PDRA PRO NITROUS
JIM HALSEY
Over the course of the last two
seasons , Jim Halsey has experienced two very different paths to the PDRA Pro Nitrous world championship : leading the points all season and chasing the points leader all season .
In 2020 , Halsey was the chaser , but he was in the hunt the whole time in his Fulton-powered ’ 68 Camaro . He traded blows with two-time world champion Tommy Franklin , taking runner-up honors to Franklin at two of the first five races before trading roles at the penultimate DragWars event in October .
“ Besides running 3.50s , [ repeating as the champion ] was the only goal we had this season ,” Halsey says . “ We struggled a little bit , especially at the first two or three races . After that , we finally got our act together . There was a little luck involved in a couple races with Tommy losing early and not qualifying well at the Finals helped us . You take it however you can get it sometimes .”
Going into the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park , Halsey trailed Franklin by exactly one round of racing , 100 points . Halsey gained 9 points on Franklin by qualifying No . 1 , while Franklin uncharacteristically qualified in the bottom half of the field in the No . 10 spot .
The two championship contenders moved on through the first two rounds of World Finals eliminations . Franklin fell in the semifinals , while Halsey powered on to the final round after defeating 2020 Mid-West Drag Racing
Series Pro Mod champion Ron Muenks with a blistering 3.645-second pass at 207.40 MPH . Then , rain and humid , foggy weather put racing on hold until Tuesday afternoon when PDRA officials were finally forced to call off the rest of the race .
Halsey and final-round opponent Matt Guenther both received points for a runner-up finish . Halsey ended up with 9 more points than Franklin – the difference he made up in qualifying .
“ I would ’ ve never dreamed that the race would ’ ve ended like it did with the rain and the fog and all that crazy stuff going on ,” Halsey says . “ They definitely made the right call . I would ’ ve never thought that qualifying would ’ ve made the difference , though .”
It was a dramatic end to a season that had more than its fair share of twists and turns , from mechanical issues at the first few races to dominant performances to close the season .
“ I thought I would rather be the guy chasing , but after this past year , I ’ d much rather be the guy out front being chased ,” Halsey laughs .
Halsey credited his team for their championship efforts , thanking a group that includes tuner Brandon Switzer , crew chief Eric Davis , Michael McMillan , Melissa Switzer , and Halsey ’ s longtime girlfriend , Cathy Crouse . He also thanked Switzer Dynamics , Fulton Competition Engines , Jerry Bickel Race Cars , Neal Chance Racing Converters and Davis Racing Engines .
When asked about his goals for the 2021 season , Halsey kept it simple : “ Three-peat .” DI
PHOTO : TARA BOWKER
BY NATE VAN WAGNEN
JOEL GREATHOUSE NMRA Renegade | BILL PUTNAM NMRA Limited Street
January 2021 DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 91