In a final-round battle between the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series’ Tommy Franklin and the Mid-West Drag Racing Series’ Keith Haney, Franklin came out on top to earn the Summit Racing Equipment PDRA East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech event win in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by Jerry Bickel Race Cars. Haney grabbed a sizable holeshot advantage but ran into mechanical issues while Franklin raced to a 3.676-second pass at 206.64 mph Saturday night at Darana Motorsports Park – Benson, NC.
Franklin was joined in the winner’s circle by pro class winners Jason Harris in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive, Blake Denton in Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by KTR Drag Racing, J.C. Beattie Jr. in PDRA Pro 632 presented by Mark Williams Enterprises, and Austin Vincent in 1320 Fabrication Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling.
The PDRA’s sportsman classes saw a father-son double-up, as Scott Duggins won in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines and son Josh Duggins was victorious in Greenbrier Excavating & Paving Elite Top Dragster presented by American Race Cars. Seth Garrison (MagnaFuel Top Sportsman 32) and Stacy Hall (ATI Performance Products Top Dragster 48 presented by TBM Brakes) also picked up event wins.
Carson Brown earned the win in Edelbrock Bracket Bash presented by Philadelphia Racing Products in his ’22 M&M dragster when final-round opponent Kristen Byrd went red by .004 seconds in her ’17 Race Tech dragster.
In the Jr. Dragster divisions, the winners were Katelyn Page in Pro Jr. Dragster and Kole Paone in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster. The Pro Jr. Dragster final round was over on the starting line when CJ Jenkins clicked it .006 red, allowing Page to win in her ’23 Mike Bos dragster with a 7.885 on the 7.90 index. Paone and final-round opponent Lukas Alexander had nearly identical reaction times in their Halfscale dragsters, but Alexander broke out with a 12.029 on a 12.14 dial-in. Paone broke out as well, but only by .008 seconds with an 8.892 on an 8.90 dial-in.
PRO NITROUS
One of the largest Pro Nitrous fields in recent history came down to a unique final round pitting three-time PDRA Pro Nitrous world champion and series co-owner Tommy Franklin against Keith Haney, who’s the owner of the Mid-West Drag Racing Series as well as a multi-time champion in that series. When the tree dropped, it appeared to be Haney’s race as he left first with a .007 reaction time, but a flash of fire out of his hood scoop signaled the end of his day while Franklin drove past with a 3.676 at 206.64 in his Musi-powered “Jungle Rat 3.0” ’69 Camaro. Haney recorded a 3.966 at 148.01 in the runner-up effort.
“First off, happy birthday to Pat Musi. He’s a great friend, great engine builder, great guy, period,” said Franklin, who also credited Mark Beatty from Red Line Oil, class sponsors Switzer Dynamics and Jerry Bickel Race Cars, and all the team’s supporters. “My team’s awesome. It’s a busy pit in our pits. There’s a lot of cars over there, but everybody, when we’ve got to do work on anything, they all jump in there. These wins are all big, and we love them all. We struggled a little bit in the heat, but hey, the team overcame. Jeff Pierce is a badass tuner and got this thing back turned around, and we were excellent in the heat today.”
Franklin qualified No. 4 and started race day with a 3.714 at 205.10 to get the first-round win over Chris Rini and his 3.774. He lined up against 2015 world champion “Tricky” Rickie Smith in the second round, with a consistent 3.711 at 205.29 taking out Smith’s 3.750. When the sun went down and conditions cooled off, Franklin dipped into the 3.60s with his 3.669 at 205.60 to knock out past Elite Top Sportsman world champion Tim Molnar and his 3.707 in the semifinals.
Out of the No. 6 slot, Haney in his Musi-powered “Black Widow” ’26 Corvette left first against Billy “The Kid” Albert and won with a 3.714 at 206.35 to Albert’s 3.747. He then lined up against another Brandon Switzer-tuned driver, Darlington winner “Mountain Man” Mike Achenbach, in the second round. Achenbach went red by .011, while Haney rolled to a 3.755 at 195.19. A timing system malfunction with the Christmas tree plagued the semifinal pairing between Haney and past Elite Top Sportsman world champion Buddy Perkinson. The issue caused Perkinson to leave the line late, but when he lost with a 3.691 at 204.79 to Haney’s 3.664 at 206.48, he declined the opportunity to rerun the race. Haney advanced to the final round with lane choice by five thousandths of a second.
PRO BOOST
Two-time Pro Boost world champion Jason Harris overcame a significant weight penalty on the centrifugal supercharger combination after the season-opening Carolina Nationals to win in front of his home crowd at Darana Motorsports Park, formerly known as GALOT Motorsports Park. Driving the Harts Charger-boosted Southern Diamond Company “Party Time” ’69 Camaro, Harris moved first in the final round ahead of No. 1 qualifier Melanie Salemi and held the lead despite a dropped cylinder, winning with a 3.643 at 200.47. Salemi also ran into issues and slowed to a 3.723 at 168.53.
