Courtesy Drag Illustrated Nate Van Wagnen

Images Geoff Sculley and Drag Illustrated

Outgoing Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous world champion Fredy Scriba went back-to-back at Thursday night’s fifth annual Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars, winning the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series’ all-star race for the second straight year. Scriba picked up the $15,000 win at Virginia Motorsports Park when he defeated two-time Pro 632 world champion turned Pro Nitrous rookie Amber Denton in the final round. 

ProStars is a lead-in to the PDRA’s season finale, the Pro Line Racing Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by ProCharger, Friday through Sunday. The weekend also includes VMP’s Night of Fire on Saturday with a special lineup of Nostalgia Funny Cars, jet cars, and a wheelstander. 

Drivers qualified to compete in the ProStars race using a special points system. Those drivers got the chance to make two test passes Thursday before random chip drawings set the pairings for eliminations. 

Melanie Salemi (WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive), Ron Green (Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by Menscer Motorsports), Jordan Ensslin (AED Competition Fuel Systems Extreme Pro Stock), Walter Lannigan (PDRA Pro 632 presented by PTC Torque Converters), and Carson Perry (PDRA Super Street presented by Brian’s Heating & Cooling) also claimed ProStars titles in the pro categories. 

In the PDRA’s sportsman ranks, the winners were Bryan LaFlam in MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines, Kyle Harris in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster presented by Greenbrier Excavating & Paving, Mark Reese in MagnaFuel Top Sportsman, and Dave Petrofske in Laris Motorsports Insurance Top Dragster presented by Derrick Wolfe Trucking. 

PRO NITROUS

One year after securing his first career Pro Nitrous world championship at the 2024 World Finals, Fredy Scriba raced to his second consecutive ProStars victory in his Musi-powered “Sorcerer” ’69 Camaro. The final round pitted him against two-time and reigning Pro 632 world champion Amber Denton, who stepped up to Pro Nitrous this season. Though Denton moved first, Scriba rolled to his quickest pass of the season, a 3.622-second blast at 207.24 mph, and Denton lifted to a 4.283 at 130.89. 

“Sometimes it’s the car, sometimes it’s the driver,” Scriba said. “I was a little tardy on the tree, but we made up for it down track. I’m just happy the car is making consistent runs right now. It’s a good start for the weekend. We’ll see how the rest of it goes. It’s pretty neat – two events in one weekend. It’s good to get a lot of laps the first day. It’s really helpful.”

Scriba used a holeshot advantage in the first round to knock out recent DragWars winner and championship contender Marcus Butner, who posted a quicker 3.629 at 207.82 to Scriba’s 3.645 at 206.83. He was quicker than semifinal opponent John Vergotz at both ends of the track, winning with a 3.630 at 207.34 to Vergotz’s 3.712 at 200.41. 

Denton, who held the points lead earlier in her rookie season, was consistent in both reaction times and elapsed times en route to the final in her Musi-powered “OG Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro. She started the evening with a 3.648 at 206.73 to defeat Brian Shrader’s 3.870 at 156.64, then knocked out her father, points leader and three-time world champion Tommy Franklin, on a holeshot in the semifinals. She ran a 3.635 at 206.86 to Franklin’s 3.615 at 208.59. 

PRO BOOST

Pro Boost world championship contender Melanie Salemi started building momentum for the World Finals as she wheeled Eddie Whelan’s screw-blown Al-Lee Installations “Purple Reign” ’68 Firebird to a string of 3.50-second passes to earn the ProStars win. All three of Salemi’s passes in eliminations were quicker than the current class E.T. national record of 3.555 seconds. She capped off the streak with a 3.547 at 210.87 in the final round to defeat a red-lighting Jason Lee, who recorded a 3.566 at 211.20. 

“Evan and Jon [Salemi] have been working tirelessly to get our program to be where it is right now,” Salemi said. “We’ve had a lot of struggles, but then we’ve also had a lot of great times at the racetrack this year. I’m going to probably say it’s been my best season so far, but like I said, there’s been trials and tribulations along the way. 

