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This past weekend 691 motorcycle
drag racers ran down the
Maryland International Raceway
(MDIR) quarter-mile for the 27th
annual Platinum Fleet Repair
Spring Nationals with the XDA.
The weather forecasted rain for
Saturday and Sunday, but the XDA
racers know that when the Miller
Brothers say they will get the
race completed despite the
forecast, you can bank on that
statement. And with a short 2020
season and a long winter, racers
were ready for this year's
battle and a few sprinkles on
Saturday night wasn't going to
damper the competitive spirit.
This event saw records and
personal best performances
across the board. We saw more
new racers debut at XDA than any
other season opener, Jason
Miller presented the “First to
the 40’s” award in Real Street,
and the MaxxECU Pro Xtreme
entered the 80's, making the PFR
Season Opener an event to
remember.
Orient Express
Racing Pro Street
Winner - Rodney Williford
Runner-up - Rickey Grayson
MPH Track Record - Justin Shakir
- 234.29
Orient Express Racing Pro Street
once again delivered with the
typical first race highs and
lows. With winter rule changes
and yearly upgrades, many teams
were all over the board.
In the first round of
qualifying, Real Street veteran
Caleb Holt came out on his DAS
Performance ProCharged Hayabusa
and took the number one
qualifying spot a 6.612. He then
improved on that in the final
round of qualifying with a
6.451. This ET puts him on the
Orient Express Racing GOAT list,
and he is now one of the top
five quickest racers in the
country. Unfortunately, his
weekend did not have the
storybook ending he wanted. In
round one of eliminations, he
had problems at the water box
and could not take the tree.
Justin Shakir has a list of
goals this year, and he was more
serious at this event than we
have ever seen him. In the final
round of qualifying, he put the
biggest MPH number on the
scoreboard that MDIR has ever
seen on two wheels, 234.29!!
While he could not back this
number up for the official Pro
Street record, it is a track
record, and he is now the
‘Fastest No Wheelie Bar
Motorcycle’ in the WORLD! "If
you think that is the last time
you will see that number on the
board, think again!" said Shakir.
On Wednesday before the event,
Ehren Litten said that it would
be a sad year if no one broke
his MPH record of 232.59 from
2019.
Curtis Brown made his debut on
his Williford Racing Hayabusa,
and even though he isn't 100%
with his new setup, he made it
to round two, where he took a
loss to Jordan Haase.
Last year at the season opener
Gaige Herrera ran a 6.667 to
become the World's Quickest
Nitrous Hayabusa in Pro Street,
but this past weekend he failed
to qualify for the event,
shocking the entire class.
Jamie Lopes returned to Pro
Street after 2020 Covid-19
restrictions kept him from
racing last year. He qualified
his liter bike with 6.984, but
ended his weekend in round two
when he couldn't get the bike to
fire at the starting line.
Jason Dunigan ran a personal
best of 6.536 and 230.72 mph
during pre-race testing at MDIR,
however his weekend went in the
other direction with a profusion
of issues that held him back
from having the stellar weekend
he was looking for.
The DME Racing GSX-R1000 debuted
with a new rider, Real Street
and Grudge standout Rickey
Grayson. Grayson tested the bike
for the first time the Wednesday
before the event and all eyes
were on him on Friday when the
first qualifier rolled around.
He came out swinging the best he
could, qualifying number two
with a 6.691, by Saturday night
he improved to a 6.644 landing
him at the number five
qualifying spot on his first
event.
The 2018 Pro Street Champion,
Rodney Williford, showed up in
true Williford form with his
tail section cut out to a square
edge. You never know what you
will get in the looks department
with him, but one thing you DO
know you will get, is
performance. He qualified number
two with a 6.528 and went on to
eliminations picking the
competition off round after
round. Williford took our Keith
Correia, Jamie Lopes and Justin
Shakir with 6.581, 6.597, 6.788
runs on his way to the final.
On the other side of the ladder
Grayson held his own and
remarkably made it to the final
at his first event. In round
one, he outran Darion Payne with
a 6.711. In round two Greg
Wallace struggled in his lane
while Grayson ran a 6.641. In
the semi-final he ran his best
of the weekend with a 6.637 to
take out Jordan Haase. This
6.637 will put him in the top
fifteen of the GOAT List.
So now we are back to where we
have been many times, Williford
Racing vs. DME Racing. With a
brand-new rider at the helm, the
outcome of this race was gravy
to DME Racing either way. With
Williford showing proven
performance round after round,
he was the favorite for the
final. But how do you not love
the underdog? Williford stepped
up his reaction time game
cutting a .060 to Grayson's,
worst light of the event, a
.059. As both bikes launched,
Grayson was out in front of
Williford in a flash. And just
as quick, the tide turned, and
the DME liter bike wasn't going
into second gear. Williford flew
by him to take the win with a
6.55 at 232.87. That 232.87 is
Williford's fastest MPH in Pro
Street competition. It's going
to be a FAST year with XDA. Mark
your calendars now so you don't
miss any of the action.