“I’ve raced here a lot. I really haven’t won a lot here, but it’s special when you can win at home and you’ve got all your fans – I mean I have tons of fans here – and we’re selling t-shirts and everything we can,” said Harris, who thanked Southern Diamond Company, Harts Charger, Pro Line Racing, TKM Performance, Hoosier Tire, and LAT Oil. “It’s amazing to win when you have the support that we have in the sport. It’s just amazing to do what we’ve done. I think this is my 19th PDRA victory. I’ve won some championships over here. My heart’s over here, but right now, I’m just so happy to be in the winner’s circle, and finally not screw up.”
Harris qualified second and raced to a 3.637 at 210.37 over Joel Wensley Sr., who slowed to a 6.068, in the first round. He then won a side-by-side race over two-time and reigning Pro Street world champion Ethan Steding, with Harris posting a 3.639 at 209.62 to Steding’s 3.647. The notoriously quick-leaving Harris left on his opponents in the first two rounds, but he saved his best reaction time – a .004 – for the semifinals against Darlington winner Johnny Camp. He paired that with a 3.612 at 209.20 to defeat Camp and his 3.627 at 208.88.
As the No. 1 qualifier in her screw-blown Al-Lee Installations “Purple Reign” ’68 Firebird, Salemi earned a first-round bye run, which she used to set low E.T. of the round, a 3.615 at 208.39. She was the second-quickest driver in the second round with her 3.643 at 207.02 to win over Travis “The Carolina Kid” Harvey, who slowed to a 4.436. Salemi then cut her second .010 light of the day and powered to a 3.626 at 206.95 to knock out home track hero Jay Cox, who laid down a 3.630 at 207.66.
PRO STREET
A year ago, Blake Denton earned his first career win in Pro Street at the East Coast Nationals. Now in his second full season in the class, Denton is eager to pursue a Pro Street world championship to go along with his 2023 season title in Super Street. He put his first win of the season on the scoreboard, delivering a meaningful birthday victory for engine builder Pat Musi behind the wheel of the same Musi-powered “Bonnie” ’69 Camaro that Musi’s late daughter, Lizzy, drove in No Prep Kings competition. Denton tied low E.T. of eliminations with his 3.943 at 201.76 in his final-round win over rookie Andy Mac, who finished with a 4.056 at 185.77.
“This one’s for Pat,” said Denton, who thanked Tommy and Judy Franklin, Pat and Liz Musi, wife Amber Denton, crew members “Big Brown” and “AT,” his parents, Pat Musi Racing Engines, Weld Racing, Lincoln Electric, Stroud Safety, Red Line Oil, and Menscer Motorsports. “I was still in the Darlington race and had an unfortunate mishap in the semifinal round and I got pushed off [the starting line], so that kind of set me back. To come out tonight and just get a clean slate for the weekend and come out and with the win…it’s good for me because it gives me the confidence going into the rest of the season that I’ve got a little bit of edge up on everyone else.”
Denton showed promise in the opening round, where he ran a 4.045 at 191.81 to get past newcomer Graham Hayes. He recorded a 4.059 at 190.94 in the second round to defeat fellow young gun Joel Wensley Jr. and his 4.099. The 2023 Super Street world champion then showed his driving chops in the semifinals as he left on class E.T. record holder Richard Reagan and powered to a 3.984 at 192.52 to beat Reagan’s 3.943 at 195.79 on a holeshot.
Mac took over the driving duties for the nitrous-fed, Musi-powered “Training Day” ’69 Camaro that Super Bowl champion Fletcher Cox raced to the postponed Carolina Nationals victory on Thursday evening. Mac’s march to his first final round started with a 4.010 at 185.89 on a first-round bye run. He nearly repeated that with a 4.018 at 189.47 to knock out Scott Kincaid’s 4.035 in the second round. After setting low E.T. of the first two rounds, Mac was second-quickest of the semifinals when he recorded a 3.950 at 187.50 to finish ahead of Ron Green’s 3.984 at 203.06.
PRO 632
J.C. Beattie Jr.’s breakout season in Pro 632 received another major boost at the East Coast Nationals, where the progress he made at the season-opening Carolina Nationals rolled into a second consecutive win. He qualified No. 1 at the season opener and won the first two rounds at Darlington Dragway, and when the race continued at Darana on Thursday, he followed through to earn his first win in the class. Beattie extended his win streak by four rounds on Saturday, ultimately getting the win over a red-lighting David Cook Jr. in the final round. Beattie ran a 4.170 at 170.17 in his nitrous-fed ATI Performance Products ’18 Camaro, while Cook posted a quicker 4.163 at 168.87 after going .004 red.
“We’ve been around 632, paid our dues running with an N/A motor, and last year we just had stupid stuff learning the car,” Beattie said. “We have a total of about 60 runs on this car now between racing and testing, and it’s still a little bit of a work in progress. But we’ve got a great tuner, Dave Hanlon. We’ve got a great motor from Reher-Morrison. We’ve got Todd and Scott and the guys at the shop as well, doing the transmissions and converters. I’m always grabbing them, moving them all over the place. It all just came together, and two 660 Men is pretty awesome.”
