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It was raining records at the
Xtreme Dragbike Association's
25th annual PFR Spring Nationals
this past weekend at Maryland
International Raceway™ (MDIR).
For those in attendance it felt
like we were hitting a milestone
or dropping a record every
round. XDA had the most
impressive season opener in
history, #ChangeMyMind.
XDA racers tore down the gates
and packed the pits to deliver
the highest racer count for a
season opener spanning all of
MIROCK, IDBL and XDA events with
803 entries. This count also
comes in as the second highest
racer count, falling in behind
the 2015 WPGC Bike Fest. "We are
grateful to see the growing
support of the series and expect
to keep growing in a way that
best supports our loyal racers,"
said XDA Director of Operations
Chris Miller.
The Thursday Pro test session
had almost forty Pro racers on
the premises either getting last
minute tunes adjusted or getting
on track for the first time this
year. Thursday also gave us the
first Dunlop tire test on the
DME Racing/Connelly 2018 Gold
Pro Street bike. A Rep from
Dunlop was on site all weekend
talking with teams as they
prepared to develop a
competitive and affordable tire
specifically for our Pro
classes. "It's always great to
see another tire manufacturer
taking an interest in our
sport," stated XDA promoter
Jason Miller. "We need an
affordable option that can hold
the power these bikes are making
while giving everyone a level
playing field."
The DME Team brought their bike
that had been sitting since last
season to use as a tester for
the tire, and the first pass out
it ran an impressive 6.88. Then
during the Friday Test session,
they made another pass, this
time running a 6.68! "The
results speak for themselves. We
are excited to see what
continued testing turns up by
the other teams. It looks
promising," stated Miller.
Penske Pro
Street Shootout
Winner - Rodney
Williford 6.572
Runner-up - Jason Dunigan 6.675
In its second year, the Penske
Pro Street Shootout continues to
add excitement to an already
thriving class. This year the
sign up for the eight spots were
gone in 30 seconds. Shootout
competitors run first in the run
order, and with the chase to the
fifties boiling, the big guns
wanted those first spots to get
out on the track. Pro Street
rookie Chris Moore took the
first-round win only to be taken
out in round two by Jason
Dunigan on a personal best pass
running 6.648, making Dunigan
the fastest 200lb Pro Street
rider. Rodney Williford took out
Jamie Lopes in round one with an
unheard of 230.37 mph record
MPH! He then went on to take out
another DME Racing player, Chris
Connelly Jr. with a 6.560 on his
way to meet Dunigan in the final
Saturday night. Dunigan got the
holeshot on Williford, but the
Williford Racing powerplant
caught him before the thousand
foot and kept a bike length on
him through the finish line to
run a 6.572 to Dunigan's 6.675.
Williford's MPH Record and Win
were just the start of his
weekend.
Orient Express
Racing Pro Street
Winner - Rodney Williford
Runner-up - Richard Gadson
#1 Qualifier - Jeremy Teasley
6.492
ET Record – Rodney Williford
6.515
MPH Record - Rodney Williford
230.37
Copious record performances have
set the tone in Orient Express
Pro Street class for the 2019
season. Last season Frankie
Stotz ran four 6.60 passes
heating up the race for the
first to the fifty. Racers were
rumored to have hit the 50's
during off-season testing, and
then the first Pro Street race
at SGMP came around, but no
fifty. Then Rodney Williford
loaded up and headed to
Gainesville for a shot, again no
fifty.
Thursday testing came and went
and no fifty. But during Friday
afternoon testing Rodney
Williford and Jeremy Teasley
decided to run together and put
on a show for the afternoon
crowd. These two titans put the
first side-by-side 6.50 pass on
the board. Teasley ran a 6.52 at
214 mph, and Williford a 6.55 at
226mph. But these numbers would
not be official as it was a test
run and no tech inspection would
be performed. Then the rain came
in Friday night and canceled the
night qualifying session.
Saturday as teams prepared for
round one of qualifying, you
could feel the excitement in the
air, along with a strong
crosswind. The Penske Shootout
competitors got the first hit at
the track, Teasley was in the
first pair out, while Williford
was the third pair. Teasley took
to the tree, everyone held their
breath and off he went, but the
GSX-R1000 wanted to wheelie, and
it was pulling hard to the right
making him get out of the
throttle to run a 6.85, not what
everyone was expecting. Then it
was Rodney's turn. He left fast
and hard, and it looked like he
was going to do it, but the bike
drifted a bit to the right as he
fought the wind and ran a 6.606
to get him almost there again.
