For the second consecutive year, the stars of the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series will take part in one of the most anticipated drag racing events in the Midwest. The PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Talbert Manufacturing, Aug. 1-3, will once again join forces with U.S. 131 Motorsports Park\u2019s 23rd Northern Nationals presented by Gun Lake Casino. Along with the PDRA\u2019s numerous professional, sportsman, and Jr. Dragster categories, the race weekend will feature modern Top Fuel dragsters, nostalgia front-engine Top Fuel, nostalgia Nitro Funny Cars, a Fuel Altered, jet cars and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFans in Michigan and beyond have come to expect a thrilling show at the Northern Nationals, and we couldn\u2019t be more excited to be a part of that show again this weekend,\u201d said Tyler Crossnoe, series director, PDRA. \u201cThe PDRA has raced at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park numerous times over our 10-year history, but last year was our first time being a part of the Northern Nationals. The fan turnout was incredible and really welcomed our racers with open arms. From our headlining Pro Nitrous and Pro Boost classes to the unpredictable Pro Street and our ultracompetitive sportsman and Jr. Dragster classes, the PDRA will have something for everyone at the Northern Nationals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outside of PDRA competition, the Northern Nationals lineup features a four-car Top Fuel shootout including Larry Dixon, Scott Palmer, Krista Baldwin, and Shawn Reed; an eight-car qualified field of front-engine Top Fuel dragsters; the Outlaw Funny Cars of Joe Haas and John Lawson; the Larsen Motorsports Jet Dragsters; the \u201cBuzzy\u2019s Bomber\u201d nostalgia Funny Car; and the \u201cWar Wagon\u201d Fuel Altered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three-time and defending Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous world champion Tommy Franklin heads to Michigan with the points lead after driving his Musi-powered \u201cJungle Rat\u201d \u201969 Camaro to his first win of the season at the last race on tour, the North vs. South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway. With two wins, four No. 1 qualifiers, and the class E.T. record, four-time world champion Jim Halsey is looking to take back the points lead in his Fulton-powered \u201968 Camaro. Another Maryland native, Fredy Scriba, is third in points seeking his first points-earning win in Pro Nitrous after winning the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars all-star event in mid-July.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just over two rounds of racing separate the top three in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, where recent Maryland winner Kurt Steding is the points leader in his screw-blown P2 Contracting \u201969 Camaro. Melanie Salemi, a two-time runner-up in this season\u2019s four races, is second in Eddie Whelan\u2019s screw-blown \u201cPurple Reign\u201d \u201968 Firebird. Steding\u2019s tuner and teammate, Todd \u201cKing Tut\u201d Tutterow, is third with two victories in Justin Smith\u2019s screw-blown Quik Fuel \u201969 Camaro.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Johnny Pluchino, the defending event winner in Liberty\u2019s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition, is the points leader going into the Northern Nationals with back-to-back wins at the beginning of the season in his Kaase-powered Feather-Lite Batteries \u201913 Mustang. His rival, past world champion Chris Powers, is sitting second with his Sonny\u2019s Racing Engines \u201921 Camaro chasing his first win of the season. Elijah Morton, who picked up his first win of the season at the last race on tour, is third in points behind the wheel of his Allen-powered Cashion Fishing Rods \u201919 Mustang.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Four different winners have succeeded at the first four races of the season in PDRA Pro 632. Past world champion Amber Franklin is hoping to break that streak by chasing a second consecutive win in her Musi-powered \u201cOG Jungle Rat\u201d \u201969 Camaro. Class veteran Walter Lannigan Jr. has a win and a runner-up in the last two races driving Chris Holdorf\u2019s Nelson-powered Dewitt Custom Concrete \u201910 GTO, putting him second in the points standings. Dearborn, Michigan\u2019s own Doug Nicholl is third with one win in his Musi-powered \u201968 Camaro.<\/p>\n
In Menscer Motorsports Pro Street presented by Afco Racing, rookie Ethan Steding is riding the momentum of two back-to-back victories into Michigan. Driving his roots-blown P2 Contracting \u201cCollege Fund\u201d \u201924 Camaro, Steding is the points leader. Chasing Steding in second is Brighton, Michigan\u2019s Dan Norris, who was runner-up to Steding at Maryland in his roots-blown \u201922 Mustang. Two-time world champion Tim Essick picked up a win and runner-up finish at the first two races of the season in his ProCharged \u201cBrown Sugar\u201d \u201918 Mustang, but he\u2019s looking to rebound from two recent first-round exits to move up from third in points.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The PDRA\u2019s other two professional classes, Drag 965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle and Afco Racing Super Street presented by Menscer Motorsports, will not compete at the Northern Nationals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Points leaders in the PDRA\u2019s sportsman classes going into the Northern Nationals are Randy Perkinson in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Steve Furr in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving, Mike Alexander Jr. in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Corbin\u2019s RV, and Chad Traylor in Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster presented by Younce RV. Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by COMP Cams will give local bracket racers the opportunity to race on the national stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The PDRA\u2019s rising stars in the Jr. Dragster classes are also fighting for world championships. The points leaders are Ashley Franklin in Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products and Victoria Beaner in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products.<\/p>\n
The Northern Nationals presented by Talbert Manufacturing at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park will start with Thursday testing from 10 a.m. to around 6:30 p.m. Sportsman qualifying will begin Thursday at 7 p.m. Friday qualifying will begin at 10 a.m. starting with Jr. Dragster and sportsman sessions, with professional qualifying sessions set for 1 p.m., 4:15 p.m., and 7:15 p.m. On Saturday, Jr. Dragster final qualifying will kick off at 9 a.m. before going into sportsman and Jr. Dragster eliminations. Professional eliminations will begin at 2:30 p.m. The nitro show is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tickets purchased in advance are $15 for Friday and $32 for Saturday general admission. Children ages 6-12 are $7 each day, and children five and under get in free with paid adult.\u00a0\u00a0Free parking for cars.\u00a0Tickets can be purchased at\u00a0www.PDRA660.com<\/a>\u00a0or at the gate.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fans at home can watch the full event live on the official livestream through\u00a0www.FloRacing.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n This story was originally published on July 29, 2024. <\/p>\n The post PDRA Stars to Join Nitro-Fueled, Flame-Throwing Show at U.S. 131 Northern Nationals<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the second consecutive year, the stars of the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series will take part in one of the most anticipated drag racing events in the Midwest. The PDRA Northern Nationals presented by Talbert Manufacturing, Aug. 1-3, will once again join forces with U.S. 131 Motorsports Park\u2019s 23rd Northern Nationals presented […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95131","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"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}