If there was ever a script for a dream-come-true moment in drag racing, Amber Franklin-Denton just lived it. Racing side-by-side against her father, three-time PDRA Pro Nitrous world champion Tommy Franklin, Amber captured her first career victory in the Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous category Saturday night at the Talbert Manufacturing Northern Nationals presented by Callies Performance.
But it wasn’t just the fairytale final that made this one special. It was the chaos, the setbacks, and the community-driven thrash that led up to it.
“I’ve dreamed about getting to a final with my dad since I could remember,” said Franklin-Denton. “It’s definitely not the way we imagined it, but I got up here and I got strapped in and I took a second and just soaked it all in because it was awesome.”
Earlier in the day, both Franklin-Denton and her father suffered issues – serious ones. Tommy’s “Jungle Rat 3.0” Camaro was hurt during a semifinal solo run, and Amber’s team was left scrambling for parts. That’s when the drag racing community did what it does best: rally. Fellow competitor Buddy Perkinson stepped up, providing a borrowed engine that Amber’s team slammed into her OG “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro just in time for the final.
In a show of grit and gratitude, both cars staged without nitrous, limping to the stripe like two warriors refusing to forfeit the fight. Amber got there first by just .006 seconds, running a 5.440 to Tommy’s 5.468 in one of the most memorable – and emotional – finals in PDRA history.
“I’m so grateful for my team. They worked their butts off all weekend,” Amber added. “We had a really awesome car and honestly just got down to one round and didn’t have enough parts to get it back together. We’ve run good, came into the weekend leading points, and we’re taking the points lead out too, which was the plan.”
Franklin-Denton’s road to the win was anything but easy. She qualified No. 2 and took out defending event winner Jackie Slone Jr. in the first round with a 3.66-second run. In the second round, she fired off a 3.69 on a single before going toe-to-toe with Billy Albert in the semis. Despite Albert running low ET of the round (3.641), Amber chopped down the tree with a .028 light and held on with a 3.661 to advance to the final.
Tommy’s path included a first-round single, a second-round win after Marcus Butner went red, and a wounded 3.72 in the semifinals after Tim Paap shut off following his burnout. But by that point, the Jungle Rat was hurting. Still, the Franklin family was determined to make the final happen.
Judy Franklin, Amber’s mother and Tommy’s wife, summed it up best:
“This girl has talked about the day she would run side-by-side with her dad in Pro Nitrous for years. Last night it happened. Both with mechanical issues in the semis, it was a thrash to get both cars ready. So proud of Amber and her team on getting the job done in Michigan.”
The win solidifies Amber’s status as a legitimate championship contender in her rookie season, now carrying the Pro Nitrous points lead deeper into the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season.
This story was originally published on August 3, 2025. 