But forget about that 6.60
because the MPH on the board
said 230.37 MPH and everyone was
in shock! The top MPH before
this pass was a 226 set by
Williford in 2017. It was
amazing to see this performance
on the first qualifier.
Ryan Schnitz on the HTP
Performance GSX-R1000 turbo, who
was rumored to have run a fifty
in off-season testing, came out
next for his shot. He left hard
and made a beautiful straight
pass to give him a 6.65 ET. It
did not better his ET as he went
6.62 last year when he won the
Haltech World Cup Finals
presented by Wiseco at MDIR.
Then several passes later
Frankie Stotz, who was parked
closest to the staging lanes but
opted to stay in the back of the
pack, rolled into the beams.
None of the other heavy hitters
did it, could the little Honda
do it this round? The winds died
down, the flags stopped
flapping, and Stotz left the
tree like a bullet, the front
wheel stayed down, the bike went
straight, and the scoreboards
flashed a 6.581 at 204 mph
making him the first racer to
enter the 6.50's! Everyone at
the starting line went wild! It
was an extraordinary moment for
Kent Stotz and a well-deserved
milestone for them as they had
been sitting on that cliff for
months. But the day was young
and were not done dropping
records.
In round two of qualifying the
same butterflies returned for
the racers that thought they had
a chance to break their own
records. Dunigan ran his 6.64,
and then Williford came out and
finally broke the seal and ran a
6.56. The starting line went
crazy!
Teasley came out next and
destroyed the world with a 6.492
at 193.79 while lifting to avoid
hitting the cones! LIFTING!! No
one knew what to do anymore, it
was record after record, and the
fifties were now a thing of the
past in a span of a few hours.
Here comes round three of
qualifying, what could happen in
the night air? Well Richard
Gadson on the Brad Mummert Old
School GS came out and got his
piece of the fifty pie running a
6.58 at 209mph. And while
everyone hoped to see another
forty on the board, Teasley
no-showed for the third round
leaving us to see what Sunday
had in store.
When qualifying finalized XDA
had delivered the fastest Pro
Street field to date with
sixteen riders in the sixes
ranging from Teasley's 6.492 to
Mike Kovacevich's 6.999, and
creating a twelve bike 'B'
class.
On to Sunday where the riders
are more focused on making clean
A to B passes, as opposed to
blowing up their motors to run
records like Stotz did on his
6.58 milestone. In round one of
eliminations Teasley, Gadson,
and Williford would run 6.56,
6.54 and 6.55 respectively. Ryan
Schnitz would get taken out by
Chris Moore, and Dunigan's bike
would have problems staying
fired to give Shakir a free pass
into round two.
In round two of eliminations,
Williford would put teammate
Ehren Litten on the trailer,
Darion Payne would upset Teasley,
Gadson takes out Shakira, and
Frankie Stotz tells Chris Moore
he's done playing for the
weekend.
In round three of eliminations,
Darion Payne and Frankie Stotz
were both broke sending Gadson
and Williford on to the Finals.
Williford won $2K on Saturday in
the Penske Shootout and was
looking to put another $3K in
his pocket with another win.
Both riders cut decent lights,
Gadson gets out on Williford,
but he catches him at the eighth
mile and stays ahead of him for
the win, and the first official
side-by-side fifty passes with a
6.543 at 223mph and 6.594 at
208.20 gets logged into the
record books.
So what's next for Pro Street?
Make plans now for the 33rd
annual MTC Summer Nationals on
May 31-June 2, at Virginia
Motorsports Park to find out.
The action is far from over.
Schnitz Racing
Real Street Shootout
Winner - Mark Hylton
7.71
Runner-up - Spencer Claycomb
8.854
New for 2019 is the Schnitz
Racing Real Street Shootout. The
sign up to be one of the eight
riders to participate was full
in 60 seconds. With a total
payout of $900 on Saturday, the
bonus race added more excitement
during qualifying. Mark Hylton
who was an alternate on the list
got in on the action when Mike
Sweeney Jr. couldn't get an
electrical gremlin fixed in time
to make the event. Bad news for
Sweeney, but this chain of
events sent Hylton to the final
with class Champion Spencer
Claycomb.
