PHOTOS : RICK BELDEN , TARA BOWKER , TIM HAILEY

PRO EXTREME

A 3.52-second blast at nearly 220 mph is an impressive lap no matter the conditions . It was the quickest and fastest pass of the weekend in Pro Extreme , but it wasn ’ t exactly what No . 1 qualifier Jason Scruggs was looking for . Scruggs , who has partnered with car owner Roger Henson for a limited schedule this season , had every intention of dipping well into the 3.4-second zone in Henson ’ s screw-blown ’ 69 Camaro in both qualifying and eliminations .

“ We were trying to run in the forties on race day ,” Scruggs said . “ We were on a 3.48 at 223 in the first round – it was on a real good run – but the car was trying to carry the front end over toward the center line and I had to lift . In the final , we felt like we could take the conservative approach and run a 3.5 or we could treat it like another qualifying round and try to run a . 47 or . 48 . That ’ s what we were trying to do , but it didn ’ t work out . The car rattled a little bit , went into a power wheelie and unloaded the back tires .”

PRO NITROUS

Pro Nitrous heavy hitter Jay Cox entered the new season with a chip on his shoulder . After the loss of his primary sponsor over the winter left him unsure of his ability to race this year , Cox was determined to come out swinging . His barrage of 3.6-second passes throughout the season-opener proved that Cox is capable of race-winning performances even when the odds aren ’ t necessarily in his favor .

“ I have so many things going against me ,” Cox said . “ To come out and run like that , it gives me a lot of hope that maybe someone will come along and want to be a part of this .”

PRO BOOST

Known primarily as the driver of Mel Bush ’ s successful screw-blown entries , Tommy D ’ Aprile regularly found himself in the top half of the qualifying order in Pro Extreme for several years . While Bush retired over the offseason , D ’ Aprile returned to competition early this year behind the wheel of a Roots-blown ’ 69 Camaro owned and tuned by Al Billes , who also provides the supercharger atop the Noonan

Race Engineering powerplant . The duo kicked off the 2018 Pro Boost campaign with a stout 3.678 to qualify No . 1 , then charged to a semifinal finish .

“ We went to Florida for the first race and ran very well but we had to make some changes ,” D ’ Aprile said . “ We came out for the second race and ended up qualifying No . 1 and winning the race . To come here and qualify No . 1 again and make it to the semifinals against a tough class like this , I ’ m just blown away .”

EXTREME PRO STOCK

There was a lot of noise surrounding the first 3-second pass in Extreme Pro Stock leading up to the East Coast Spring Nationals , but the driver who made perhaps the strongest statement was Jeff Dobbins , who is driving the ’ 14 Dodge Avenger previously campaigned by mountain motor Pro Stock veteran Larry O ’ Brien . Dobbins uncorked a 4.007 in pre-race testing Wednesday evening , tickling the elusive barrier just enough to build confidence that the mark would fall during competition . The North Carolina driver was also the closest to the threes in qualifying with his 4.058 , but neither Dobbins nor his competitors could light up the scoreboard with a 3-second pass in eliminations , leaving the historic mark to be settled at a later date .

“ Our team is going to race as fast as we can every run ,” Dobbins said . “ We ’ re not going to go out and lay up . We ’ re going to do the best we can . If the track will hold it , I don ’ t see a 3-second run being a problem .”

PRO EXTREME MOTORCYCLE

An offseason rule change allowing turbocharged bikes in Pro Extreme Motorcycle was expected to draw new competitors to the PDRA ’ s only two-wheeled class . One of the teams to join the class because of the new rules was Williford Racing , which brought out not only a turbocharged bike for Ehren Litten , but also a nitrous entry for Rodney Williford . While some nitrous stalwarts in the class feared the new turbo bikes , the nitrous bikes proved superior – at least for now – as Terry Schweigert qualified No . 1 and Williford won the event .

“ It ’ s been a crazy week ,” Williford said . “ I told Ehren he was crazy when he said we ’ re going to race a turbo bike and a nitrous bike , but it all worked out in the end . It ’ s like a dream come true . The moon and the stars aligned and we came out with a win at the end of the night . I couldn ’ t be happier .”

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