“To get this win tonight, obviously it’s not a full four-round race, but there were tough competitors and I don’t think anybody was ready for us to come out this evening and lay down the 3.54,” Salemi added. “I actually wasn’t even ready for it because I just focus on driving. It’s just really awesome being able to race with our family and our best friends and know that everybody has the same goal in mind and everybody puts in 100% of their effort into everything that they do.”

Salemi, who sits second in the points standings by just under three rounds behind Ty Tutterow, set low E.T. of the race in the opening round with her 3.543 at 211.73 next to Kurt Steding and his 3.583 at 210.24. Salemi charged to a 3.550 at 212.39 in the semifinals to defeat Joel Wensley Sr., who slowed to a 4.217. 

Lee, who made it into ProStars as an alternate, made it past two-time and reigning world champion and defending event champion Jason Harris in a wild first-round match. Harris went red on a 3.604 at 209.56 pass, while Lee drove Eric Gustafson’s screw-blown Coast Packing Co. ’20 Camaro to a 3.597 at 209.07. Semifinal opponent Steve King rolled the beams, allowing Lee to coast to a 5.770 at 82.66 to advance to the final. 

EXTREME PRO STOCK

Less than a month after Jordan Ensslin earned his first career Extreme Pro Stock win at the rain-delayed Thunder Valley Throwdown, the third-generation racer hoisted another trophy Thursday night after knocking out 2023 world champion and points leader Alan Drinkwater in the final round.  Ensslin in his Allen-powered “Seabiscuit” ’09 Mustang led wire-to-wire, lighting up the scoreboards with a career-best 4.014 at 179.40 to Drinkwater’s 4.024 at 179.78. 

“Winning ProStars is pretty special and important,” Ensslin said. “It’s a specialty race. The money is good, of course, but just being able to go rounds with our family and friends helping us, it means a lot because we put a lot of heart and soul and dedication into this whole program and to see it come to fruition is pretty astounding.”

Ensslin made career-best runs before the final as well, starting with a 4.030 at 178.33 to get past two-time and reigning world champion Chris Powers and his 9.924 in the first round. He then made the most of a semifinal bye run, throwing down a 4.017 at 179.02. 

Drinkwater in his Kaase-powered Flatout Gaskets ’08 Mustang advanced past the first round with a 4.046 at 179.02 over Elijah Morton’s 4.076 at 175.68. He shut down championship challenger Jeremy Huffman in the semis with a 4.042 at 179.56 to Huffman’s wounded 4.082 at 164.65. 

PRO STREET

For the second year in a row, Chesterfield, Virginia’s Ron Green walked away with the ProStars Pro Street victory. This year, he made it into the race-your-way-in event as an alternate in his newly screw-blown “Gamechanger” ’00 Firebird. He took advantage of the opportunity, leaving on final-round opponent Richard Reagan and crossing the finish line first with a 3.872 at 202.58. Reagan fired off a 3.852 at 199.67, which would’ve set a new class E.T. record if ProStars was a record-eligible event. 

Green opened eliminations by defeating Reagan’s teammate, Scott Kincaid, with a 3.896 at 203.92 to Kincaid’s 3.925. Another side-by-side race followed in the semis, where he beat championship contender Blake Denton and his 3.914 at 188.33 with a 3.879 at 203.22. 

Reagan in his screw-blown ’91 Mustang made it through a tough first-round match with Joel Wensley Jr., posting a 3.902 at 186.95 to Wensley’s 3.947. When points leader and reigning world champion Ethan Steding slowed to a 4.389 in the semis, Reagan capitalized by throwing down a 3.875 at 199.17

PRO 632

Perennial Pro 632 championship contender Walter Lannigan extended his round-win streak to seven as he followed up his recent DragWars victory with a ProStars win in David Cook’s Nelson-powered Copy&PrintWarehouse.com ’10 GTO. Paired up with Kyle Salminen in the final round, Lannigan caught a break when Salminen threw away his quicker 4.158 at 176.70 with a .009-second red light. Lannigan muscled his way to a 4.172 at 169.25 victory lap. 

