Anyone who\u2019s followed the PDRA over the course of its 10-year history can sense that the all-eighth-mile organization takes pride in the young people that participate within its ranks. The series offers two Jr. Dragster divisions, Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster and Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster, both presented by Philadelphia Racing Products, which provide a training ground for the future stars of the PDRA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Editor\u2019s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #189, the Women of Power Issue, in July\/August of 2024.]<\/em><\/p>\n A handful of the participants and graduates of the PDRA Jr. Dragster program also graduated from high school this spring. In what has become a series tradition, those graduates were recognized during a special pre-race ceremony at the Smokies Garage American Doorslammer Challenge presented by Callies Performance at Summit Motorsports Park in late May. Meet the PDRA Class of 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brayden Davis<\/strong><\/p>\n Davis, the reigning Pro Jr. Dragster world champion, graduated from Coffee High School in Douglas, Georgia. The third-generation racer also won a Top Jr. Dragster world championship in 2017, doubling up with his father, multi-time Drag 965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle world champ Travis Davis. The younger Davis made his Pro Extreme Motorcycle debut last season, promptly winning in his debut and at Maryland. He also won in Pro Jr. Dragster at both races, making him the first person in series history to double up in professional and Jr. Dragster classes. Davis plans to focus on a career as a welder and machinist, ideally in the racing industry, while also eying some big moves in his racing career.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brooks McMath<\/strong><\/p>\n McMath is a home-schooling graduate who currently competes in Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster presented by Younce RV. Before moving up to Top Dragster, McMath won his very last race in Pro Jr. Dragster, the 2023 Brian Olson Memorial World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park. His opponent was fellow grad Brayden Davis. Outside of PDRA competition, McMath also won the $5,000 Super Pro Shootout at the 2023 Drag Illustrated<\/em> World Series of Pro Mod. He plans to work with his father, Patrick, at the family\u2019s environmental service business in Chesapeake, Virginia. On track, he\u2019s working to improve as a racer with plans to continue racing in Top Dragster.\u00a0<\/p>\n Santana McMillian<\/strong><\/p>\n McMillian, who currently races in Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by COMP Cams, graduated from Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. McMillian ran the full Pro Jr. Dragster season in 2023 before aging out into a \u201cbig car,\u201d a bracket dragster. His great grandfather was a fire chief, and now McMillian is in the fire program to join the fire department. He envisions a lifelong career in the fire department.\u00a0<\/p>\n Budd Trammell II<\/strong><\/p>\n Trammell is a graduate of Aynor High School in Aynor, South Carolina. He\u2019s finishing out his time in Pro Jr. Dragster, where\u2019s he come close to winning a few times. He enjoys competing but also having fun with his family and friends. \u201cOnce you get into the back and forth and the battle of it, it\u2019s fun,\u201d says Trammell, who thanked parents Budd and Celeste. Away from racing, Trammell plans to begin his undergraduate studies before moving on to law school.\u00a0<\/p>\n Macy Underwood<\/strong><\/p>\n Underwood, the daughter of 2022 MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines world champion Henry Underwood, graduated from New Kent High School in New Kent, Virginia. She previously competed in Pro Jr. Dragster, but recently aged out and plans to get into a big car soon. While her father is taking some time off from racing due to a cancer battle, Macy previously served as one of his key crew members. Underwood enjoys spending time with her friends at the races. She\u2019s attending community college for the next two years with plans to transfer to nursing school or dentistry school down the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n This story was originally published on August 8, 2024. <\/p>\n The post PDRA\u2019s 2024 High School Graduates Take the Stage<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anyone who\u2019s followed the PDRA over the course of its 10-year history can sense that the all-eighth-mile organization takes pride in the young people that participate within its ranks. The series offers two Jr. Dragster divisions, Coolshirt Systems Pro Jr. Dragster and Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster, both presented by Philadelphia Racing Products, which provide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95320","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=95320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95320\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}