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STAGING LANES: The Real Deal

Florida’s own Tommy D’Aprile, who pens the long-running “The Real Deal” column in this magazine, launches hard in his Sir Thomas Performance/Right Trailers Grand Am during a Top Sportsman qualifying session at the SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout.

[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #193, the Interview Issue, in March / April of 2025.]

While D’Aprile is known for his many years of success in Pro Modified, Pro Extreme, and Pro Boost, he’s also a rather astute bracket racer, as he proved once eliminations kicked off. He raced his way to the fifth and final round against Andrew Johnson. It was a double breakout, and D’Aprile ended up on the losing end of it with a 7.323 on his 7.34 dial-in to Johnson’s 7.277 on a 7.29 dial. 

Photograph by Robert Richard
Bradenton Motorsports Park
Bradenton, Florida
Thursday, February 6th, 2025

This story was originally published on May 27, 2025. Drag Illustrated

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