Fresh off wins at the U.S. Street Nationals in Pro Mod and Lights Out 16 in Radial vs. the World, Ken Quartuccio continued his streak of dominance on Thursday night, jumping to the top of the 80-car qualifying order in Dustin Nesloney\u2019s screw-blown \u201969 Camaro out of the Scott Tidwell Racing camp, firing off a 3.596 at 207.69 mph.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just love this place. I love everything about it,\u201d Quartuccio said. \u201cWhen Vic (Alvarez) went 3.61, I honestly thought at that time of the day it was going to be hard to beat. But as the sun went down, (tuner) Steve Petty slowly dialed the car in to go a little faster. When I went through the finish line and saw a .59, I was pretty excited about that. I believe a turbo car is going to qualify No. 1 tomorrow night, and I\u2019m 100% OK with it. I know that I can go rounds with what I\u2019ve got.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Quartuccio started off the day by going straight to the top with a 3.644 at 205.85 in the first qualifying session, earning $5,000 from Pro Line Racing for the run, winning their \u201cOff The Trailer\u201d Bonus Program awarded to the lowest E.T. during Q1.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been dealing with Pro Line for over 10 years, but I\u2019ve never had them give me money,\u201d said Quartuccio. \u201cWhen they put that challenge up, I said to [Steve] Petty, \u2018I only ask for one thing. We\u2019re gonna be late in the session, we\u2019ll know what everybody runs\u2026I want that Pro Line money. I want Eric [Dillard] to have to hand me a check instead of me handing him a check.\u2019 It\u2019s all in good fun, though, and it means a lot to win that and keep the momentum going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quartuccio has displayed a remarkable string of consistency over the past few months, with a runner-up finish to Kye Kelley at the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks followed by the aforementioned victories at the U.S. Street Nationals and Lights Out 16. Quartuccio says their consistent performance is a testament to the entire team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just have a great handle on the car,\u201d Quartuccio said. \u201cPro Line has been wanting to work on a good screw program, and they\u2019ve got great cars out here now. We\u2019re just developing it. And keep in mind, that\u2019s a famous car I\u2019m driving \u2013 it\u2019s a GALOT car from way back. It works really good, and we just had to find a sweet spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quartuccio is also in a great position to secure a sizeable number of points if he remains at or near the top of the qualifying order, inching him that much closer to the Winter Series points championship and an extra $25,000. However, he says he\u2019s trying not to think about it and focus solely on what\u2019s in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in a lot of championship battles over the years,\u201d said Quartuccio. \u201cI don\u2019t want to get caught up in that \u2013 I just want to enjoy the moment. As soon as I start thinking about that stuff, it\u2019s going to mess me up. I don\u2019t want to do anything to change my focus right now. Just stay the course, just react and not think, and just enjoy this whole experience. The Winter Series is the greatest thing for Pro Mod racing. You\u2019ve got 80 of the best guys out here \u2013 that\u2019s a pretty special thing, and I just want to enjoy it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reigning back-to-back PDRA Pro Boost world champion and 2023 WSOPM semifinalist Jason Harris returned from an illness that kept him out of the U.S. Street Nationals to take the provisional No. 2 spot with his 3.603 at 208.23 mph in his ProCharged Party Time Racing \u201969 Camaro.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMissing U.S. Street hurt me really bad,\u201d Harris said. \u201cI was really sick and it just wasn\u2019t meant to be. Coming into this race, I\u2019ve been really close \u2013 I\u2019ve been to the semis, I\u2019ve been down to eight \u2013 I just told \u2018em I was coming for blood. I\u2019m not going to leave anything on the table. I\u2019m going to do what I need to do to win. I was gonna come with two broke legs to get to this race. This is the biggest race in Pro Mod, and it\u2019s one of the best feelings in the world to come to this race.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two drivers making their DI Winter Series debut find themselves in the third and fourth spots, respectively. PDRA veteran Johnny Camp sits at No. 3 in his ProCharger-boosted \u201cHells Bells\u201d \u201969 Camaro with a 3.609 at 206.80. Bradenton Motorsports Park co-owner Victor Alvarez held the top spot for much of the evening qualifying session in his twin-turbo \u201969 Camaro before eventually dropping to the No. 4 spot with a 3.611 at 219.94.<\/p>\n
2017 WSOPM champion Mike Bowman rounded out the top five with his twin-turbo \u201969 Chevelle, running a 3.622 at 219.86. Brazilian Sidnei Frigo sits on the 32-car bump spot with his 3.667 at 204.54 in his Artivinco Racing \u201869 Camaro.<\/p>\n
