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<\/figure>\nMelanie Salemi, a two-time winner of the East Coast Nationals, made it known that she\u2019s chasing a third win at the season opener when she jumped to the No. 1 spot in Pro Boost on Thursday night. Though 27 other drivers attempted to pass her in Friday\u2019s two sessions \u2013 and Salemi herself tried to improve \u2013 no one went quicker than Salemi\u2019s 3.615 at 206.29 behind the wheel of Eddie Whelan\u2019s screw-blown Al-Lee Installations \u201cPurple Reign\u201d \u201968 Firebird tuned by husband Jon Salemi and brother-in-law Jim Salemi with power from Mike Stawicki Racing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt never, ever fails \u2013 you qualify No. 1, you have to work your butt off to win a race. You qualify No. 16, you have to work your butt off to win a race,\u201d Salemi said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter where you qualify, especially in a field of all these extraordinary cars. We have a lot of competition in PDRA and that\u2019s what drives us to come here. To be able to win a race, you kind of have to throw all your testing and qualifying aside and take each run as you\u2019re given because track conditions change and atmospheric conditions change. We\u2019ll continue to adapt and hopefully that will bring us to another win here at GALOT.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two-time and reigning Pro Boost world champion Jason Harris, one of the home track heroes competing in the East Coast Nationals, qualified No. 2 with a 3.623 at 206.80 in his ProCharged Southern Diamond Company \u201cParty Time\u201d \u201969 Camaro. Another Brandon Stroud-tuned, ProCharged \u201969 Camaro \u2013 the \u201cHells Bells\u201d entry driven by Johnny Camp \u2013 qualified third with a 3.631 at 205.44.\u00a0<\/p>\n
PRO NITROUS<\/strong><\/p>\n Former Elite Top Sportsman standout Tim Paap is accustomed to going fast in his nitrous-assisted Paap Auto Body \u201916 Corvette, but he had modest expectations for his Pro Nitrous debut. Teamed up with Killin\u2019 Time Racing and tuner Jeffrey Barker, Paap converted his Elite Top Sportsman entry to Pro Nitrous trim over the offseason to step up to the heads-up, nitrous-only category. Paap went to the provisional No. 1 spot in Thursday\u2019s lone qualifying session, then improved in the second session on Friday. His 3.676 at 204.45 held up as the No. 1 spot through the third session, where multiple drivers stepped up in attempts to unseat Paap.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe came here just trying to get into the field and just to win,\u201d said Paap, who thanked his team, including Barker, past Elite Top Sportsman world champion Donny \u201cHollywood\u201d Urban, Jered and Jody Gall, Zack Paap, and Chad Crawford, as well as partners like KTR, Larry Hodge Racing Tire, Holley, and Switzer Dynamics. \u201cI can\u2019t believe we did it, to be quite honest. I wouldn\u2019t put it past us with Barker behind the keyboard and the team that we\u2019ve got. Anything is possible. What people didn\u2019t see was a struggle before we got here. Everyone thought we came here as the season opener and got to where we\u2019re at, but it did not work out that way.\u201d<\/p>\n The father-daughter duo of Tommy Franklin and Amber Denton qualified No. 2 and 3, respectively. Franklin, driving a brand-new, Musi-powered \u201cJungle Rat 3.0\u201d \u201969 Camaro, came just thousandths of a second from taking the top spot with his 3.679 at 204.54 in the final session. Denton, the two-time and reigning Pro 632 world champion who\u2019s making her Pro Nitrous debut, also improved in the final session with a 3.686 at 205.34 in her Musi-powered \u201cOG Jungle Rat\u201d \u201969 Camaro.\u00a0<\/p>\n PRO STREET<\/strong><\/p>\n Pro Street is the only class that saw a new No. 1 qualifier step up after Thursday\u2019s first session, as Blake Denton jumped up to the top spot in the final session. Wheeling the nitrous-fed \u201cBonnie\u201d \u201969 Camaro formerly driven by the late Lizzy Musi in Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings competition, Denton lit up the scoreboard with a 3.976 at 201.61 to take the top spot from Tim Dutton based on speed. It marked the first time a nitrous car qualified No. 1 in the PDRA Pro Street division.