Tue, 23 Dec 2025, 07:09 AM Ty Tutterow Becomes Second-Generation PDRA Pro Boost World Champion

Courtesy of Drag Illustrated on behalf of the PDRA Photos by Tara Bowker and Gary Rowe

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Following in the footsteps of his father, Todd "King" Tut" Tutterow, Ty Tutterow raced his way to a 2025 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series world championship in WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive. He reached the final round at the last five races of the season and won three of them to add another PDRA Pro Boost world championship to the family trophy case, which includes Todd's Pro Boost titles in 2014 and 2022.

Tutterow started the season taking over the driver's seat in Justin Smith's screw-blown Quik Fuel '69 Camaro, which Todd drove to a third-place finish in the 2024 season. Ty reached the semifinals at the season opener, then failed to qualify at the Mid-Atlantic Showdown at Virginia Motorsports Park, continuing a streak that saw Todd DNQ at both Virginia events in 2024.

The Quik Fuel team bounced back in a big way, as Tutterow picked up his first PDRA 660 Man trophy in several seasons when he won the North vs. South Shootout at Maryland. He then went red in a side-by-side 3.57-second final around at the Northern Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan. The next race, the Thunder Valley Throwdown at Bristol Dragway, was completed at GALOT Motorsports Park leading into DragWars. Tutterow won both events, defeating Melanie Salemi in the final round of the Bristol and GALOT events. That gave Tutterow a substantial lead over Salemi going into the season finale.

Ty Tutterow celebrates his Pro Boost world championship with his mother, Denise, and father, Todd, at Virginia Motorsports Park. Gary Rowe photo

Before Tutterow could think about winning rounds at the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park, he had to focus on merely qualifying. That was something his car hadn't done in three prior attempts at Virginia, but Tutterow broke that streak when he threw down a 3.584-second pass in the opening qualifying session to sit No. 2 behind Salemi. He ended up No. 5 on the final qualifying order.

"Knowing that [Virginia] was our Achilles heel with this car, we came off the trailer and ran a .58, so it was just an immediate sigh of relief," Tutterow said. "It's like, 'Alright, now we can focus, we go make some more runs, we can qualify and race,' and then we went another .58 in the first round of qualifying. Once again, you can focus on everything else you've got going on and take it run by run, round by round."

Tutterow and Salemi both won side-by-side races to get through to the second round of eliminations, where they met up for a pressure-packed match. Both drivers were off their usual pace, but Tutterow made the most of his run and reached the finish line first, securing the championship in the process. He went on to reach his fifth consecutive final round, where he went red to outgoing two-time world champion Jason Harris.

Tutterow won another championship at the World Finals, as he tuned Ethan Steding to his second consecutive world championship in Liberty's Gears Pro Street presented by Menscer Motorsports. That was another hard-fought championship battle that came down to the final day of the season.

"It's another feather in the cap," Tutterow said. "I started working in the shop when I was 13-14 years old, trying to learn all the aspects on the car to be well-rounded enough to go around the cars and then get the opportunity to start tuning them as well as driving. I'm not going to say tuning is my forte. I would like to say driving is. I'm just grateful for the opportunity that everybody has given me in life. I'm very blessed.

Ty Tutterow's screw-blown Quik Fuel '69 Camaro owned by Justin Smith Tara Bowker photo

"I've got to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," Tutterow continued. "Thanks to Justin Smith, his family, Paul, KB, Brad, my mom, my dad, my wife and kids. They all come and travel and go with me to every race. I appreciate the Stedings and the opportunity to work on their cars and tune one of them. I'd also like to thank Mark Beatty with Red Line Oil, MGP rods, Chris Bell and Kinetic Engineering shocks, Alan Pittman Race Cars, and Noonan Engineering."

The weight of the moment was evident in the championship winner's circle as Tutterow reflected on the highs and lows of the season and how it all culminated in his first Pro Boost world championship.

"It means the world. It's a childhood dream come true," said Tutterow, who's also an NMCA Xtreme Pro Mod champion. "Coming out here and doing all this with family on the weekends just means everything. Doing it with my dad, and Justin and his family, Kurt [Steding] and his family - it's all one big family here, and to go out here and do good and be successful and run at the front and maybe even win more than we deserve, it's just awesome."

Jason Harris, who won the last two Pro Boost titles, finished second in the points standings with a one win in two final-round appearances in his ProCharged Southern Diamond Company "Party Time" '69 Camaro. Salemi finished third with one win in three final-round appearances driving Eddie Whelan's screw-blown Al-Lee Installations "Purple Reign" '68 Firebird.

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