PRO 10.5<\/strong><\/p>\n Joel Wensley Jr. made some statement passes to close out last year\u2019s PDRA Pro Street season, and he\u2019s back at it this weekend in the $25,000-to-win Pro 10.5 Challenge. The Dearborn, Michigan-based driver fired off a 3.925 at 194.32 in his Patrick Barnhill-tuned, ProCharged \u201914 Camaro during the second session, which saw almost every driver step up in big ways. Twenty-five drivers made qualifying attempts, and it took passes in the 3.90s to qualify in the top five.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis was extremely rewarding,\u201d said Wensley, who thanked DiSomma Racing Engines and PTP Tuning. \u201cAfter last year we ended up putting a new front clip on the car to try to lighten up some weight on the nose. The first pass out we come in with a 1.04 60-foot off the trailer. Unfortunately, it backfired on that run because of some valve seat issues and we didn\u2019t get much data after that, but we came back and we were like, \u2018Man, I guess we\u2019re right back where we were.\u2019 It was definitely rewarding and a big sigh of relief.\u201d<\/p>\n Wensley and the other 24 drivers attempting to qualify for the 16-car field will get two more qualifying sessions on Friday before going into Saturday eliminations, where pairings will be determined using random chip draws.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a cool feeling,\u201d Wensley said of leading the stacked field. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve been a No. 1 qualifier, ever, so to be at the top of the field going into tomorrow, knowing that we can swing for the fences and give it whatever it\u2019s got, it doesn\u2019t get much better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n Texan Rob Valden ran to the No. 2 spot in Charlie Cooper\u2019s turbocharged \u201922 Mustang with a 3.943 at 203.83. Driving the nitrous-fed \u201cBonnie\u201d \u201969 Camaro as a tribute to the late Lizzy Musi, Blake Denton qualified third posting a 3.952 at 191.73.\u00a0<\/p>\n MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK<\/strong><\/p>\n After semifinal and runner-up finishes in the past two editions of the Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational, Johnny Pluchino went into this year\u2019s running of the $25,000-to-win race on a mission to win. He\u2019s not one to chase No. 1 qualifying awards, but he\u2019s on his way to checking that box as well after making the quickest passes of both Thursday sessions. The reigning NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock world champion recorded a 4.096, then improved to a 4.061 at 177.60 in his Kaase-powered Ross Environmental Services \u201913 Mustang.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo go out there in the middle of the day, in the heat of the day, and go low E.T. and then come back and lay one down when it gets cool out, it\u2019s really all you can ask for,\u201d said Pluchino, also a two-time PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion. \u201cIt\u2019s starting the season exactly how we want. It\u2019s the first race for us and it\u2019s pretty gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n Mountain Motor Pro Stock will get two more qualifying sessions on Friday, but it\u2019s Saturday eliminations that Pluchino is anticipating the most.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re an extremely confident group no matter what,\u201d said Pluchino, who thanked partners like Ross Environmental Services and Kelling Equipment. \u201cI said it a while ago \u2013 you don\u2019t want to pull the orange car in the chip draw this weekend. You just don\u2019t want to do that. Pull somebody else. You don\u2019t want to pull this orange car.\u201d<\/p>\n Two-time and reigning PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Chris Powers qualified second in his Sonny\u2019s Racing Engines \u201921 Camaro on the strength of a 4.074 at 178.10. Tony Gillig, who\u2019s filling in for 2023 PDRA Extreme Pro Stock world champion Alan Drinkwater as the driver of the Drinkwater family\u2019s Kaase-powered \u201808 Mustang, is third with a 4.096 at 176.93.\u00a0<\/p>\n TOP SPORTSMAN<\/strong><\/p>\n Nitrous cars are in command of Top Sportsman qualifying after the first session, with reigning PDRA Elite Top Sportsman world champion Glenn Butcher racing to the provisional No. 1 spot. He posted a 3.877 at 179.97 in his Albert-powered \u201969 Camaro to take the top spot by a sizable margin. No. 2 qualifier David Crafts ran a 4.023 at 181.96 in his Lisbon Falls, Maine-based \u201963 Corvette. Texan Bob Gulitti and his 4.030 at 181.64 in his \u201967 Shelby Mustang rounded out the top three.\u00a0<\/p>\n TOP DRAGSTER<\/strong><\/p>\n The top three drivers in Top Dragster are packed tightly together with a trio of 3.88-second passes in the first qualifying session. Russ Whitlock drove his Mocksville, North Carolina-based \u201908 Race Tech dragster to the provisional No. 1 spot with a 3.885 at 188.96. Les Feist wasn\u2019t far behind with his 3.888 at 184.93. Matt Sackman, who\u2019s also licensed in Top Fuel, qualified third with a 3.889 at 185.21 in his supercharged Sackman Boyz Racing \u201910 Spitzer dragster.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pro Mod will be the first class on track Friday morning at 10 a.m. for its third qualifying session, followed by Q3 for Pro 10.5 and Mountain Motor Pro Stock. Additional Pro Mod sessions are scheduled for 4 and 8 p.m.<\/p>\n General admission tickets are available for $39.99 per day on Friday and Saturday. Children ages 12 and under get in free. Fans can also watch the race through the official event livestream on\u00a0www.FloRacing.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n For a detailed schedule, tickets, and other event info, visit\u00a0www.WorldSeriesOfProMod.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0www.Facebook.com\/worldseriesofpromod<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n This story was originally published on February 27, 2025. The post Ken Quartuccio Continues Reign With Provisional No. 1 Spot Thursday at World Series of Pro Mod<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" U.S. Street Nationals winner and current Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service points leader Ken Quartuccio continued his torrid streak on Thursday night at Bradenton Motorsports Park, earning the World Series of Pro Mod provisional No. 1 qualifying spot in Pro Modified with a 3.596 elapsed time at 207.69 mph. Quartuccio leads a […]<\/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-99202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99202","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=99202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99202\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/10.5_Joel-Wensley-Jr._Luke-Nieuwhof-photo.jpg\")
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