Ken Quartuccio recently completed one of the most impressive stretches of his illustrious racing career, and also one of the most impressive runs in doorslammer drag racing history. The Connecticut native won the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals in Pro Mod last Labor Day weekend, runnered up at the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals to kick off the inaugural Drag Illustrated Winter Series (DIWS) presented by J&A Service, won the next race of the series, the $75,000-to-win U.S. Street Nationals, and won Duck X Productions’ Lights Out 16 in Radial vs. the World. Just days after that victory, he rolled back into Bradenton for the World Series of Pro Mod as the Winter Series points leader. On WSOPM race day, Quartuccio locked up the DIWS championship, adding another high point to an illustrious doorslammer racing career.
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #194, the WSOPM Issue, in May/June of 2025.
While Quartuccio made headlines with his performances over the winter, he sees the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis last September as the start of the run he’s been on with Scott Tidwell Racing. Following an NHRA Pro Mod debut in 2023, Quartuccio partnered up with Tidwell for the full 2024 season, a pairing that resulted in Quartuccio’s win at Indy, as well as a fourth-place finish in an incredibly close NHRA Pro Mod championship battle.
“We went in there, we won that race, and it’s the same group of people all season, but we really peaked then, and then we had some issues with the car,” Quartuccio says. “Not crew problems, not tuning. Mostly my driving was fine. We were still on a roll, but we didn’t have the results because the car was giving us trouble.
“Then at the end of the season, we went right to World Street Nationals in Orlando and we won the shootout race for Pro Mod vs. RVW, then we went to Snowbirds and runnered up there,” Quartuccio continues. “I feel as though our team has been on a roll since midseason last year.”
For the inaugural DI Winter Series, Quartuccio was tapped to drive a new screw-blown ’69 Camaro commissioned by Dustin Nesloney and Tidwell. Tuned by Steve Petty with input from Brandon Stroud and Chris Terry, the new car was successful right of the gate.
Quartuccio qualified No. 4 with a 3.601 at the Snowbirds, which had the quickest 32-car field in Pro Mod history with Mark Micke on top with a 3.591 at Bob Glenn in the No. 32 spot with his 3.647. He charged to the final round, where he lost a close race to No Prep Kings driver Kye Kelley.
In late January, Quartuccio returned to Bradenton for the U.S. Street Nationals, where he qualified No. 2 and ran a string of 3.50s to meet Lyle Barnett in the final round. Quartuccio cut a .001 reaction time and ran a 3.586 to earn the $75,000 victory over Barnett and his 3.608. Earlier in the day, he also took over the points lead from Kelley, putting him just over two rounds ahead going into the World Series.
Before wrapping up the Winter Series, Quartuccio switched back into radial mode with his personal car, a ProCharged ’69 Camaro, at Lights Out 16. His weekend started with a record-setting qualifying performance. After Canadian Paolo Giust set a new Radial vs. the World E.T. record with his 3.479-second pass on Thursday night, Quartuccio threw down a 3.473 at 212.29 to take the record and the No. 1 qualifying spot. He started eliminations with a first-round bye, then took out multi-time Lights Out winner Stevie “Fast” Jackson with a 3.543 to a 3.588. Quartuccio dipped back into the 3.40s with a 3.495 to knock out Ned Dunphy and his 3.657 in the semifinals. A side-by-side final round followed, with Quartuccio leaving .010 seconds ahead of Australian John Ricca and finishing with a 3.498 to Ricca’s 3.507.
“This one was like magic right from the start,” says Quartuccio, who also won Lights Out 13 in 2022. “We unloaded fast, and obviously this is the first Lights Out win that I’ve had in RVW with Scott [Tidwell] and his group. The car we race is my same car that I’ve always had. I just base it out of Scott’s trailer and Scott maintains it at his shop and everything, and Steve Petty now tunes it. Mine and Scott’s relationship’s been great. There was a ton of excitement on our team all week long, which was great. This was a good win for us.”
Back in the Tidwell and Nesloney screw-blown ’69 Camaro at the WSOPM, Quartuccio qualified fifth before drawing 2023 WSOPM champion Spencer Hyde in the first-round chip draw. The Connecticut native won with a 3.583 to Hyde’s 3.609, leading the race from the start with a .023 reaction time to Hyde’s .052.
“I wanted to draw somebody – I won’t say who – but I had a list in my mind of who I wouldn’t draw and I did not want to draw Spencer,” Quartuccio told FloRacing’s Courtney Enders after the round. “Me and Spencer’s driving style is so close to each other. You can never take him lightly. I wanted a gimme. I got up on the wheel because I knew I had to. I raced him hard.”
With his next closest title challenger, Kelley, eliminated in the first round by another contender, Micke, Quartuccio was in a unique position going into round two: win the round, win the championship. But that wasn’t enough for Quartuccio.
“I want to win the race,” he said in his interview with Enders. “I want to win the race because the championship is cool, don’t get me wrong, but people remember who wins the race. It changes your life. What I don’t want to do is win the championship and then bow out like a lame-duck win. Say I go out next round but I still win the championship. I don’t want that. I want to end as hard as I can so when I go to Gainesville next week, I’m still pushing hard. That’s my mentality. I’m not paying attention to the points and I’m just going to race everybody as hard as I can today.