With near identical reaction
times, both riders left the tree
evenly matched. Claycomb
struggled with a wheelie that
allowed Hylton to get out in
front of him and he couldn't
recover giving Hylton the win
and the path to Real Street
domination for the weekend.
DME Racing
Real Street
Winner - Mark Hylton
7.72
Runner-up - Anibal Merced 7.750
#1 Qualifier - Jeremy Teasley
7.628
ET Record - Jeremy Teasley 7.628
The DME Racing Real Street class
struggled in 2018 with an
average attendance of twelve
bikes. But with the Miller's
dedicating themselves to not
letting the class die, rules
were adjusted, and the XDA
community came together to
deliver the biggest Real Street
turn out ever with twenty-four
motorcycles on the property.
Jeremy Teasley qualified number
one and reset the ET record he
already held with an improved
7.628 on his AM Performance
built nitrous liter bike.
Teasley now stands as the
world's quickest Real Street
rider.
Class champion Anibal Merced of
AM Performance would later take
out Jeremy Teasley in the
semi-final. Shootout winner Mark
Hylton would take out Spencer
Claycomb in the same round on a
significant holeshot. Claycomb
charged him and quickly gained
ground on him. Spencer nearly
grabbed him at the finish line,
but he was few feet short of the
recovery, and Hylton won running
a 7.72 to Claycomb's 7.75 giving
Mark two Real Street wins in one
weekend.
In the Real Street B class,
newcomer Brad Stinnett took a
win over Jason Herron running
8.206 to his 8.330 with tuning
help from Pro Street legend Kent
Stotz.
Pro Xtreme -
presented by DME Racing, Fast by
Gast, Harley Haul, MaxxECU,
McCoy Motorsports, MTC, Rob Bush
Motorsports, Timblin Chassis,
and Worldwide Bearings.
Winner - Kevin Clarke
3.974
Runner-up - Rob Garcia 3.975
#1 Qualifier - Rodney Williford
3.962
ET Record - Rodney Williford
3.962
MPH Record - Kevin Clarke 187.00
The newly added Pro Xtreme 1/8
mile heads-up class modeled on
Pro Mod did not disappoint the
fans as the action was hot and
records were dropped. Rodney
Williford who was already
breaking Pro Street records
broke the track ET record
running a 3.962 to take the
number one qualifying position
and a $300 cash bonus from MTC
Engineering.
Tony Steele who came back to
racing after a two-year hiatus
rounded out qualifying field
running a 4.408 on the only
Kawasaki in the class. Steele
was 95lbs. over the minimum
weight, so we expect he will be
shaving some weight off the bike
for the next XDA event that Pro
Xtreme competes at.
Virginia racer Kevin Clarke who
has been racing for over forty
years teamed up with legendary
Pro Mod tuner Dan Wagner for the
2019 season. This pairing paid
off with a MPH record for Clarke
running 187 mph in the
eighth-mile! But the dividends
didn't stop there as Clarke
defeated Chris Cutsinger and
Rodney Williford to land in the
final against the number two
qualifier, Rob Garcia.
With both bikes tuned by Dan
Wagner, Garcia and Clarke
delivered an all DTM Final. And
with a .0195 margin of victory,
Clarke took the first win of the
season with a .052 light running
a 3.974 to Garcia's .070 light
and 3.975 ET. It was a
crowd-pleasing final watching
Clarke carry the front wheel
from the tree through the finish
line!
Pro Extreme will return to XDA
action for the Superbike
Showdown June 21-23 at Maryland
International Raceway.
HTP
Performance Grudge
APE Nitrous
Bulls
Winner - Lavar Delee
on High Roller
Runner-up - Richard Gadson on
Dead Man Walking
In APE Nitrous Bulls Lavar Delee
who has ridden a plethora of
grudge bikes, straight dominated
on 'High Roller' for the Season
opener. On his side of the
ladder, Delee took out Kenneth
Grate on 'Hannibal' to earn a
bye before meeting Richard
Gadson in the final. Dave Norris
and 'Yellow Jacket' put Billy
Ammons and his 'Side Bitch' on
the curb first round. Gadson who
had a bye first round went on to
second round to send 'Yellow
Jacket' out to the curb to give
the 'Side Bitch' a ride home.
