The PDRA Applauds Its 2016 Champions PITTSBORO, N.C. (November 3, 2016): As the sun sets on the Professional Drag Racers Association’s third season, the growing series applauds its next regime of World Champions. Many faces are new to wearing the laudable #1, while a few returners welcome the badge of honor with familiarity. Battles were hard fought over the nine race series between hundreds of worthy competitors, but only eight gentlemen and one lady would rise to the top. The 2016 PDRA World Champions are: Brandon Snider (pictured) (NAS Racing Pro Extreme), Tommy Franklin (Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by MoTeC), Kevin Rivenbark (GALOT Motorsports Pro Boost), Eric McKinney (Drag965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle), John Pluchino (PDRA Extreme Pro Stock), Dan Ferguson (Ronnie Davis Top Sportsman presented by MagnaFuel), Justin Kirk (Lucas Oil Top Dragster), Kendal Little (Talbert Pro Junior Dragster), and Mia Schultz (MegaCorp Top Junior Dragster). Atmore, Alabama’s Brandon Snider bookended the year with wins in Pro Extreme. Another win at the Memphis Drags and two runner up finishes (Summer Drags and Dragstock) meant that Snider was in the finals more often than not this season. He started the year off with a bang, resetting the national ET record with a stellar 3.486 pass, a number which held all the way through the year. As a former U.S. Army National Guardsman, Snider has the work ethic and dedication necessary to achieve the highest level of success in professional eighth-mile drag racing. He has been a Pro Extreme frontrunner for years, but at the beginning of this season he put greater emphasis on his goal to go rounds, win races, and the championship. After a year-long and hard fought battle with reigning champ, Jason Scruggs, he accomplished his mission. Brandon Snider is the 2016 NAS Racing Pro Extreme World Champion.     Tommy Franklin played the bridesmaid for the PDRA’s first two seasons. Although proud to wear the #2, it only made his itch for a World Championship greater. He started out the season with an impressive win, briefly taking the points lead. Franklin raced neck-and-neck with former Minor League Baseball player Jay Cox all season, with Cox holding a slight lead over Franklin for parts of the year. Cox and Franklin met in the semi-final round of the World Finals, making it the championship-determining round. Franklin not only won that round, he won the race and did so by smashing the current national ET record. In unequivocal fashion, Franklin would be the bridesmaid no more. Tommy Franklin is the 2016 Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by MoTeC World Champion. GALOT Motorsports fielded two drivers in the class it title sponsored this year, Kevin Rivenbark and John Strickland. In an unprecedented sweep, one of those two drivers won every event this year. Rivenbark began the year winning three in a row, before Strickland took over, winning the next three. Rivenbark would repeat the last half of the year, sweeping the final three events and locking up his first-ever championship early. Kevin Rivenbark is the 2016 GALOT Motorsports Pro Boost World Champion. On paper it looks at though the 2016 PXM Champ is no surprise. However, for much of the year, Eric McKinney found himself in an unfamiliar spot, sitting behind number one in points. Chris Garner-Jones led the class the majority of the season, although McKinney continually nipped at his heels and took over the top spot briefly mid-season before Garner-Jones got it back. Going into the World Finals, Garner-Jones still held a slight lead over McKinney despite McKinney beating him in the finals of the Sunshine State Shootout. At the World Finals McKinney pulled out all the stops and another win to oust Garner-Jones by 146 points, effectively securing his third straight championship. Eric McKinney is the 2016 Drag965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle World Champion. Although Extreme Pro Stock was only contested at five events this season, the class produced incredible naturally aspirated competition. New Yorker John Pluchino and North Carolinian Richard Penland set themselves apart as favorites early in the year. They each had one win and two runner up finishes this season, but it would be Pluchino with the most points when all was said and done. The self-proclaimed underdog team became top dog this year by virtue of a two point over Penland. John Pluchino is the 2016 PDRA Extreme Pro Stock World Champion. It was an emotional year for young gun Dan Ferguson. The 2014 TS Champ was devastated like so many others in the PDRA family when his friend, mentor and drag racing icon Ronnie Davis succumbed to injuries from an on-track accident at the PDRA Spring Drags in early April. Ferguson went on to win that event in Davis’ honor. He took over the points lead there and never looked back, winning his second world championship in three years. Ferguson has led the points for an astounding 19 of the PDRA’s contested 24 events. Dan Ferguson is the 2016 Ronnie Davis Top Sportsman presented by MagnaFuel World Champion. A fellow up and coming racer proved his staying power in the sport this year in Lucas Oil Top Dragster. Justin Kirk, son of Pro Stock legend Doug Kirk, battled through mechanical issues in his car - switching cars and motors in the last half of the season - to not only get his first-ever Top Dragster win, but commandingly win his first ever championship, as well. Kirk first made history this year when he and his father won Dragstock XIII to become the first father/son duo to win the same PDRA event. Kirk followed that with another win at the Sunshine State Shootout and a semi-final round appearance at the World Finals. Justin Kirk is the 2016 Lucas Oil Top Dragster World Champion. Despite missing two events on the tour this season, Kendal Little utilized three wins to certify his lead in Pro Junior Dragster. The Texas racer won the first two events, as well as Dragstock XIII and edged out three female racers giving him a run for his money to claim his first PDRA championship. The multi-talented young man also began college at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor this fall on a basketball scholarship. Kendal Little is the Talbert Pro Junior Dragster World Champion. Mia Schultz stayed busy this year, running in both Pro Junior Dragster and Top Junior Dragster. Having extra seat time in the car paid off, as she scored wins in both categories. It was in TJD where she really shined, however. With two wins and four semi-final appearances she was able to shake off her number two finish from last year to claim her tenth championship in her junior dragster career. Mia Schultz is the 2016 MegaCorp Pro Junior Dragster World Champion. The PDRA will properly celebrate its 2016 Champions at the PDRA Awards Banquet, held December 10 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Details can be found at www.pdra660.com. Photo: Gary Rowe / PDRA660.com   ABOUT THE PDRA Based in Pittsboro, North Carolina, the Professional Drag Racers Association is the top sanctioning body in the United States for the sport of eighth-mile drag racing. The PDRA’s professional categories include Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Pro Boost, and Pro Extreme Motorcycle along with Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Pro Jr. Dragster, and Top Jr. Dragster. The 2016 PDRA schedule consists of nine national events. For more on the world’s premier eighth mile drag racing organization visit www.pdra660.com. Follow the PDRA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. PRESS CONTACT: Lisa Collier Professional Drag Racers Association lisa@pdra660.com 704.692.4636