EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK

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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - A LONG DAY BUT WORTH THE WAIT

IF YOU’RE SECOND, YOU’RE FIRST - After earning the number-one start for the PDRA Memphis Drags with a track record 3.54 at 214.25 mph in his '71 Mustang, Terry Leggett charged through Pro Extreme eliminations, going 3.58 to beat a redlighting Neal Wantye in round one, 3.57 to easily handle Brandon Pesz in round two, and 3.61 against Wesley Jones, who also turned on the early-start light in the semi finals.

Meanwhile, number-two starter Jason Scruggs doused the return of Tim Tindle to drag racing after a nearly two-year absence with a 3.60 pass in the opening round of racing. He then ran 3.56 in his '69 Camaro to beat Mike Recchia and 3.55 in the semis against Dubai's Badir Ahli, who led the class points chase as the race began.

Choosing the right lane for the final, Scruggs left first with a stellar .004 reaction time to Leggett's still respectable .040 light, but the holeshot spelled the difference 660 feet later as Scruggs' 3.57 at 216.34 managed to beat a quicker 3.54 run at 215.07 mph put together by Leggett and crew chief Terry Coyle.

"Man, we had the car this weekend and I was bad when it really counted. We've never won one of these things before and I just feel real bad for my team; I let them down," a dejected Leggett said immediately after the run.

Scruggs said he knew he "killed it" on the start but lost some ET when he had to wrestle the car away from the centerline down track.

"We should've run a .54, too," he claimed. "I could see Terry the whole way down the track; I thought we had nicked him off the start, but I wasn't really sure until we crossed the finish line and I saw my win light come on. I'm just glad we did nail the tree so hard because it turned out we needed it. Terry had the car to beat all weekend."  
Scruggs also recognized his semi-final win over Ahli was significant since it  put them essentially even in points. Then, the win over Leggett--his fourth this year--moved the past back-to-back champion into sole possession of the points lead. "This is what we have to do," he stressed. "There's three races left (this season) and we have to go out there and make the most of them."

Finally, Scruggs dedicated his latest win to the memory of noted PDRA track and TV announcer Brian Olson, who passed away recently from complications related to a motorcycle accident. "Brian was such a big part of the PDRA and everyone here loved him and we're always going to miss him," said Scruggs, who with his father, Mitchell, and Pro Nitrous racer Tommy Franklin is a PDRA series owner.

CLOSE CALL - Five-thousandths of a second; that's all that separated winner Tommy Franklin from runner-up Steve Jackson in the Pro Nitrous final for the 2nd annual PDRA Memphis Drags.

"Man, I've lost by two thou, three thou and five thou myself at the last three races, so it's about time one of these went my way," Franklin said in victory lane. "It just shows how close and intense this class is out there. There really is no margin for error."

Franklin made no mistakes all weekend at Memphis International Raceway, where he qualified first with a 3.75-seconds pass at 201.58 mph, then raced through John Camp and defending race winner and reigning class champion Jason Harris before getting by Jim Sackuvich--by five thousandths--with a holeshot in the semis. On the opposite side of the ladder, Jackson started from the number-two slot after running just three thousandths behind Franklin in qualifying, then beating Tim Savell, David Janes and two-time defending NHRA Pro Mod champion Rickie Smith to reach the final round.

Once there, "Stevie Fast" left with a .028 advantage, but a 3.78 at 199.58 by Franklin was just enough to overcome the 3.81 at 200.92 laid down by Jackson. "It shook pretty hard. I didn't pedal it, just stayed with it, but it was enough to slow me down enough to let him by," Jackson explained. "It sucks, but we'll get 'em next time."

"You know, it's like it's in slow motion," Franklin said. "You're running 200 mile an hour in slow motion because both cars are doing it so you can see him inching ahead and then you picking up on him here and there. It's pretty exciting but also a little nerve wracking."

Franklin said it felt good to finally get back in the win column after taking the first race of the season back in March at Dallas, TX. "We've had some good races and some bad races since then, but I just feel like it's always an honor to race against these guys out here. I just feel blessed to be out here doing this," the electrical company owner from Fredericksburg, VA, said.