In the first round, Lannigan overcame a massive holeshot advantage by Gary Hood, running a 4.129 at 170.67 to Hood’s 4.412 at 160.40. The Georgia native was back on his starting line game in the semis against newly crowned two-time world champion Jeff Melnick in the semis and won with a 4.131 at 170.17, while Melnick slowed to an 8.797. 

Salminen, who won the Mid-Atlantic Showdown at Virginia earlier this year, started eliminations with a 4.166 at 166.58, while opponent Nicole Liberty couldn’t make the run. He then drove around a quicker-reacting Jason Ventura and his 4.198 in the semifinals with a 4.15 at 164.99 in his Musi-powered ’03 Cavalier. 

SUPER STREET

Super Street rookie Carson Perry broke through to pick up his first win in the category by defeating fellow young gun Matt Schalow in a final that guaranteed a first-time winner. Schalow left the starting line first, but Perry powered to a career-best 4.503 at 157.58 in his Greenbrier Excavating & Paving ’00 Camaro. That was more than enough to defeat Schalow, who slowed to a 5.078 at 104.58. 

Perry started the evening with a first-round win over reigning world champion and defending event winner Dan Whetstine. The two drivers left the line together before Perry pulled ahead with a 4.507 at 157.69 to Whetstine’s 4.576 at 160.08. Perry then lifted early on a semifinal bye run, coasting to a 4.911 at 113.38. 

Similarly, Schalow in his Knieriem-powered ’69 Camaro got a free pass in the first round, lifting to a 9.230 at 67.89. He stepped up to a 4.622 at 155.76 in the semis to deny points leader Connor McGee, who matched Schalow’s .048 reaction time but followed with a 4.631 at 150.95.  

TOP SPORTSMAN

Elite Top Sportsman points leader Bryan LaFlam started his World Finals with a non-points-earning ProStars win when he defeated fellow championship contender Tim Lawrence in the final round. LaFlam, who has one win in his supercharged BigStuff TPM ’67 Mustang, got the starting line advantage and turned on the win light with a 3.734 on a 3.71 dial-in. Lawrence, no stranger to Thursday night eight-car shootouts, posted a 3.91 on a 3.89 dial-in in his nitrous-fed Bell Trucking ’13 Camaro. 

Dinwiddie’s own Mark Reese kept the Top Sportsman trophy in town after surviving a double-red-light final round over Ronnie Proctor, who rolled the beams and coasted across the finish line. Reese left just .006 seconds too soon and ran a 4.212 on a 4.18 dial-in in his ’08 Mustang for the win. 

TOP DRAGSTER

In a side-by-side final-round battle between the two most recent Elite Top Dragster world champions, points leader and reigning world champion Kyle Harris emerged victorious over two-time champion Steve Furr. Harris in his supercharged DFS Projects ’32 Bantam Altered left first with a .002 reaction time to Furr’s .004 and powered to a 3.74 on a 3.73 dial-in to turn on the win light. Furr broke out by .001 in his ProCharged ’13 American dragster with a 3.739 on a 3.74 dial-in. 

Virginia’s Troy Williams came up .006 seconds short of a home track win in Top Dragster as he went red by .006 seconds in his ’15 Miller dragster before running a 4.476 on a 4.46 dial-in. That opened the door for Pennsylvania’s Dave Petrofske, who coasted to the win with a 10.400 on a 4.18 dial-in in his ’21 Precision dragster. 

JR DRAGSTER

The series’ rising stars in the Jr. Dragster classes also took part in ProStars, with victories going to Sofie Cooper in Paragon Pro Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products and Knox Schween in Classic Graphix Top Jr. Dragster presented by Philadelphia Racing Products. Cooper, who closed out the 2024 season with a win at the World Finals, added another Virginia accolade to her young career with her final-round victory over Pro Jr. Dragster points leader Alyssa Rabon. She left first and ran a 7.902, while Rabon broke out with a 7.899, both on the 7.90 index. Schween, who enters the World Finals as the points leader with three event wins, cut a .001 reaction time and ran an 8.916 on his 8.90 dial-in to defeat Braydon Crayton’s 8.951 on an 8.95 dial-in.