Two of the most prolific drivers in nitrous Pro Modified racing, Jim Halsey and “Tricky” Rickie Smith, squared off in the Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous final round Sunday afternoon at the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Mid-Atlantic Showdown presented by Classic Graphix. Racing at Virginia Motorsports Park, Halsey won when Smith went red. Halsey recorded a weekend-best 3.646-second pass to go back-to-back at the second stop on the 2023 PDRA tour.
PRO NITROUS MOTORCYCLE
Past Pro Nitrous Motorcycle world champion Chris Garner-Jones bounced back from an early exit at the season opener by riding his T.T. Jones Racing Hayabusa to the win after qualifying No. 1. He went down the track on a single in the final round, as opponent Meshal Al-Saber’s Q80 Racing Hayabusa shut off as he was staging. Garner-Jones laid down a 3.982 at 176.79 for the win.
“This win feels great, especially after our first outing,” said Garner-Jones, who thanked his brother and tuner, William, as well as Red Line Motorsports Media, FuelTech, and PDRA. “We’re not making excuses, but we ran good once we put the right combination in the bike. It was just a round too late. I feel like we could’ve won that race. But we came out here and ran some stout numbers from testing all the way to the final round. We didn’t go in the fours all weekend. Every pass was three-ninety-something. It feels great.”
In the first round of eliminations on Friday night, Garner-Jones set low E.T. of the event with a 3.952 on a single. He lined up against rookie Brayden Davis in the semifinal, but the race was over on the starting line when Davis went red by .014 on a 3.984-second pass. Garner-Jones was ready with a 3.996 at 177.53.
Al-Saber, who also reached the final round at the season opener, qualified No. 2 on the Brad McCoy-tuned Q80 Racing entry. He ran a 3.985 on a first-round single when Gerald Smith couldn’t make the run. The Kuwait-based rider made his best run of the weekend, a 3.963, on a single in the semifinals.
The next race on the 2023 PDRA schedule is the DeCerbo Construction American Doorslammer Challenge presented by Callies Performance, May 25-27, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
There are more videos on the Cycledrag Youtube channel (please subscribe here) and the Cycledrag Facebook page (Please like here) and more will be coming soon. Check back daily.
To take advantage of some amazing discounts at Brock’s Performance, click – http://brocksperformance.com?aff=12
USE cycledrag5 coupon code.