DME Racing
Real Street
Winner - David Stewart
Runner-up - Jeremy Teasley
ET Record - David Stewart 7.449
MPH Record – Rickey Gadson
195.76
First in the 7.40's - Rickey
Gadson 7.482
The DME Racing Real Street class
loves to create drama on their
group page, but this past
weekend the drama was on track
too. Announcements went out over
the PA on Friday that hiding
ballast would not be tolerated,
which sent the class talkers
into rumor mode.
Rickey Gadson showed up on a
mission for this event when he
qualified number one with a
7.554. He then went on to run a
7.482, resetting the class ET
record, winning the coveted
‘Miller 40’ award and putting
him on notice for an
end-of-event teardown.
Gadson would go on to win the
first two rounds. In the first
round he had a bye run and he
used that to his advantage
breaking the class MPH record
with a 195.76. In round three,
he had problems at the line and
would not make it down the track
to send the 2019 class champion,
Jeremy Teasley, to the final.
Gadson would not leave with a
win, but he had the class ET
record, or did he?
On the other side of the ladder,
number two and three qualifiers
David Stewart and Mark Hylton
would fight it out in the
semi-final in one of the closest
races of the day. Both riders
cut almost identical lights with
a .060 for Stewart and .064 for
Hylton. Stewart got the win
light with a 7.577 to edge out
Hylton's 7.580 with a margin of
victory of .007 seconds.
And then the drama hit the class
in the final. With Gadson
readying for a tear down to
claim a record, Stewart would
snatch it out from under him. In
the final, Stewart and Teasley
would cut their worse lights of
the day with a .155 and .167,
respectively. Teasley ran his
quickest pass of the day at
7.593 but it would not be enough
against Stewart as he outran
Gadson's new 7.482 record with a
7.449 pass! The MTC Engineering
Summer Nationals at VMP will be
on fire with this type of
competition.
MaxxECU Pro
Xtreme
Winner - Chris Garner-Jones
Runner-up - Shane Eperjesi
ET Record - Chris Garner-Jones
3.897 (First in the 3.80's)
The MaxxECU Pro Xtreme 1/8 mile
heads-up class has been ignited
for the 2021 motorcycle drag
racing season when XDA class
newcomer Chris Garner-Jones
obliterated the ET record. On
Saturday morning Steve Nichols
with MaxxECU announced that he
would be putting up a $1,000
bounty for the first 3.899 or
quicker run. That bounty was
short-lived as it was collected
on the very next qualifying run.
Mike Chongris' ET record of
3.933 was sent out to pasture
with Garner-Jones becoming the
first Pro Xtreme rider to enter
the 3.80's with a 3.897 on his
DTM/WarpSpeed Racing Suzuki.
Rob Garcia also ran a
sub-four-second pass, qualifying
in the number two spot with a
3.967. However, Garner-Jones
would be the only competitor to
run a three-second pass in every
round on Sunday.
There is always a lot of carnage
at the first race of the year,
with winter upgrades not always
being agreeable. Ronnie Smith
and Kevin Clarke would be
no-shows for the first round of
eliminations advancing Shange
Eperjesi and Rob Garcia to round
two. John Collins had issues
mid-track giving Bobby Lovingood
a pass to round two. Chris
Garner-Jones had a bye run,
making round one a layup for the
new record holder.
In round two, Rob Gacia would go
red to give Shane Eperjesi the
win light on his 4.044 pass. And
Bobby Lovingood didn't have the
power to outrun the 3.908
monster pass from Garner-Jones
ending his weekend.
Shane Eperjesi qualified with a
4.015 and would be looking to
make some ground up at the tree
to have a chance against
Garner-Jones in the final. And
he did just that, hitting the
tree with the best reaction time
of the class on Sunday with a
.015 to Garner-Jones .0686
light. They both blasted off the
starting line, hungry for that
win light. Eperjesi struggled to
control his monster as the bike
wanted to launch into space and
repeatedly forced the wheelie
bars into the track surface. His
struggle gave Garner-Jones the
edge as his bike sailed smoothly
to a win light running a 3.903
to Eperjesi's 4.040 ET.
MaxxECU Pro Xtreme is presented
by Ace Mechanical, Billy Vose
Racing, Dallas Flat Glass,
Dunigan Racing, DME Racing,
Grothus Dragbikes, Harley Haul,
Rob Bush Motorsports, Robinson
Industries, Schnitz Racing,
Timblin Chassis, and Worldwide
Bearings.
