“King Tut” Tutterow (Gary Rowe/Raceworks photo)

PDRA at Rockingham

Smith gases the Pro Nitrous field; Tutterow still king of PX

Ian Tocher and Dave Densmore contributed to this report
Photos by Ian Tocher and Gary Rowe/Raceworks

After four long and grinding days of testing, qualifying and then finally racing at historic Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina, doorslammer fans saw local legend “Tricky” Rickie Smith get an upset winner in Pro Nitrous and equally legendary racer Todd “King Tut” Tutterow got the Pro Extreme win at the second annual PDRA “Roar at the Rock”.

In keeping with the tradition of record speeds at the Rock Pro Extreme star Jose Gonzales in a turbo-charged Pro Extreme entry ran a mind-bending 227+ speed which is the fastest ever Rockingham Dragway owner/operator Steve Earwood hosted the PDRA series that showcases the quickest and fastest (and most dangerous) doorslammers racing on an eighth-mile track. The quickest and fastest of the doorslammer classes that headline the series are Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, and Pro Boost. Pro Extreme cars traverse the eighth-mile track at speeds approaching 230 mph and Elapsed Times in the 3.50-second range -- amazing performance for a car that weighs around 2500 lbs. 

Also picking up pro class wins in the all-eighth-mile event were polesitter Anthony Disomma in Pro Boost, reigning Pro Extreme Motorcycle Champion Eric McKinney, and top qualifier Phil Esz in the debut of Pro Open Outlaw.

Sportsman class victories went to Ronnie Proctor in Top Sportsman, Bo Upton in Top Dragster, and Preston Tanner and Samuel Peterson in Pro Jr. Dragster and Top Jr. Dragster, respectively.