PRO BOOST

The Pro Boost final was between a pair of standard Roots supercharger-equipped racecars belonging to Canada's Eric Latino and North Carolina doorslammer legend Todd Tutterow. It may be remembered as much for what came before it as how it ended with Latino taking the PDRA Summer Drags hardware home to Whitby, Ontario.

As the final rounds began with the Jr. Dragster classes, both drivers were waiting in the staging lanes at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park when Tutterow suddenly dropped to the ground, writhing in pain and begging for help to relieve a sudden, stabbing headache. Track medical personnel quickly ran to Tutterow's side, where they discovered some sort of insect had burrowed into the driver's ear, causing severe pain and affecting his equilibrium.

They were able to extract the bothersome bug with water and after Tutterow's balance quickly returned, PDRA officials decided he could still compete, but delayed the Pro Boost final to the last race of the event.

Latino qualified his Roots-blown, Hemi-powered '69 Camaro with a 3.870 pass at 191.25 mph, behind only Australian Paul Mouhayet, who in his first race on American soil and with a brand-new, untested, twin-turbocharged 2013 Mustang, ran 3.836 seconds at 206.64 mph to secure the top spot. Tyler Miller started third, with Tutterow in the fourth qualifying position with his new '69 Camaro before eliminations began Saturday afternoon.

Tutterow took down Jeremy Ray, Steve Summers and Mouhayet, who was unable to make it to the semis, while Latino defeated Randy Bryan, Larry Higgenbotham and Tutterow's teammate, Kevin Rivenbark, to reach the final round.

Latino gave credit to chassis consultant Joe Lepone Jr. for a turnaround in performance after struggling with power application problems early this year. "The car drives like a Cadillac now," Latino said.

"It's my team, though, they got the job done," he added. "I'm happy to have won this for them."

PRO EXTREME MOTORCYCLE

Past two-time class champion Eric McKinney was pretty pleased when he unloaded his 2012 Suzuki for pre-race testing at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park where it promptly ran 4.04 at 177 mph with the same tune-up still in it after winning the previous PDRA event a few weeks earlier at Memphis, TN.

"Other than the most basic maintenance -- changing the oil and plugs -- we didn't even touch the motor since Memphis," McKinney said.

The tactic seemed sound, too, after he led through the first two of three scheduled qualifying rounds with a 4.075 at 175.69 effort, but then Western Canada's Terry Schweigert stepped up with a 4.072 at 172.28 in the final session.

"Man, I was bummed that we lost the number-one qualifier, but this definitely makes up for it," McKinney declared, hoisting a PDRA Summer Drags trophy immediately after going 4.080 at 175.05 to defeat a red lighting Dave Norris in the final round.

TOP SPORTSMAN/TOP DRAGSTER

He won a championship last season, but the inaugural PDRA Summer Drags represent the first event win for Top Sportsman driver Aaron Glaser in the '69 Camaro he purchased late in 2012 from Pro Nitrous star Bob Rahaim.

Glaser started from the number-five position and beat Boyd Beyer, Glenn Butcher and Curt Fredrich in order to reach Eric Burnett in the final.

"That was great," Glaser declared after taking the win. "I've known Eric my whole life, we've raced Jr. Dragsters together, I've painted all his cars; it's great to share an experience like this with a true friend.

"We had a great year last year, won a lot of rounds and that's what kept the points coming, but we just never could put a run together that got us through the final round," he added. "So it feels really good to get that first win with this car."

For the second-straight race, Jeff Mandell brought the Top Dragster trophy home to Culleoka, KY, winning from the 12th starting position with his Pro Fab-built dragster over ninth-place qualifier Jim Prevo in the final.

In a double-breakout final, Isaac Evans of Athens, AL, ran 7.890 at 83.64 in the Pro Jr. Dragster final to beat a 7.888 at 83.16 by Preston Tanner. The Top Jr. Dragster win went to Scottie Taylor, son of PDRA Pro Extreme star Frankie Taylor.

The PDRA returns to action on July 25-26, when it visits Virginia Motorsports Park, near Richmond, for the inaugural U.S. Drags. Complimentary tickets will be available at many retail outlets near the track, or may be printed for free from www.pdra660.com/free-tickets/2014/us-drags.