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s where the car deserves to be,\u201d said Denton, who thanked Tommy and Judy Franklin, wife Amber, the Tommy Franklin Motorsports team, and partners like Red Line Oil, Pat Musi Racing Engines, and Menscer Motorsports. \u201cIt needs to be at the top and that\u2019s what I try to do. This weekend, we\u2019ve struggled. Going into Q3 tonight, it was more stressful there than I felt like in any final round I\u2019ve been in. I wanted to put the car in the No. 1 spot and I knew the car could do it. I let it down the run before that, so to do it for Pat and Liz [Musi] with them being here, it\u2019s just great because they were happy.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with the No. 1 qualifier bonus check, Denton earned a custom baseball bat trophy from Victus Sports and Kasper Performance Edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI tell the guys all the time, I really want a bat,\u201d Denton said. \u201cI think the bat\u2019s the coolest thing ever. That\u2019s something I\u2019ve been looking forward to getting.\u201d<\/p>\n Dutton, who\u2019s making his PDRA debut in both Pro Street and Pro Boost, qualified No. 2 with a matching 3.976, though he went 190.14 in his ProCharged \u201cAzul\u201d \u201919 Corvette. Reigning world champion Ethan Steding qualified third in his roots-blown P2 Contracting \u201cCollege Fund\u201d \u201924 Camaro with a 4.01 at 190.65.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n EXTREME PRO STOCK\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Two-time and reigning Extreme Pro Stock world champion Chris Powers charged to the No. 1 spot on Thursday evening and kept the position through two more sessions on Friday. Improving on a 4.101 on Thursday and a 4.100 in Friday\u2019s second session, Powers drove his Chuck Samuel-tuned Sonny\u2019s Racing Engines\/ATI Performance \u201921 Camaro to a 4.099 at 176.26 in the final session to lock in the No. 1 qualifier position. Powers won the East Coast Nationals three times, including his first win in the class.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the result of a lot of hard work,\u201d said Powers, who thanked Sonny\u2019s Racing Engines, ATI Performance, and C.R. Powers Heating & Air Conditioning. \u201cWe\u2019ve wrenched on that car all winter trying to find a little more power out of it. The track\u2019s been pretty good and we\u2019ve just figured it out. We\u2019ve done really well here over the years. We\u2019ve been on the pole here a couple other times, so we\u2019re really happy. Tyler [Crossnoe] and everybody at PDRA\u2019s doing a good job, and we\u2019ll just keep plugging away at it. We want to go back-to-back for a championship, so we\u2019re here to throw down. We\u2019re going to do everything we can to win this race.\u201d<\/p>\n North Carolina\u2019s own Jeremy Huffman, who qualified No. 1 at DragWars at GALOT last October, qualified second in his 3V Performance-powered \u201910 Cobalt with a 4.100 at 175.37. Returning past world champion Alan Drinkwater recorded a 4.103 at 175.75 in his Kaase-powered \u201908 Mustang to end up No. 3 on the qualifying order.\u00a0<\/p>\n PRO 632<\/strong><\/p>\n Lexi Tanner has won multiple times in Pro 632, including at last year\u2019s season finale, but she entered uncharted territory Friday when she locked in her first No. 1 qualifier award. The past Top Jr. Dragster world champion drove her Musi-powered \u201cThunder\u201d \u201916 Camaro to a 4.201 at 168.58 in Thursday\u2019s first qualifying session. When the third session concluded Friday evening, Tanner\u2019s performance was still the quickest in the class.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perennial contender Walter Lannigan claimed the No. 2 spot after running a 4.204 at 167.63 in Chris Holdorf\u2019s Nelson-powered \u201910 GTO. Multi-time Pro Nitrous winner Chris Rini, pulling double duty this weekend, posted a 4.209 at 167.49 to qualify third in the new Musi-powered ATI Performance \u201969 Camaro that stepson Carson Hoyle will drive later this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n SUPER STREET<\/strong><\/p>\n The No. 1 qualifying mark Austin Vincent set in the first Super Street qualifying session on Thursday evening couldn\u2019t be topped on Friday. Vincent in his nitrous-fed Vincent Performance \u201988 Mustang was the only driver to dip into the 4.50s with his 4.583 at 152.30 to lead two other nitrous cars in the top three. It was Vincent\u2019s first No. 1 qualifier award.