Like his PDRA ownership partner and Pro Extreme titlist Jason Scruggs at the Memphis Drags, Franklin dedicated his win to announcer Brian Olson's memory. " Each time I won a round I said, 'this one's for you, Brian.' You know, this is the first PDRA race without him on the mic and the first time Jason and I won together as PDRA owners so it's a pretty special race for us."

GOOD AND BROKEN IN - Kevin Rivenbark claimed he was starting to have second thoughts about the 2015 Corvette his GALOT Racing team had debuted two races earlier at Martin, Michigan in June. Not really, but he admitted to at least feeling anxious about going out in the first round at Martin and then again at the next event in Budds Creek, Maryland. So when he qualified the beautiful, new, roots-blown Bickel car fourth with a 3.88 at 191.67-mph pass for the PDRA Memphis Drags, the Wallace, NC-based driver said he felt ready to race.

He opened with a solid 3.90 win over James Linton Jr., then improved to 3.86 in round two while his opponent, Brian Hicks, did a masterful job of keeping his twin turbo'd '70 Duster off the walls at Memphis International Raceway after fluids from his engine got underneath the big rear slicks. In the semis, Rivenbark ran 3.87 to beat Tylor Miller, but lost lane choice for the final by six thousandths to third-place qualifier Kevin Fiscus, who previously defeated Todd Moyer, Alan Pittman and Scott Cristoffel.

Fiscus left first by .019 in his twin-turbocharged 2012 Mustang, but a 3.83 blast at 193.54 by Rivenbark led to an 11-thousandths margin of victory over the 3.86 at 204.01 put together by Fiscus.

"That's a big win for us, not only because it's the first one for the new car but because it puts us right back into the points with only three races left," Rivenbark pointed out. "We're ready for them now."

IT’S BEEN THAT LONG? - Terry Schweigert couldn't even remember the last time he'd won a Pro Extreme Motorcycle event in the States, but the Western Canadian racer won't soon forget his victory at the PDRA Memphis Drags.

After qualifying number one with a 4.06 run at 173.09 aboard his 2013 Suzuki, Schweigert ran through defending class champion Eric McKinney, three-time 2015 race winner Chris Garner-Jones and veteran rider Travis Davis to secure his first PDRA event title.
"You've got Eric, who's the top guy in the class, defending champion, winner of the first three races this year; then Chris, who's been on a roll of his own lately and then Travis, who really is one of the best, so what more could I ask for," the 58-year-old Schweigert asked with a huge grin. "It's a great feeling, a really good feeling."

Davis went red by -.026 in the final, automatically handing the win to Schweigert, who ran 4.08 at 172.08 mph.

"I didn't see the red light, so I thought he had left on me and I wasn't going to catch him," Schweigert admitted. "Then I crossed the finish line and looked up (at the scoreboards) and saw my (win) light was on. That's when I realized I had won."

IN DEVELOPMENT, IN THE WINNER’S CIRCLE - Mick Snyder said he always believes he's got a chance to win any race he enters, but even after picking up his first Top Sportsman trophy, the former Pro Extreme world champion admitted he really didn't think a win would come so soon. After all it came in only his third outing ever with a bold, new roots-supercharged, electronic fuel-injected engine management system aboard his formerly screw-blown Pro Extreme '63 Corvette.

"This ComSYNC package is a total engine management system," Snyder explained after beating Ronnie "The King" Davis in the final round for the PDRA Memphis Drags Top Sportsman title. "It manages your fuel, it manages the coil packs, it just does it all; EFI in this case stands for engine, fuel, ignition. It's way more consistent than a mechanical system ever could be."

Snyder qualified his Powersource Corvette fourth with a 4.02 at 181.35-mph pass. Buddy Perkinson's 3.905-second, 192.77-mph qualifying pass not only secured the number-one start for the Virginia-based driver's new 2015 Camaro, but set a new, official PDRA Top Sportsman ET record after Perkinson backed it up with a 3.916 at 189.02 win over defending class champion Dan Ferguson in the opening round of racing.

Perkinson fell to fifth-place qualifier Davis in round two, though, with Davis and his '63 Corvette going on to beat Cheyenne Stanley in the semis to reach Snyder. Once there, Davis suffered a rare red-light start, leaving -.003 too soon to negate a 4.08 run against a 4.07 dial in, while Snyder broke out with a 4.03 pass at 181.23 mph against a 4.05 dial.

