By Nate Van Wagnen | Drag Illustrated
With seven collective Pro Nitrous world championships in the 10-year history of the PDRA, Jim Halsey and Tommy Franklin have lined up against each other in the final round more than a few times. It happened again at the Mid-Atlantic Showdown, where Halsey used a starting line advantage and a 3.628 at 208.33 to beat Franklin and his 3.613 at 206.86 on a holeshot. It was Halsey’s first win of the season and the first for his new Brandon Switzer-tuned, Fulton-powered “Daddy Shark” ’68 Camaro.
“I’ll be honest with you, sometimes I think I forgot how to drive. Today, I did OK,” Halsey said. “The tree was a little weird there [in the final]. Tommy flickered the bulb and I think it delayed the auto-start some, so we were both pretty tardy, but a win’s a win. The car is running good and making laps. We didn’t abort one run because of any issues with the car. I did a bad job of driving in Q1, but other than that, it’s redeemed itself pretty good.”
Halsey’s weekend was all about redemption. He started the PDRA season at the East Coast Nationals at GALOT Motorsports Park two weeks ago as the No. 1 qualifier with a record-setting 3.608, but he lost on a holeshot in the semifinals.
“Well, we had the car to beat at GALOT, I think, and I let the team down,” said Halsey, who thanked his team, as well as his colleagues back at home at Cecil County Dragway, Structural Concrete, and Crouse Construction. “With this bunch – Eric [Davis] and Michael [McMillan] and Cathy [Halsey] and Brandon [Switzer] and Brian [Chin], you don’t want to be the weakest link because it makes you look really bad.”
As the No. 1 qualifier, Halsey got a first-round bye run, which he used to run a 3.66 at 207.08 to get lane choice over fellow Maryland-based driver Derrick Ford in the second round. Halsey left first and laid down a 3.648 at 207.29 to move past Ford, who slowed to a 4.174. Another Maryland native, Fredy Scriba, was waiting for Halsey in the semis. The two left the line together, but Halsey pulled ahead to win with a 3.639 at 206.70 over Scriba’s 3.66 at 207.66.
Franklin in his Jeff Pierce-tuned, Musi-powered “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro kicked off race day with a big-time matchup against Brian Shrader, who earned his first-ever Pro Nitrous win at the season opener. Shrader ran a strong 3.681 at 204.01, but Franklin was first to the finish line with his 3.657 at 204.29. He improved to a 3.631 at 206.26 to beat Chris Rini’s 3.678 in round two, then went a hundredth quicker with a 3.621 at 206.83 in the semis to win over Marcus Butner and his 4.116. Franklin set low E.T. of all four rounds and the event as a whole.
Nate Van Wagnen | Drag Illustrated
