Achenbach & Carr DOMINATE at PDRA's Northern Nationals driving their RJ Race Cars!

OMG, SOMEONE DID IT - “Mountain Man” Mike Achenbach and his team faced more than their fair share of adversity over the weekend, but their hard work and dedication were rewarded in the form of the Nazareth, Pennsylvania-based team’s first-ever Pro Nitrous victory. Achenbach used a starting line advantage and a 3.788 at 198.90 in his Brandon Switzer-tuned, Buck-powered “Deep Purple” ’69 Camaro to defeat Ed “Ironman” Burnley’s 3.765 at 199.26 in the final round.

“We struggled, we worked our asses off, we had a lot of problems, and it's just our time,” Achenbach said. “We had to weld a new front clip on it because I hit the wall after getting some water under the tires in testing, then we had engine issues. Had to change an engine out, had to redo some wiring and air lines on it. The second round we blew the transmission and had some more valvetrain issues. We got those fixed and here we are.”

It was also Achenbach’s first final-round appearance in PDRA Pro Nitrous competition.

“It's very rewarding because we're only maybe two years into this,” Achenbach said. “This is one of the top-of-the-line classes to run. I owe a lot to my teammate, all my team, and Brandon Switzer and Melissa Switzer. Eric Davis also does a lot and helps me out. It's just a big family.”

After struggling in rain-shortened qualifying, Achenbach went into eliminations as the No. 10 qualifier. He scored a big win over No. 1 qualifier and two-time world champion Tommy Franklin in the opening round when he ran a 3.757 at 193.90 next to Franklin’s 4.447. That win gave him a bye run in the second round, which he used to run a smooth 3.814 at 185.84. He moved on to the final round when Rob Hunnicutt left the starting line .269 too soon on a 3.794 pass, while Achenbach posted a 4.043 at 189.15 in their semifinal pairing.

Burnley, who qualified No. 9 in his “Ironman” ’69 Camaro, was also appearing in his first PDRA final round. Like Achenbach, he got a major upset win in the first round when his consistent 3.80 at 197.86 beat two-time and defending world champion Jim Halsey’s 4.045 at 189.76. Burnley kept things rolling in the second round with a 3.811 at 197.54 win over Tony Wilson and his 3.986. The Maryland driver idled to a 9.304 at 51.03 on his semifinal bye run.

CARR REBOUNDS WITH WIN - Last year’s Extreme Pro Stock championship runner-up, JR Carr, was admittedly in a bit of a first-round funk for the first few races of the 2021 season. But he won the Sonny Leonard Memorial Race at the PDRA Summer Shootout, then followed that up with a second consecutive victory at the Northern Nationals. In the final round, Carr ran a 4.097 at 177.23 to Chris Powers’ 4.095 at 175.66, but the race was over at the starting line when Powers went .006 red. Carr followed with a .218 light.

“It's very much needed,” Carr said of the second win. “I've been working on my lights. I had good lights in testing, I had good lights through qualifying. That one [in the final] was not good, but there was a major distraction. That's not a normal deal. It is what it is. We're really happy. It was a good race – two 4.09s. And that's the way it's supposed to be. I can't say enough about everyone on this team. I say it every single time, but they are the support for this to make it happen. I'm just one guy. They all deserve it so much. I've let them down a lot this year. It's been rough. Maybe I can do a little more before the year's over.”

Carr qualified No. 1 for the sixth time in as many races in his Frank Gugliotta-tuned, RJ Race Cars-built CP Carrillo/Maxima Racing Oils ’20 Camaro. The Washington native posted a 4.092 at 178.10 to defeat Dave Hughes in the first round before running a 4.097 at 176.95 to beat a red-lighting Elijah Morton and secure his spot in the final round.

Powers, from nearby Carlisle, qualified No. 2 in his Chuck Samuel-tuned Sonny’s Racing Engines ’14 Camaro. He moved on past 2018 world champion Steven Boone in the opening round with a 4.108 to Boone’s 4.169. He won his second-round pairing with defending world champion Johnny Pluchino when Pluchino went red by .001 on a 4.129, while Powers ran a 4.152.