Drag Illustrated Issue 126, October 2017 | Page 89

TERRY LEGGETT The Pinetown, North Carolina-based logger finished off the season with the most potent Pro Extreme car on the property at the World Finals. Leggett’s screw- blown ’71 Mustang was running mid-3.5-second passes throughout qual- ifying and eliminations, allowing him to earn his second consecutive event win. Always gracious and humble, Leggett cred- ited his support system for the success. “I’ve got such a good group of people around me,” Leggett said. “I don’t really know how to put it into words. The car is great, the motor is great, the people who support me are great – not only my team, but manufacturers like Charlie Buck and Shannon Davis who come out to the races.” PRO NITROUS LIZZY MUSI After recording the fastest pass in Pro Nitrous history and winning Drag Wars at GALOT in September, Lizzy Musi and her Edelbrock/Lucas Oil team rolled into the World Finals with con- fidence at an all-time high. Another string of fast, 3.6-second passes – and three consecutive .036 reaction times – carried Musi into her sec- ond consecutive winner’s circle and fifth career event win. “We struggled a little bit earlier in the season, but to finish the year third in points with two wins is pretty awesome,” Musi said. “I’m thankful for everyone who stands behind me – my family, my crew, my sponsors. I wouldn’t be able to do it without them. This definitely gives us some momentum going into next year. We have a good head start and we’re finishing on a positive note.” PRO BOOST JOSE GONZALES A fixture in the out- law doorslammer cir- cles over the last several years, Jose Gonzales and his El General Racing team finally found what they were looking for in Pro Boost. Gonzales’ Pro Line-powered “Eleanor” ’67 Mustang busted both ends of the class record at the World Finals while clinching the world championship. He finishes the season with three event wins and five low qualifier awards on his scorecard. “We’ve been struggling for a lot of years, trying to find performance,” Gonzales said. “Running Pro Extreme (at times) has been really hard. I look at this as a breather to start back up and keep at it for next year. I’ve been trying for three or four years. We’ve accomplished a lot, but this definitely gives us another start and strength to keep going.” EXTREME PRO STOCK HOT? PRO EXTREME JOHN MONTECALVO The World Finals gave John Montecalvo the chance to fire off a final warning to the class: he has a solid car underneath him, and he’s coming for the 2018 world championship. Driving a Haas-built ’17 Camaro he debuted at the Indy race, Mon- tecalvo lowered the Extreme Pro Stock elapsed time world record to a 4.020 before defeating newly crowned world champion Cary Goforth in the World Finals final round. “We came here with a very lofty goal: I wanted to set the record and win the race,” Goforth said. “We knew we couldn’t catch Cary. He was No. 1 in points by a bunch. We struggled the early part of the season. We’ve been on fire since we got this new car. I think if we had this new car in the beginning of the season we’d be in a different situation right now. We knew we could lock up second. The goal was to set the record and win the race, and we did it.” PRO EXTREME MOTORCYCLE CHRIS GARNER-JONES By qualifying No. 1 at the World Finals with a 4.004-second pass, Chris Garner-Jones came ever so close to reaching his goal of re- cording a 3-second run aboard his T.T. Jones Racing Hayabusa. He wasn’t able to improve his personal-best mark en route to his semifinal finish, but the strong performance gives the Harvest, Alabama, rider confidence heading into the new season. “We were definitely looking for a three, but our 60-foot time was off a bit,” Garner-Jones said. “We picked up performance at the 330-foot mark and picked up speed, but the early number wasn’t there. But now we know that a three-second run is definitely possible.” Big winners, record- setters, and who is on a roll in the PDRA PDRA660.com 89