HTP
Performance Super Stock
Winner - David Fondon
Runner-up - Mike Davis
ET Record - David Fondon 8.660
MPH Record - David Fondon 166.50
In HTP Performance Super Stock,
new XDA competitor Zachary
Applegate from Dallas, TX, took
the #1 qualifying spot with an
8.719. Applegate would make it
to round three of competition.
However, he couldn't run the
number that round giving Derek
Sobiech the win and ending his
hopes of a winner circle finish
before making the
twenty-one-hour drive home.
Another new XDA Super Stock
competitor is Mike Davis from
Ohio who made it to the final to
face the 2020 class champion
David Fondon from Puerto Rico.
Both riders qualified in the top
five out of thirty bike field.
Fondon ran a 166.50 MPH pass in
qualifying to reset the class
record he set last year at
163.57 MPH. So, Davis would have
his work cut out for him going
into the final against the class
champion. Davis' ET dropped off
in the final round running a
8.909 while Fondon improved his
ET for the overall weekend to a
8.660, grabbing him the win
light and resetting his own ET
record. The tone has been set
for the 2021 season; the
champion is not going down
without a fight.
HTP
Performance Grudge
The HTP Performance Grudge
racers were out in force with
sixty-seven no-time racers
despite the poor weather
predictions for Saturday night.
The teams adjusted and made
shake-down runs on both Saturday
and Sunday.
APE Nitrous
Bulls
Winner - Russell
Dennison
Runner-up - Jeremy Teasley
Russell Dennison on 'Jimmy
Hendrix' faced Jeremy Teasley on
Chris Connelly's 'American
Xpress' in the APE Nitrous Bulls
final.
Both riders left the starting
line with powerful hits, the
front wheel on American Xpress
came up right past the tree,
forcing Teasley to lift and
throw out valuable ET. However,
Teasley recovered and quickly
caught up to Dennison like he
wasn't even moving. They went
through the finish line in what
must have been only a few inches
apart as the win light came on
in Dennison's lane. Both riders
have already locked in for a
future re-match.
3 Sixty 5
Transport Monster Bulls
Winner - David Page
Runner-up - Dave Martin
Spencer Claycomb debuted his
latest build 'Tik Tok' with
rider Jason Herron in Monster
Bulls. Unfortunately, 'Tik Tok'
threw off her chain at half
track in round one sending Dave
Martin on 'Unkown' to the final.
And Howard Gerken on 'Son of
Sam' sent to David Page on 'Pickin
Pockets' to the final when his
bike started dropping oil on the
track after his burnout.
The 3 Sixty 5 Transport Monster
Bulls final was action-packed,
with both riders hitting the
tree hard, and they stayed
side-by-side even as Page fought
a wheelie mid-track. Their two
monsters were flying towards the
finish line. 'Pickin Pockets'
got the win light giving
Williford Racing its third win
of the weekend!
Tommie’s
Motorsports DMV Bulls
Winner - Duane Jackson
Runner-up - Chris Edwards
The Tommie’s Motorsports DMV
Bulls is the 'Up‐And‐Coming'
Grudge Racers class. But even
with the greener riders, the
action is still on point. In
round one Geoff Godfrey and
James Culbreath had performance
issues that sent Duane Jackson
on 'Miss Behavin' and Chris
Edwards on 'Hulk Smash’ to the
final.
In the final 'Miss Behavin'
didn't have to work hard for her
money as 'Hulk Smash’ tore off
the chain, leaving the starting
line.
Boosted Bulls
Boosted Bulls is back for the
2021 season! However, Chris
Moore was the only entrant on
the shaker can yellow 'Malania’.
Moore made Shakedown passes all
weekend, but nobody else stepped
up to see if ‘Malania’ is fact
or fiction. There are many
Boosted Grudge bikes out there
and we want to see others man up
so someone is actually earning
that trophy and cash in the
winner’s circle.
Vance & Hines
4.60
Winner - Boo Brown
Runner-up - Jim Jordan
Vance and Hines 4.60 is the
quickest and most popular
1/8th-mile index class in the
country. Thirty-six competitors
showed up for the PFR Spring
Opener, but only thirty-two
would make the field for Sunday
competition. The 2020 class
champion, Ron Procopio took the
#1 qualifying spot with a 4.602.
Procopio would not go on to
defend his title in the final;
in the semi-final, he went red
and ultimately sent Boo Brown to
the final round. Dystany
Spurlock on the 'new look' Marks
Racing Suzuki would also go red
in the semi-final, sending Jim
Jordan to face Boo Brown. In the
final Jordan would cut his worst
light of the event with a .154
to give Brown's .083 the
advantage at the starting line.