And in the final, you could have
bet on either rider, but Delee
held his dominance and took home
a $7K payday.
Monster Bulls
Winner - Rendolf
Torbed on Kastigala
Runner-up - David Page on Pickin
Pockets
The Monster Bulls class is for
200+ lbs. riders. With six heavy
hitters showing up for XDA's 'no
excuse' track prep, the No-Time
class saw these guys flying!
Rendolf Torbed on 'Kastigala'
and David Page on 'Pickin
Pockets' both quickly took out
their competition on their road
to the final. Due to rain, these
two would have to run their
final during Sunday's Pro
Session. Torbed got the jump on
Page off the line, but despite
Page catching him at the
eight-mile, he gets around him
to give 'Kastigala' a $3,200
payout!
Unit 5
Components Brahma Bulls
Winner - Nick Mazeika
on Clockwork
The Unit 5 Brahma Bulls is a 63"
anything wheelbase all-motor
grudge class with stock seat
position, and came into fruition
late in the off-season. With a
lone wolf showing up to support
the category, Nick Mazeika on
'Clockwork' would run unopposed
to take home a guaranteed $1K on
top of his entry for a $1,500
payday. Mazeika who is the
owner, rider, and builder of
'Clockwork' thrashed for three
straight days to get his bike
ready, and with it not being
prepared to race until ten
minutes before the class was
called to the lanes, this bike
lived up to its name.
"We have several racers building
bikes for this class that we
will see out next month for the
MTC Summer Nationals," stated
Jason Miller. "It was great to
see Nick work so hard to try and
make our first event."
Vance & Hines
4.60
Winner - Ronald
Procopio 4.661
Runner-up - Tyler Cammock 4.598
#1 Qualifier - Thomas Acres
4.605
The Vance and Hines quickest
1/8th-mile index class of 4.60
continues to grow as the Spring
Opener delivered a solid
thirty-two bike field. Indiana
racer Thomas Acres grabbed the
number one qualifying spot
running 4.605. The field for
4.60 was the tightest of the
weekend with the number
thirty-two qualifier, Kevin
Bradley running a 4.553 and
nineteen racers running in the
4.60's.
Class veterans Ronald Procopio
and Tyler Cammock sliced through
four rounds of competition
before meeting in the final.
While both racers won numerous
rounds last season, neither one
took home a win, and the Spring
Nationals was their first chance
to break the cycle. When they
meet in the final Procopio had
just come from a tight
semi-final win against Michael
Ostrowski, while Cammock got a
pass from Boo Brown's red light.
With both riders running the
number all weekend the final
would surely be won at the tree.
Cammock cut an uncharacteristic
.147 light giving the starting
line advantage to Procopio who
cut a .029 light. Cammock had
the power to get out of the hole
quicker, but Procopio would soon
power past him taking the stripe
and the $3,000 payout on a 4.66
to Cammock's break-out 4.598.
On Saturday Michael Thyen won
the 4.60 Big Money Shootout, a
$500 to enter, $4,000 winner
take all race among eight riders
during qualifying. Thyen who is
still rebuilding after his
entire race operation was stolen
during the off-season was elated
to take home big money.
The FBR Shop
5.60
Winner - Daniel Joyce
5.712
Runner-up - Dustin Lee
#1 Qualifier - David Beshara
5.606
Fifty-four racers were on the
property for the FBR Shop 5.60
eighth-mile class. David Beshara
was dominant Saturday taking the
number one qualifying position
with a 5.606, but it would be
the number two qualifier, Daniel
Joyce who would make it to the
final round. With no room for
error in eight-mile racing, only
the consummate survive. With
five rounds of competition to
overcome, Joyce would meet
Dustin Lee in the final. With
Lee being a fierce competitor
Joyce would have to give Lee his
best package of the weekend if
you wanted to win the hardware.
But Joyce would never get the
chance to prove himself as Lee
detonated at the starting line
dropping oil and parts on the
track sending Daniel Joyce
straight to the winner's circle.