"We're really happy with this," Snyder said. "A little surprised? Yeah, I think so, but I think we can do it again, so maybe not."

STEADY PROGRESS - With his first PDRA Top Dragster win coming at Memphis, Derrik Sholar moved into the thick of the 2015 championship points fight. Sholar, from Holly Ridge, NC, started from the 10th qualifying position, then made steady progress through Wade Pennington, Zach Sackman and Bob Henry before taking down Cody Moore in a tight final round.

"The key to winning was my Race Tech car, Nesbitt motor and my crew chief Ross Willard, he's been phenomenal here making all the right calls," Sholar said in victory lane.

Sholar left with an outstanding .004 light in the final, then ran 4.129 at 166.68 mph against a 4.12 dial in to beat Oklahoma's Moore, who posted a .023 reaction time followed by a 4.202 run at 164.67 against a 4.19 dial in.

JUNIOR REPORT - First-time winners also were crowned in the Jr. Dragster classes, with the Pro Jr. win going to number-15 qualifier Mitchell Seymore from Cullman, AL, and the Top Jr. Dragster title going to 13th-place qualifier Devan Lowe.

NEXT UP - The PDRA will return to action Sept. 10-12, with PDRA Dragstock XII at North Carolina's historic Rockingham Dragway.

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - LEGBONE SERVES IT UP, FRANKLIN JUMPS TO THE TOP

LEGBONE KICKS IT - With a track record 3.546-seconds pass at 214.25 mph over the MIR eighth mile, Terry "Legbone" Leggett and his supercharged '71 Mustang seized the Pro Extreme qualifying lead from Jason Scruggs, who earlier in Friday night's third session had posted a 3.560 run at 216.86 in his '69 Camaro. Leggett opened the day with a 3.625 at 211.63 to lead all 21 class entries, then retained the position with a 3.580 at 212.73 in round two.

"It was huntin' around a little bit at the top end and I thought I'd actually shut it off a little early," the logging company owner from Pinetown, NC, said of his record run. "But then I saw that 3.54 pop up on the scoreboard so I knew it was pretty good after all. We've been working for this for a long time and it feels good to get it done."

Leggett said he feels like the pass should hold up for the top spot even after Saturday's final qualifying session is over, but allowed for the possibility that someone might step up and surprise everyone.
"It's going to be hotter and the track should probably be slicker, but this is a very tough class with a lot of great cars and teams out here," he said. "You know there's a bunch of guys just down the way here with a red Camaro (Scruggs' team) who you just know are going to be going for it."

THE PX PECKING ORDER - Following Terry Leggett and Jason Scruggs on the list of 16 qualified entries were Dubai's Badir Ahli in third, Frankie Taylor fourth and Ahli's NAS Racing teammate Mustafa Buhumaid rounding out the top five. The top seven qualifiers all ran in the 3.50s, with positions eight through 15 in the 3.60s and the final spot held by Neal Wantye with a 3.715 pass at 205.44 mph.

SECOND NO MORE - After finishing each of the first two Pro Nitrous qualifying rounds in second place, Tommy Franklin steered his '69 Camaro into the lead with a 3.753-seconds run at 201.58 mph in Friday's third and final session at Memphis International Raceway. Also in a '69 Camaro, "Stevie Fast" Jackson was just three-thousandths of a second behind in the runner-up spot, while Lizzy Musi was third after going 3.774 in her 2015 Dodge Dart.

"The track cooled down and we were really able to get after it in that third round. You know, this Pat Musi motor has been running so good and we're just trying to stay in the points battle," Franklin said.
Regardless, the Fredericksburg, VA-based Franklin team was busy making an engine swap Friday night once qualifying was over.

"No, there's nothing wrong with this engine at all," Franklin said with one hand resting on the pole-sitting piece. "It's just we want to start with a fresh one tomorrow and this will always be here ready as back-up if we need it. They're both good engines; we're ready to go."

FULL HOUSE - Twenty-one entries made qualifying passes, with defending class champion and last year's Memphis Drags winner Jason Harris closing out the top half of the field with a 3.830 at 185.84 in his '68 Firebird and John Camp on the 16th-place bump spot after going 3.860 at 197.74 in his '69 Camaro.