\u00a0<\/p>\n Connor McGee, who won two times in 2024, ripped off a 4.611 at 149.73 in his Fulton-powered Brian\u2019s Heating & Cooling \u201990 Mustang to qualify second. Matt Schalow, who\u2019s pursuing his first victory in the class this season, qualified third in his Knieriem-powered \u201900 Camaro with a 4.653 at 157.26.\u00a0<\/p>\n TOP SPORTSMAN<\/strong><\/p>\n In Elite Top Sportsman, reigning world champion Glenn Butcher held on to the No. 1 spot that he established in Thursday\u2019s first qualifying session. He stepped up by almost a tenth of a second to a 3.742 at 198.90 in his nitrous-fed, Albert-powered Butcher & Son Demolition \u201969 Camaro to hold off Bryan LaFlam and Randy Perkinson. LaFlam in his supercharged Big Stuff Total Power Management \u201967 Mustang posted a 3.773 at 194.18 to lock in the No. 2 spot. Perkinson, the defending event winner, qualified third with a 3.824 at 189.63 in the ProCharged \u201967 Mustang that he debuted with a win last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vonnie Mills came close to qualifying for the 16-car Elite field, but she instead qualified No. 1 in Top Sportsman 48, posting a 4.052 at 179.02 in her nitrous-fed \u201cShow-N-Tell\u201d \u201913 Camaro.\u00a0<\/p>\n TOP DRAGSTER<\/strong><\/p>\n Chesterfield, South Carolina\u2019s Jody Stroud laid down a pass in Thursday\u2019s single qualifying session that proved impossible to top for the rest of the Elite Top Dragster field in Friday\u2019s two sessions. Stroud\u2019s 3.691 at 199.14 in his supercharged \u201cZombie\u201d \u201907 Spitzer dragster held up for the No. 1 spot. Numerous drivers stepped up on Friday, though, with Josh Duggins and Russ Whitlock being the quickest of those drivers. Duggins recorded a 3.73 at 200.29 in his ProCharged Maddox dragster to qualify second, and Whitlock ran a 3.769 at 192.28 in his ProCharged \u201908 Race Tech dragster to round out the top three.\u00a0<\/p>\n Danielle Gonzalez in her Connecticut-based, ProCharged \u201923 American dragster used a 3.889 at 191.24 to take the No. 1 spot in Top Dragster 48, just missing out on the 16-car Elite field.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Summit Racing Equipment East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech at GALOT Motorsports Park will conclude Saturday, beginning with Jr. Dragster final qualifying at 9 a.m. Sportsman eliminations will then kick off, followed by professional class eliminations at noon. The FuelTech winner\u2019s circle is scheduled for 9 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n Saturday tickets are available for $30. Discounted junior and kids tickets are also available, while kids 5 and under get in free. Tickets can be purchased at\u00a0www.PDRA660.com<\/a>\u00a0or at the gate.<\/p>\n PDRA fans around the world can catch all the action live on the official event live stream through\u00a0www.FloRacing.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n This story was originally published on April 4, 2025. The post Salemi, Paap, Denton, Powers, L. Tanner and Vincent Secure No. 1 Spots at PDRA East Coast Nationals<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Melanie Salemi, who kicked off the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech as the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Pro Boost on Thursday night, held on to the top spot Friday as qualifying wrapped up at GALOT Motorsports Park. Salemi recorded a 3.615-second pass at 206.29 mph in the screw-blown \u201cPurple […]<\/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-99932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99932","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=99932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99932\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PN_Tim-Paap_Tara-Bowker-photo.jpg\")
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