Carson Hoyle ended his Pro 632 rookie season with a decisive win at the PDRA Brian Olson Memorial World Finals to claim his first career PDRA 660 Man trophy in a professional class after stepping up from a fruitful Pro Jr. Dragster career. He used a combination of quick reaction times and a consistently quick race car to work his way through a tough path to the winner’s circle at Virginia Motorsports Park. In the final round, he cut a .005 reaction time and powered to a 4.147 at 170.43 to defeat Kyle Salminen and his 4.212 at 170.30.
“We’ve made great progression all season, and to cap it off like this and go into next year with a win, it’s amazing,” said Hoyle, who thanked ATI Performance Products, Nitrous Outlet, Pat Musi Racing Engines, Maxima Racing Oil, Meziere Enterprises, stepdad Chris Rini, and Jamie and Johnny Miller of Red Hat Mafia. “I’m confident in this team and my guys. I just needed to do my part. That’s all I needed to get it done. It’s been a crazy year with two cars, first time doing it, but we’ve done a great job. The crew’s done a great job and I’m really thankful for that.”
Hoyle qualified fourth and made the second-quickest pass of the opening round, a 4.121 at 171.62, to drive around Nicole Liberty and her 4.166. He was the only driver to dip into the 4.10s in the second round with his 4.167 at 170.08 over championship runner-up Walter Lannigan, who lifted to a 5.297. Hoyle then beat two-time world champion Jeff Melnick on a holeshot in the semifinals, running a 4.157 at 170.64 to Melnick’s 4.156.
Salminen, who got his first career win at the spring Virginia race in his Musi-powered ’03 Cavalier, used a holeshot advantage and a 4.186 at 170.99 to defeat rookie Jeff Pittman and his quicker 4.130 at 180.00 in the first round. He posted a 4.220 at 170.32 in the second round to hold off Brian Clauss and his 4.283 at 168.35. Salminen improved to a 4.217 at 170.62 on a semifinal bye run.
This story was originally published on October 7, 2025. 