Qualified No. 2, Beattie opened eliminations with a win over Kevin McCurdy, who was driving the same car that Jeff Melnick drove to the 2023 and 2025 world championships. Beattie ran a 4.151 at 174.14 to McCurdy’s 4.234. Beattie and second-round opponent Jason Ventura left the starting line together, but Beattie pulled ahead to win with a 4.206 at 169.98 to Ventura’s 4.231. With a bye run in the semis, Beattie launched and lifted to a 4.820 at 109.92.
Cook qualified fourth in his Nelson-powered Copy&PrintWarehouse.com ’10 GTO and had a first-round bye, as opponent Ed McLemore suffered parts failure in qualifying and couldn’t make the call. Cook ran a 4.348 at 168.35, then stepped up to a 4.228 at 167.86 in the second round to beat Doug Nicholl, who lifted to a 5.806. A huge holeshot win followed in the semis, where Cook posted a 4.190 at 168.14 to hold off No. 1 qualifier Jeff Pittman and his 4.136 at 171.14.
SUPER STREET
Following a 2025 season that resulted in a No. 2 finish in the Super Street points standings, Austin Vincent and the Vincent Performance team went to work over the offseason converting their nitrous-fed ’88 Mustang over to a FuelTech EFI setup. Those efforts paid off this weekend with a decisive win over reigning world champion and No. 1 qualifier Connor McGee in the final round. McGee left the line first, but Vincent powered ahead with a 4.517 at 167.01 to McGee’s 4.569 at 156.35.
“It took a ton of hard work over the offseason,” said Vincent, who thanked FuelTech, Vincent Performance/Vincent Racing Engines, Ron G. at Afterworks, Nitrous Express, Diamond Pistons, Davis Technologies, Jesel, and the team’s other partners. “We finally made the switch over to EFI, which has been a long time coming, and the second race in and already in the winner’s circle, which is great. We ran really good at the first race. Of course, it got postponed and it kind of threw us for a loop with the different weather, but we were able to get through it and get here, so that was really good. We work – of course, everyone works their butt off – but we really do put in a lot of work and it just shows it’s paying off.”
Vincent qualified No. 2 and fired off a 4.622 at 152.97 to dispatch returning fan favorite Brad McBride in the first round. He was uncharacteristically late in his second-round match with Mike Freeman, but Freeman slowed to a 4.901 while Vincent charged to a 4.549 at 167.34. Newcomer Ryan Altman went red by .014 in the semis against Vincent, throwing away a 4.647, but Vincent was ready with his 4.528 at 166.70.
Unlike in qualifying, McGee’s Fulton-powered Brian’s Heating & Cooling ’90 Mustang was not the quickest car on race day, but it was quick enough to reach the final round. In the heat of the day to start eliminations, McGee ran a 4.731 at 158.11 to move on past Nick Robinson. Next, he had a bye to the semis, which he used to pursue – and receive – lane choice with his 4.668 at 158.46. Lined up against 2024 world champion Dan Whetstine in the semis, McGee led wire-to-wire with a 4.591 at 158.59 to Whetstine’s off-pace 4.838.
TOP SPORTSMAN
Elite Top Sportsman finalists Scott Duggins and Zach Houser were aggressive in the final, resulting in a double breakout win for Duggins in his ProCharged PAR Racing Engines ’63 Corvette. Racing in memory of past world champion Henry Underwood, Duggins moved first and ran a 3.805 on a 3.81 dial-in to defeat Houser, who posted a 3.874 on a 3.89 dial-in.
Morganton, North Carolina’s Seth Garrison caught a break in the final round of Top Sportsman 32, as Gary Pitts threw away his 4.352 on a 4.35 dial-in by going red by .003 seconds in his ’03 Mustang. Garrison cruised to a 4.396 on a 4.38 dial-in in his Sonny’s-powered ’06 Stratus to collect the win.
TOP DRAGSTER
After watching his father, Scott Duggins, turn on the final-round win light in Elite Top Sportsman, Josh Duggins knew he had to hold up his end of the deal to make the double-up happen. In a double breakout final against fellow second-generation driver Will Creasman, Duggins won by just .001 seconds in his ProCharged PAR Racing Engines ’14 Maddox dragster with a 3.751 on a 3.77 dial-in to Creasman’s 3.810 on a 3.83 dial-in.
Stacy Hall, who owns numerous PDRA victories in both Top Sportsman and Top Dragster, added another 660 Man trophy to his trophy case with his .001 margin-of-victory final-round win in Top Dragster 48 over Steven Boone. Hall ran a 4.353 on a 4.35 dial-in in his Fulton-powered ’24 American dragster to hold off Boone’s 4.270 on a 4.27 dial-in in his ’17 Racecraft dragster.
The 2026 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season will continue in just over a month at the Mid-Atlantic Showdown presented by Classic Graphix, May 21-23, at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Virginia.
This story was originally published on April 19, 2026. 