And while Jordan tried to make
up for his light running closer
to the index with a 4.611,
Brown's 4.675 would turn on the
win light with a margin of
victory of .007 seconds, that's
only eighteen inches of track
surface.
1 Stop Speed
5.60
Winner - Dustin Lee
Runner-up - Carson Fields
The 1 Stop Speed 5.60 saw one of
its best turnouts ever with
fifty competitors in the 1/8
mile index class. John Capuria
and John James sat at the top of
qualifying with a pair 5.600
qualifying times. When it
finally got down to the wire,
the 2020 class champion sat in
the left lane ready to face
Carson Fields and defend his
championship title.
Field's was cutting good lights
all day, but they were no match
for Lee's .027 hit. With Dustin
Lee getting the starting line
advantage, he stayed out in
front and never took his eyes
off Fields as he made the right
call to lift off the throttle as
he came upon the eight-mile
speed sensor to run a 5.608 to
Fields' 5.604.
Mickey
Thompson Tires Top Sportsman
Winner - Jeffery Santin
Runner-up - Nate Koito
#1 Qualifier - David Fondon
7.290
Mickey Thompson Tires Top
Sportsman features the quickest
ET racers on the property. The
2020 Super Stock champion David
Fondon lead the field with a
7.290 ET, and Gary Clontz held
the bump spot with an 8.137 ET.
In five rounds of competition,
we saw nine red lights and five
double-0 lights as racers pushed
the tree hard for that starting
line advantage. The final
featured a close match with
Jeffery Santin dialed an 8.16,
and Nate Koito dialed an 8.15.
Santin would cut a .033 light,
and Koito would nod and put up
his worst reaction time of the
weekend with a .198 light. The
reaction time would cost Koito
as Santin took the win with an
8.195 despite Koito running
closer to his dial with an
8.161.
MPS Racing Pro
ET
Winner - Nick Hamlett
Runner-up - Dale Hamilton
The MPS Racing Pro ET class had
a tremendous turnout for Sunday
competition, with one hundred
and thirty-five racers. The
semi-final was full of regular
victors like Nick Hamlett,
Stephen Knight, Dale Hamilton,
and Dustin Lee.
With the best series racers
still on track after the sun was
long gone, the finish line wins
were measured in fractions.
Ultimately Hamlett and Hamilton
would move on to the final race
with the last competition pass
of the weekend to close out the
PFR Spring Nationals. Hamilton
dialed a 9.49 and Hamlett a
quicker 8.55. Both riders cut
good lights with the edge going
to Hamlett's .029 over the
Hamilton's .045. with Hamilton
leaving the tree first, it would
take the entire length of the
track for Hamlett to catch up
and when he did, he stayed in
the throttle until his win light
came after Hamilton who also
never lifted and broke out with
a 9.482 pass.
Brock's
Performance Street ET
Winner - Barry Pryer Sr
Runner-up - John James
The Brock's Performance Street
ET class had close to a hundred
racers in competition over the
weekend. After six rounds of
competition, heavy hitters Barry
Pryer Sr. and John James would
face each other in the final.
Pryer dialed a 9.23 to James'
8.83. Pryer left first and also
got the jump with the better
reaction time, hitting the tree
with a .073 to James' .180.
James caught up with Pryer at
the thousand-foot mark and both
riders stayed side by side until
the finish line. Barry Pryer Sr
got the win light running closer
to his dial with a 9.176 to
James 8.908 ET.
VooDoo
Components Bracket Bash
The VooDoo Components
Bracket Bash started on Saturday
afternoon with one hundred and
ten racers. Unfortunately for
these competitors, they would
only get one round of
eliminations before mother
nature put an end to their day.
First-round winners split the
$4,500 purse and will look to
compete at the next event.
Hard Times
Parts & Service Gamblers Race
The Friday night Hard Times
Parts and Service Gambler's race
featured a full field of hungry
racers. But in the end, no
winner would be crowned as
finalist Boo Brown, and Ronnie
Procopio opted to split the
purse and forgo the final round
of competition.
For complete qualifying and
round-by-round results of the
event, visit
www.xdaracing.com.
The XDA will head to Virginia
Motorsports Park for the 35th
annual MTC Engineering Summer
Nationals May 21-23, 2021. There
will be over 700 Professional,
Sportsman, and Grudge motorcycle
racers in competition battling
it out for over $80,000 in cash
purse. Make plans now to watch
the best drag racers in the
country put on the premier
horsepower show the East Coast
has to offer.
About XDA Racing
The Xtreme Dragbike Association
(XDA) is an east coast
motorcycle drag racing series
with 700+ motorcycle racers
competing at each event. Every
XDA event hosts professional
classes, sportsman classes,
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 information on the XDA,
please visit
www.xdaracing.com
or connect with us on Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter and YouTube @xdaracing |
