Past class champion Bubba Stanton stepped up July 25, to lead the top-ranked Pro Extreme class after two qualifying sessions for the inaugural Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) U.S. Drags. Stanton covered the eighth mile at Virginia Motorsports Park, near Richmond, in 3.535 seconds at 217.18 mph with his supercharged 1969 Camaro.

Past class champion Bubba Stanton stepped up July 25, to lead the top-ranked Pro Extreme class after two qualifying sessions for the inaugural Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) U.S. Drags. Stanton covered the eighth mile at Virginia Motorsports Park, near Richmond, in 3.535 seconds at 217.18 mph with his supercharged 1969 Camaro.

Also leading the PDRA pro classes with one more round of qualifying scheduled for Saturday (July 26) before elimination rounds begin that afternoon, were Lizzy Musi in Pro Nitrous, Brian Gahm in Extreme Pro Stock, Todd Tutterow in Pro Boost and Travis Davis in Pro Extreme Motorcycle.

First in the sportsman classes, also with one more qualifying opportunity, were Aaron Glaser in Top Sportsman and Jody Stroud in Top Dragster. Preston Tanner led Pro Jr. Dragster while his sister Alexis was first in Top Jr. Dragster, with both "kid classes" to get two more qualifying sessions on Saturday since they were postponed in order to get as many of the fields provisionally set before the track's 11 p.m. curfew.