Fredy Scriba chose a perfect moment to secure his first career victory in the PDRA’s Pro Nitrous division. The veteran Pro Modified racer clinched his inaugural win by defeating defending series champion Tommy Franklin in the final round of the PDRA ProStars event, part of Virginia Motorsports Park’s PBR Night of Fire.
The event itself was a challenge, as heavy rains on Friday forced the PDRA crew to repair the soaked racing surface. Despite these difficulties, the event proceeded, with Jason Harris (Pro Boost) and Amber Franklin (Pro 632) also emerging victorious. The Pro Stock division was not included due to a lack of participation.
Scriba’s victory earned him $15,000, a custom ProStars trophy, and significant bragging rights, though no championship points were awarded despite the event marking the midpoint of the 2024 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season. This season, Scriba has been close to winning multiple times, reaching the final round in two of the four Pro Nitrous events. His path to victory included wins over Dane Wood and past Elite Top Sportsman world champion Buddy Perkinson.
“We’ve been in a lot of finals, so it’s pretty important for us to finally get one,” said Scriba, who thanked his crew: Steve, Doug, Bailey, his parents, wife Shannon, and partners like Pat Musi, Robert Hayes, Marty Chance, Todd Tutterow with Ty-Drive, Adam Lambert with PRS Shocks, and Liberty’s Gears. “Whether it was for money or points, it didn’t really matter, but it’s really important just to get a win, more or less. We’ve been to a lot of finals, and it feels really good to finally win one.”
In the final round, Scriba used a holeshot advantage and a 3.713-second pass at 209.01 MPH to triumph over three-time reigning world champion Tommy Franklin, who posted a quicker 3.694 at 205.54.
Franklin reached the final round with wins over Derrick Ford and Marcus Butner.
Jason Harris, the reigning Pro Boost series champion, captured his first win of the season with the quickest run of the day. He drove his ’69 Camaro to a 3.635 at 205.13, claiming the $15,000 prize after Johnny Camp had to shut off due to a leak.
“It’s a big deal because this is kind of like an all-star race – the best of last year and the best of this year,” said Harris, who thanked his team and supporters like Southern Diamond Company, Pro Line, and Hoosier Racing Tire. “I haven’t really done much this year, but last year got me going. It’s another notch on your belt. It’s another big win. It’s a special trophy. It’s a special deal. We had crappy weather, obviously, but to win against the best of qualifying and winning from last year to this year, I think, speaks for itself. We got our car back. I didn’t want to win like that with John breaking in the finals, but a W is a W, and I’ll take it any day.”
Due to an unfavorable weather forecast preventing all eight qualified Pro 632 drivers from attending ProStars, race officials decided to reinstate the quickest losing driver from the first round to ensure two complete semifinal matchups. This twist benefited 2022 world champion Amber Franklin, who bounced back from her first-round holeshot loss to defending world champion Jeff Melnick. She defeated Melnick on a holeshot in the final round, posting a 4.201 at 168.89 in her Musi-powered ’69 Camaro, holding off Melnick’s 4.195 at 170.08, which set the low E.T. of the day.
“It feels really good to bounce back [from the first-round loss],” said Franklin, dedicating the win to the late Lizzy Musi. “Losing on a holeshot never feels good, no matter what round it is, but in this race, to be able to be put back in, it’s definitely not taken for granted, and I knew I wanted to go after it even harder. That last win light felt really good.”
Franklin set the low E.T. of the opening round with her 4.211 at 168.66, but Melnick’s quicker .042 reaction time and 4.223 at 168.81 were enough to hold her off. As the quickest losing driver of the first round, Franklin advanced to the semifinals, where she ran a 4.206 at 168.85, narrowly beating Jason Ventura’s 4.231 by just .002 seconds.
After defeating Franklin in the first round, Melnick posted a 4.205 at 169.91 in the semifinals, beating Jayme Thompson’s 4.23 and earning lane choice for the final by a thousandth of a second.
The PBR Night of Fire show also featured runs by Scott Palmer and Alex Laughlin in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Top Fuel dragsters, the Larsen Motorsports Jet Dragsters, Rick Ream’s wheelstander, fireworks, and a concert by country music recording artist Tyler Farr.
Other professional category winners included Ron Green (Pro Street) and Dan Whetstine (Super Street). Sportsman class victories went to Tim Molnar (Elite Top Sportsman), Frank Falter IV (Elite Top Dragster), Ed Foley (Top Sportsman), and Will Creasman (Top Dragster). In the Jr. Dragster categories, Ryan Harris (Pro Jr. Dragster) and Victoria Beaner (Top Jr. Dragster) emerged as winners.
The Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series will resume championship points-earning competition at the Northern Nationals presented by Talbert Manufacturing, Aug. 1-3, at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.
