season when Cox made the move to Pro Mod, and immediately qualified No. 1 and went to the final round at Galot. On Friday night, Mac added a second No. 1 qualifier to his r\u00e9sum\u00e9, running 3.951 seconds at 189.55 mph, showing that he has taken a liking to his current driving situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty comfortable. We had some mishaps in Maryland, had some suspension issues. We went and tested, got that straightened out, and I think we got our hot rod back,\u201d Mac said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what we was planning on running. All Phil (tuner Phil Shuler) told me is he had a bomb in it, and to hold on, and I trusted him. He did his job, and I did mine.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Richard Reagan dove into the 3-second range in the final session as well, posting a 3.973 at 193.71 mph in his screw-blown \u201891 Mustang.\u00a0Golden, Colorado\u2019s Mikey Sasina\u00a0held the No. 1 spot until the final session, eventually taking the No. 3 position\u00a0in his Harts Charger-boosted \u201903 Mustang, running\u00a0a 3.986\u00a0at 195.99.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"
J.C. Beattie Jr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former NHRA sportsman racer J.C. Beattie Jr. started out the 2026 PDRA season on fire, taking home wins in the first two events of the year in Pro 632\u00a0presented by Mark Williams Enterprises.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a slight hiccup in Maryland, Beattie Jr. got right back on track in Bristol, taking his\u00a0nitrous-fed ATI Performance Products \u201918 Camaro\u00a0to the top of the qualifying sheet with a 4.177 elapsed time at 171.69 mph.\u00a0Points leader\u00a0Jeff Pittman\u00a0was\u00a0hot on Beattie Jr.\u2019s heels, posting a 4.190 at 169.13 mph\u00a0in his Hickory Enclosed Trailer Sales \u201968 Chevelle\u00a0to take the No. 2 spot. Sarantion, South Carolina\u2019s Ryan Altman drove his \u201968 Camaro to the No. 3 position, running a 4.192 at 169.53.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"
Austin Vincent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As it\u2019s been all season, qualifying in 1320 Fabrication Super Street presented by Brian\u2019s Heating & Cooling\u00a0was a battle between young guns Austin Vincent and Connor McGee, and the margins couldn\u2019t have been tighter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While McGee had the upper hand in the previous two races, Vincent took the No. 1 spot at Thunder Valley on speed, as both drivers ran identical 4.628-second passes in the second session. Vincent\u2019s 157.98 mph in his Vincent Performance \u201988 Mustang was more than enough to place him in the top spot.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

McGee, the defending Super Street world champion, finished in the No. 2 spot with a speed of 150.78 mph in his Fulton-powered Brian\u2019s Heating & Cooling \u201990 Mustang. His streak of qualifying no worse than second in the class this season remains intact.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amelia, Virginia\u2019s Troy Hill took advantage of Friday night\u2019s cooler air, nabbing the third spot in his \u201900 Mustang, running an impressive 4.633 at 157.12.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"\"
Bruce Thrift<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bruce Thrift led the way in Elite Top Sportsman, piloting his nitrous-assisted, PAR-powered \u201906 Pontiac GTO to a 3.815-second pass at 195.05 mph. Jamie Fowler, No. 1 qualifier at the first two races of the season in his nitrous-fed, Fulton-powered Pee Dee Fleet \u201969 Camaro, ended up second based on mph with a 3.831 at 197.25. Points leader Bryan LaFlam qualified third, posting an identical 3.831 at 191.21 in his supercharged BigStuff TPM \u201967 Mustang.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Top Sportsman 48 category completed first round of eliminations Friday evening, with eliminations concluding on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\"\"
Tony Careccia \u2013 Robert Richard photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A trio of blown entries lead the way in Elite Top Dragster heading into eliminations. Asheville, North Carolina\u2019s Tony Careccia debuted his brand-new screw-blown \u201926 NexGen dragster and immediately jumped to the top of the pack, running a 3.669 at 203.98 mph. Hailing from Farmington, Missouri, KC Ingram ran a 3.682 at 203.19 mph in his \u201920 Miller dragster to qualify second. Jody Stroud in his Chesterfield, South Carolina-based \u201918 Horton entry rounded out the top three with a 3.725 at 205.16.<\/p>\n

The Top Dragster 48 category also completed first round of eliminations Friday evening, with eliminations concluding on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s schedule begins with Jr. Dragster final qualifying at 8:45 a.m. followed by one time trial for Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by Philadelphia Racing Products. Pro eliminations are scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

PDRA fans around the world can catch all the action live on the official event live stream through www.FloRacing.com.<\/p>\n

Follow PDRA on Facebook for schedule updates at www.Facebook.com\/PDRARacing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on August 8, 2026. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post Butner, Tutterow, Mac, Beattie Jr., and Vincent Qualify No. 1 at PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After hot and humid weather created tricky track conditions for pro teams throughout the day on Friday at the PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown presented by Larry Jeffers Race Cars, the final session under the lights was a welcome relief. With lightning flashing in the background, Marcus Butner and Tommy Franklin went No. 1 and No. […]<\/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-104528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104528","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=104528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104528\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}