The PDRA rolled into Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, for the third stop on the series’ 10th anniversary tour for their annual American Doorslammer Challenge over the weekend and it was Alan Drinkwater who took the win in Extreme Pro Stock competition.
Just over a year after Drinkwater won in his Pro 632 debut, the Florida young gun secured his first Extreme Pro Stock victory in just his third appearance. Driving the Kaase-powered IronListing.com ’13 Mustang tuned by reigning world champion Johnny Pluchino, Drinkwater qualified No. 2 on Friday and raced consistently on Saturday to get the win. While final-round opponent Jeremy Huffman wasn’t able to make the call, Drinkwater still cut a .009 reaction time and recorded a 4.08 at 177.44 to put an exclamation point on the day.
“This takes a team of great people, reliable horsepower from Jon Kaase, Ram Clutches, Feather-Lite Batteries, and everybody that’s helped us along the way,” Drinkwater said. “Johnny Pluchino has this thing on rails. We can go up and down the racetrack when everybody else is having problems. We’re just fortunate to have great people around us, and luckily we’ve been able to have a little success. It’s a blast. I grew up watching guys like Tony Gillig, John Pluchino, [John] Montecalvo, Elijah Morton. It’s unreal, really. I’m sure in the morning it will sink in more then, what we’ve accomplished, but it’s a great feeling.”
Drinkwater’s worst run of the day, a 4.096 at 177.77 over Douglas Kittrel’s 6.28, was the quickest pass of the first round. He continued to set low E.T. of the next two rounds, starting with a 4.073 at 177.98 over Dennis Firkus and his 5.75 in the second round. He beat Dave Hughes in the semifinals with a 4.074 at 178.05 to Hughes’ 4.547.
Huffman, who has also won in Pro 632 competition, qualified No. 9 in his 3V Performance-powered ’10 Cobalt. He used a 4.223 in the opening round to beat Dwayne Rice, who won the season opener. A .002 reaction time and a 4.11 at 175.87 gave him the second-round win over No. 1 qualifier Tony Gillig, who coasted to a 9.442. Huffman was unopposed on his 4.697 in the semis, as opponent Derrick Reese didn’t make the call.
This story was originally published on May 28, 2023. 
