PRO EXTREME

In Pro Extreme Tulsa track operator/racer Todd Martin set the early pace with a career best 3.567 lap which kept him on the pole for a couple of rounds and Frankie Taylor unloaded the first sub-3.50 ET but, in the end, Jason Scruggs’ teammate Bubba Stanton left the Rock with the Pro Extreme trophy and money.

Stanton, who was in the other lane Saturday night when Taylor became the first to break the 3.50 barrier (3.485 seconds), didn’t get a rematch on Sunday because the veteran racer from Dickinson, Texas, in the upset of the event was trailered in round one by number 16 qualifier Kuwait-based Anthony DiSomma when Taylor’s ‘Vette shook the tires hard forcing Taylor to lift.

Driving for team owner and PDRA co-founder Roger Henson, Bubba Stanton arrived with a brand-new, untested Jerry Bickel-built '69 Camaro. After making the first few shakedown passes in the car during Thursday's and Friday's test sessions at "The Rock," Stanton qualified second for the 16-car Pro Extreme (PX) field with an outstanding 3.514-second run at 218.94 mph, behind only an other-worldly 3.485 at 216.97 by Taylor driving his Larry Jeffers Race Cars ‘Vette.

"We figured when we got here that we might be able to run a .50; I had never even been in the .50s before and I would've been happy just to see a 3.59, so to go run 3.54 and then that .51, I am totally thrilled," Stanton said. "This car has been immaculate from the first time we started it up. I'm loving it."

Stanton ran an impressive trio of 3.53-second passes to set low elapsed time (ET) for each round of eliminations while getting by John Stanley, Joey Martin and Todd Martin (no relation) to reach the final.