Drag Illustrated Issue 138, November 2018 | Page 20

THE DI
TOP 3
THE PDRA TOP 3 LIST IS THE LATEST ADDITION TO DRAG ILLUSTRATED’S COVERAGE OF THE
2018 PROFESSIONAL DRAG RACERS ASSOCIATION (PDRA) SEASON. THIS LIST, REPRESENTING
PERFORMANCES FROM PDRA DRAG WARS AT GALOT MOTORSPORTS PARK, DOES NOT REFLECT
THE CURRENT POINTS STANDINGS, THOUGH MOST OF THE DRIVERS WHO APPEAR ON THIS
LIST CAN ALSO BE FOUND NEAR THE TOP OF THE POINTS STANDINGS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE
CLASSES. AS DRIVERS BATTLE BACK AND FORTH FOR NO. 1 QUALIFYING SPOTS, EVENT WINS
AND NATIONAL RECORDS OVER THE COURSE OF THE 2018 SEASON, THIS LIST WILL CHANGE
TO REFLECT THOSE ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
PRO
NITROUS PRO
BOOST EXTREME
PRO STOCK PRO EXTREME
MOTORCYCLE PRO OUTLAW
632
1. TOMMY FRANKLIN
2. DANNY SAURO
3. LIZZY MUSI 1. TOMMY D’APRILE
2. MELANIE SALEMI
3. MARC CARUSO 1. STEVEN BOONE
2. JEFF DOBBINS
3. DILLON VOSS 1. BRUNSON GROTHUS
2. TERRY SCHWEIGERT
3. SPENCER ALLEN 1. JOHNNY PLUCHINO
2. JORDAN ENSSLIN
3. DILLON VOSS
With low elapsed time of the
first three rounds of elimina-
tion at the Fall Nationals,
including a near-record
3.659-second blast in the
semifinals, Tommy Franklin
appeared to be well on his
way to a second consecutive
Pro Nitrous victory. Danny
Sauro, appearing in his first
final round, had a different
outcome in mind, as his
Justin Elkes-tuned Tischer
Auto Group ’69 Camaro fired
off a record 3.652 to defeat
Franklin, who slowed to a
4-second pass. Finally, Lizzy
Musi maintains her spot on
the Top 3 List on the merit
of her No. 1 qualifying effort
and the recording-breaking
207.28 mph speed she
posted in the process. Can anyone stop Tommy
D’Aprile and his Al Billes-
owned-and-tuned ’69
Camaro? The Floridian qual-
ified No. 1 for the fifth time
this season with a 3.688,
then marched to his second
consecutive victory, this
time over Melanie Salemi
and the “Purple Reign” ’68
Firebird. Salemi qualified No.
2 and recorded a career-
best 3.706 to come up short
in the final by just four thou-
sandths of a second. Roch-
ester, New York’s Marc
Caruso holds on to a Top 3
List spot after following up
his Drag Wars runner-up
finish with a string of
mid-3.7-second passes to
reach the Fall Nationals
semifinals. Steven Boone jumps to the
top of the Top 3 List with his
second career Extreme Pro
Stock win at Darlington, also
rising to the top of the
points standings going into
the World Finals. Drag Wars
champion Jeff Dobbins
came up just one round
short of another final round,
keeping him on the list. New
to the list – in Extreme Pro
Stock, anyway – is Dillon
Voss, who made his way to
the final round in just his
second race in the class
behind the wheel of Enoch
Love’s ’05 Cavalier. Between
Voss’s championship-caliber
driving and a proven car,
Voss and company just
might have what it will take
to pick up the win at the
World Finals. Aside from a runner-up
finish at the season opener,
Brunson Grothus has had a
rather average season. His
Indocil Art Suzuki has come
alive in the late part of the
year, though, as he’s a round
and a half away from the
points lead after a semifinal
finish at Drag Wars and a
win at the Fall Nationals.
While Terry Schweigert
didn’t fare well in elimina-
tions with a second-round
red light, his record-break-
ing 3.9-second passes on a
new turbo bike – including
an otherworldly 3.914 – had
the motorcycle racing world
on notice. Spencer Allen, a
newcomer to the Top 3 List,
ran a career-best race at
Darlington, qualifying No. 3
and reaching the final
round. Consistency and class-lead-
ing elapsed times have kept
Johnny Pluchino at the top
of the Top 3 List and the
points standings, as the
two-time winner goes into
the World Finals as the only
driver in Pro Outlaw 632
without a first-round loss.
Moving up a spot on the list
is Jordan Ensslin, whose ’02
Pontiac Trans Am was locked
in the 4.25s and took the
young Floridian to his first
PDRA victory at Darlington.
Defending world champion
Dillon Voss is third on the
Top 3 List and second in
points after late-round fin-
ishes at GALOT and Darling-
ton, but he’ll need a miracle
to pass Pluchino at the
World Finals.
20 PDRA660.com