FIRST TIME FOR FLECK - For the first time in his PDRA career, Ric Fleck from Lexington, SC, closed out the day in first place with his blown Hemi-powered '41 Willys after posting a 3.866-seconds elapsed time at 189.20 mph in the opening round of Pro Boost qualifying.

"We always run good in the heat and I've been number one before in the early rounds but someone's always been able to step up at night and take it away from us. Not this time," Fleck said. "I was kind of surprised that first run held up all day, but I'm very glad it did."

Fleck's closest challenge came in the night session when Scott Christoffel jumped all the way from 12th before the round began to second with a 3.875 at 187.86 in his supercharged '68 Camaro. The twin-turbocharged 2012 Mustang of Florida's Kevin Fiscus improved to 3.876 at a class-leading 204.39 mph to place third, with Kevin Rivenbark's supercharged 2015 Corvette in fourth and Brian Hicks in a twin-turbo'd '70 Duster fifth. With Millington, TN's own Tony Williams holding down the 16th and final qualifying spot with his blown '69 Camaro, three other drivers--Jerry Prater, Colby Barber and Don Tolley--were left with one last opportunity to qualify.

"I don't know if anyone else will be able to step up tomorrow, but I wouldn't be surprised if we could run a better number in the heat again," Fleck said. "Hopefully this is a sign of things to come and we can go some rounds tomorrow and finish this off with a win, too."

NEW FACE IN THE CROWD, KINDA SORTA - After Eric McKinney qualified first and won the first three Pro Extreme Motorcycle races this season; then Chris Garner-Jones stepped up and did the same at the next three events, it was a big change to see Canada's Terry Schweigert step up with a 4.069 at 173.09 mph in the second round to finish Friday in the number-one position for the PDRA Memphis Drags.

A dairy farmer from Abbotsford, BC, Schweigert said he wasn't surprised by the result, other than he thought he should have been able to run a little quicker in the night session. "We've been doing better lately, but we had a human error with our nitrous bottle that slowed us down," he explained.

Davis, from Douglas, GA, was second at 4.077 and 174.66, with Mississippi's Chuck Wilborn third at 4.109 and 173.05 mph and Mohammad Al Darwish from Doha, Qatar in fourth. Garner-Jones, meanwhile, was fifth and McKinney held on to the eighth-place bump spot with a 4.189 pass at 172.43 mph. The PDRA requires at least 13 entries to warrant a 16-vehicle field in any pro class and only 12 Pro Extreme Bike teams made the trip to Memphis International Raceway.

THE SPORTSMAN REPORT - Cousins Buddy and Randy Perkinson held the top two positions in Top Sportsman qualifying with a pair of 2015 Camaros at Memphis. Buddy Perkinson ran a potential class record 3.905 seconds at 192.77 mph in his Billy Albert-powered, RJ Race Cars-built machine, while Randy Perkinson went 3.928 at 187.31 mph in his Jerry Bickel ride with Buck Racing horsepower. In third was Aaron Glaser and his '69 Camaro at 3.962 and 183.92 mph, while past Pro Extreme champ Mick Snyder placed fourth at 4.029 at 181.35 with his unique, roots-blown, fuel-injected '63 Corvette.

"We were going to go into race mode for Q4 tomorrow, but now we'll probably try to back up the record and make it official. If we don't get it then we'll just concentrate on racing and just try to set it again at another race," said Buddy, from Prince George, VA. "No matter what, though, I have to thank my Uncle Christy and my dad, Mark, for everything they do. We're a real family team out here."

In Top Dragster, George Marks came straight off the trailer Friday morning to run 3.952 seconds at 179.56 mph and the run held up through all three sessions to place him number one. In fact, the top four in the class--Marks, Wade Pennington, Chase Murray and Justin Kirk--all made their best run of the day in the opening session.
With one more qualifying round to go on Saturday before eliminations begin, seven Top Dragster drivers were in the three-second zone, while the provisional 16th and final position was held by Eddie Syrek at 4.167 and 176.17 after 20 cars made qualifying attempts.

TODAY'S SCHEDULE - The all-eighth-mile PDRA Memphis Drags will resume with a fourth and final round of qualifying for all classes starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday (Aug. 22), and a pre-race ceremony scheduled for 3:30 p.m. before final elimination rounds begin.