Nitro Cars Blast Off in Bradenton, as the Inaugural PRO Superstar Shootout Gets Underway at Bradenton Motorsports Park Today

Although Bradenton Motorsports Park has a rich history involving everything from street cars to Pro Mods, a new chapter is being written over the next three days, as BMP hosts the first-ever PRO Superstar Shootout.

The event, which will pay in excess of 1.3 million dollars, will showcase the quickest and fastest classes in drag racing, including the nitro-burning Top Fuel Dragsters and Fuel Funny Cars.

Some may not know that Bradenton Motorsports Park has hosted nitro-burning hot rods before, as they were traditionally part of the season-ending Snowbird Nationals in December.

It was also commonplace to see several teams test at BMP before the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Gatornationals, traditionally held in March.

But for this event, the rare combination of record payouts and no championship points to worry about, will create an atmosphere of swinging for the fences and some record times and speeds.

The additional ideas and features that the Professional Racer Owners Organization (PRO) and Drag Illustrated have combined on include additional VIP sections for seating and track viewing, several Q & A sessions with drivers throughout the event, two autograph sessions for fans on Friday, and a trio of concerts to be held.

For this unique event, the fields feature a unique invite-only list of drivers, and although each and every class is packed with talent, the qualified fields will shorten that list of drivers for round one from a normal sixteen slots to an elite eight in Top Fuel and Funny Car.

To get there, a total of four qualifying sessions will take place as part of Thursday and Friday action. Once qualifying is complete, the cars and drivers that make it in will be paired by random chip draw each round for eliminations on Saturday until only two remain.

The winners of Top Fuel and Funny Car take home a cool quarter-million dollars, while the Pro Stock class champion will receive $125,000 for their accolades. The event will be capped off by a concert Saturday night at the conclusion of racing action in not only Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock, but also as winners are crowned in the sportsman-based Stock Eliminator, Super Stock and Top Sportsman classes,

Clay Millican, who won at Bradenton as a sportsman racer in the late 1990s, made a statement in Thursday evening’s lone qualifying session when he laid down a 3.688 at 336.49 to take the provisional No. 1 spot by speed. He was one of three drivers who raced into the 3.60-second zone, with several other drivers running in the 3.70s at over 330 MPH. 

“That sure was a great way to start a race with a quarter-million dollars on the line,” said Millican, who raced against YouTuber Cleetus McFarland and his turbocharged ‘Ruby’ Corvette during Wednesday testing. “I did so much screaming and yelling yesterday I lost my voice. But Saturday night, if I get that 250 grand, I will figure out how to scream by Saturday night if that that comes true.”

Mike Salinas qualified No. 2 with a 3.688 at 328.86 in his Scrappers Racing Top Fuel dragster. Eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher is third in his Leatherwood Distillery dragster with a 3.696 at 330.96. 

Bob Tasca III, one of the PRO members involved in the planning of the PRO Superstar Shootout, got a moment in the spotlight Thursday night after recording a 3.84 at 339.87 in his PPG ’19 Ford Mustang to take the provisional No. 1 position. His speed matched the national MPH record in the class, providing Tasca and his team with a burst of enthusiasm going into Friday’s three qualifying sessions. 

“We are thrilled to have this PPG Shelby Mustang No. 1 after the first round of qualifying,” Tasca said. “To make the fastest run ever tied with Robert Hight is pretty special. That run just shows you how the work we are putting into this Ford is paying off. My hat is off to (crew chiefs) Aaron Brooks and Todd Okuhara and our entire team. Our intention was to do something special at this event for the sponsors and for the fans. I think the Funny Cars and Top Fuel dragsters are all trying to make this a very special event for everyone. I don’t think the special runs are over.”

Sixteen-time world champion John Force, who raced at Bradenton in the 1980s, qualified second with a 3.849 at 332.59 in his PEAK Performance ’23 Camaro SS. Force’s teammate, Top Fuel driver turned Funny Car rookie Austin Prock, is third with a 3.851 at 331.77 in the Cornwell Tools ’24 Camaro SS tuned by his father, Jimmy Prock. 

In Pro Stock, Dallas Glenn took the provisional No. 1 spot on Thursday during round one of qualifying. Glenn powered his RAD Torque Systems Camaro to a 6.507 at 210.97 after launching hard at the starting line. He kept his hot rod hooked up to outrun Troy Coughlin Jr. and go to the No. 1 spot.

“My run was really nice, and it felt really nice. It was a little slippery at 1,000 foot, but nothing I couldn’t handle,” said Glenn. “We’re really happy to be here. We have great weather, and we tested. We worked really hard over the offseason, and everything’s running really well. We’re really happy to have RAD Torque Systems back on board, and Summit, Bell Helmets, and hopefully a few more.

Jerry Tucker propelled his Outlaw Beer Camaro to the second quickest during the opening session with a 6.51 at 211.66. Bo Butner is right behind Tucker thanks to his run of 6.51 at 211.69.

Dallas Glenn leads the Pro Stock field after one session, with Jerry Tucker and Bo Butner rounding out the top three spots.

Friday will see gates opening at 9 am, with Stock Eliminator, Super Stock and Top Sportsman classes hitting the track first at 10 am.

The first of two fan autograph sessions will also start at 10 am. Then the first of three qualifying sessions for the day in the professional classes begins with Pro Stock at 11:15 am, followed by Funny Car and Top Fuel at noon.

The event will also be streamed live on Flo Racing all three days.

Written by Derek Putnam/Drag Illustrated. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.

If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com