Shinko Tires
Crazy 8’s
Winner - Nick Hamlett
8.892
Runner-up - Spencer Claycomb
8.837
#1 Qualifier - Nick Hamlett
8.950
The Shinko Tires Crazy 8's class
took over the lanes with
fifty-six riders looking to run
dead on 8.88. Tom Miceli Jr.
would take the top spot running
an 8.881 over several riders
that also ran an 8.88 in
qualifying. However, Miceli
would not capitalize on this
advantage as Boo Brown snatched
him up in round two of
eliminations to send him home to
New Jersey early. Brown would
then give away the semi-final to
Spencer Claycomb with a red
light. Claycomb would go on to
the final to face Virginia
racer, Nick Hamlett. Hamlett
cuts a better .039 light to
Claycomb's .093, but Claycomb
catches him quickly, and it's
side-by-side action to the stipe
where Hamlett pushes Claycomb to
break out with an 8.83 giving a
win to the .00 Racing team.
Mickey
Thompson Performance Top
Sportsman
Winner - Jim
Shifflett 7.969
Runner-up - Mac McAdams 7.744
#1 Qualifier - George Whitaker
6.460
ET & MPH Record - George
Whitaker 6.460 at 209.23
In Mickey Thompson Performance
Top Sportsman the Fastest ET
racers on the property competed
for a chance at a possible 9K
payday. George Whitaker set the
stage in qualifying breaking the
track ET and MPH record running
a 6.46 at 209.23 mph. With
George qualified number one, the
number two qualifier, David
Ashton, was a full second slower
at 7.511. The thirty-two bike
field rounded out with an ET
range of 6.46 to 8.23.
Teammates and late-night
warriors, Jim Shifflett, and Mac
McAdams would meet in the final
grasping for bragging rights
over the other. McAdams would
make it easy on Shiflett when he
cut a -.021 red light giving
Shifflett the win. Shifflett ran
an impressive perfect package in
the final with a .000 light and
running 7.969 on his 7.96 dial.
MPS -
Motorcycle Pro ET
Winner - Jimmie
Miller 8.812
Runner-up - Jim Shifflett 10.775
The MPS Racing Pro ET class has
a new sheriff in town, and he's
intent on keeping this badge.
Jimmie Miller who is known for
happily splitting his winnings
may see the light after he
deposits his fat $3,000 winning
check this week. Jimmy Shifflett
and Miller both destroyed the
competition for seven rounds
before meeting in the final for
one last fight. Shifflett who
won Top Sportsman entered back
into round six of Pro ET
competition looking to double up
his payday. Miller got the jump
on Shifflett with holeshot
advantage, but Shifflet would
run into a problem and get off
the gas at the eighth mile to
let Miller take the stripe and
the points lead.
Brock's
Performance Street ET
Winner - Derrick
Milbourne 8.955
Runner-up - David Poague 8.665
One hundred and forty-five
Brock's Performance Street ET
racers seeking the first win of
the year had to make it through
seven grueling rounds of
competition to make it the
final. Both David Poague and
Derrick Milbourne fought hard to
win those seven rounds of
competition facing tough
reaction times and judging when
to lift at the stripe time and
time again. Their dials-ins
would not come into play for the
final round, as Milbourne took
home the second win of the
weekend for the .00 Racing team
on a holeshot. Milbourne now has
the difficult job of keeping his
points lead until September.
For full qualifying and
round-by-round results of the
event, visit
www.xdaracing.com.
The XDA action continues at
Virginia Motorsports Park,
located in Dinwiddie, Virginia
for the 33rd annual MTC Summer
Nationals on May 31-June 2. It's
a race you won't want to miss.
Visit
www.XDAracing.com
for event information, class
rules, schedule and more.
The Xtreme Dragbike Association
is an east coast motorcycle drag
racing series with 700+
motorcycle racers in
competition. The XDA features
professional and sportsman
classes along with grudge racing
and a vendor midway. Lifestyle
activities such as bike shows,
bikini contests, DJ and live
bands are also held at select
events. For more info on the XDA,
visit
www.XDAracing.com
or connect with us on Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter and YouTube @xdaracing
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