In the second-round chip draw, Quartuccio drew Australian newcomer John Ricca, who he defeated in the Radial vs. the World final round at Lights Out 16 just a week prior. Both drivers left with .018-second reaction times, then Quartuccio won with a 3.616 to Ricca’s 3.667. With that, he was crowned the DI Winter Series champion. He was paraded back up the track to the starting line, where he was congratulated by promoter Wes Buck, interviewed by Enders on FloRacing, presented his championship cup by Series Race Director Gavin Carter, and sized for his championship ring by Curt Bruns from Jostens.
“I knew we could run good, and the team I’ve got behind me, I knew that with the right support we could do good,” said Quartuccio, who also earned the $5,000 Pro Line Racing “Off the Trailer” Bonus for his No. 1 qualifying effort in the first session. “A whole different combination this year for me, a screw blower, which I’ve never drove in 35 years, but it’s because of Scott Tidwell, Dustin Nesloney, Steve Petty, Brandon Stroud, Chris Terry, Chris Johnson, Dennis Godbout. Through the ups and the downs, they had my back, and we fight together against anybody that came after us, and that alone makes this worth more than you can imagine. This is important, but the friendships and the families that I made, me and my wife, it’s unstoppable.”
Quartuccio received a true champion’s welcome on the starting line. He was surrounded by fellow drivers, crew members, tuners, media members, officials, and sponsors offering congratulatory handshakes, hugs, and pats on the back. He was also surrounded by his family, including his wife, two daughters, son-in-law, a grandson, and brother-in-law.
“For 30 years of racing, I’ve tried to treat everybody as best as I can as a person, and I’d hoped that would come back,” Quartuccio said. “But to be able to do this with Denise and Kelsey and Kaitlin, Jason, Dennis – my family is here.”
The inaugural DI Winter Series, with its record-setting 32-car fields, all-star lineups, and random chip draws to determine pairings in eliminations, brought out the best in drivers who’ve won everywhere else in the sport. Quartuccio, who’s won in outlaw Pro Mod, NHRA Pro Mod, PDRA Pro Boost, and Radial vs. the World, dealt with the pressure of facing the toughest drivers, tuners, and teams in the sport. But he also lined up against people he considers some of his closest friends.
“I said it and you could tell when I was upset with the chip draw, I meant it because Spencer Hyde and John Ricca and everybody here, when you have to draw them, it breaks my heart because that’s how much I care,” Quartuccio said. “Believe it or not, I’m rooting for them. Maybe it’s wrong, I don’t know. That’s why I like a ladder better because you have no choice. But it’s good for the fans, it’s good for the excitement.
“People don’t realize how hard this series is to race and how much heart and soul every team out here puts into it,” Quartuccio continued. “It could be really good or it could be really heartbreaking.”
Quartuccio went on to meet to two-time and reigning PDRA Pro Boost world champion Jason Harris in the third round, where he lost with a 3.606 to Harris’ 3.600, ending his hopes for a third consecutive race win following U.S. Street Nationals and Lights Out, but he still walked away with a historic championship.
“This is a dream come true for me,” said Quartuccio. “I know it sounds cliché, but this is what everyone aspires for.”
Steve King, who joined the exclusive WSOPM Champions Club when he defeated Stevie “Fast” Jackson in the $150,000 WSOPM final round by just .001 seconds, finished second in the Winter Series championship hunt. Points-and-a-half in WSOPM eliminations helped King bounce back from first-round exits at the first two races of the series.
“Absolutely crazy to look at this list and see guys and girls on this list who are the best in the world,” King said in a Facebook post. “This old guy with a twang has no words to even describe this deal!”
Jackson, a semifinalist at WSOPM last year just a week after winning Lights Out 15 in his screw-blown Motion Raceworks “Shadow 3.0” ’68 Camaro, locked up a third-place finish in points with his runner-up effort. Like King, he suffered first-round exits at the Snowbirds and U.S. Street Nationals.
“It’s pretty cool to finish third in points in this field of racers!” Jackson said on Facebook. “Hats off to everyone!”
Fourth place went to No Prep Kings star Kye Kelley, who turned heads with his victory at the Snowbirds. Despite not having a true purpose-built Pro Mod, Kelley proved himself in a field of the best Pro Modified drivers and cars in the world.
“Well boyz and girlz, I’m not giving up!” Kelley said on Facebook. “I have what it takes. The best tuners, a badass car, and a great team! We will be back.”
Rounding out the top five is Micke, who qualified No. 1 at all three Winter Series races to extend his No. 1 qualifying streak to 13 races. The driver of the twin-turbocharged M&M Transmission ’69 Camaro notched a semifinal finish at the Snowbirds, then had to lift early in a second-round match with four-time and reigning NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown at the U.S. Street Nationals. He bowed out to No Prep Kings standout Scott Taylor in the second round at WSOPM.
“I think it brings a lot of legitimacy to what we’ve done our whole lives racing,” Micke said of the Winter Series on the Wes Buck Show following the World Series. “We’re not professional racers, but we race like professionals, but we don’t get the notoriety. I think that’s what this has done, it’s opened eyes for a lot of people. You have Antron Brown and Brian Corradi, all those guys over there, and they’re telling us how badass we are and how they look and watch us. It’s really showcased what we’ve all known, but it’s showing it to the world.”
The list of five other drivers in the top 10 reads like a who’s-who list of doorslammer drivers: 2023 WSOPM runner-up Kurt Steding in sixth, multi-time PDRA Pro Boost and big-money Pro Mod winner Melanie Salemi in seventh, six-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders in eighth, past NMCA Xtreme Pro Mod champion Ty Tutterow in ninth, and 2024 WSOPM Chicago-Style Second Chance Shootout winner Jeff Rudolf in tenth.
This story was originally published on August 19, 2025. 
