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The 30th annual DME Racing Fall
Nationals concluded the 2022
motorcycle drag racing season at
Maryland International Raceway.
XDA's fifth season crowned
thirteen champions as the
MIROCK-IDBL-XDA legacy continues
to evolve and grow.
This season featured the best
showing of motorcycle drag
racing action in fifteen
different classes, with over
$500,000 paid out in cash purse
and $131,000 in contingency
offerings.
Despite another season finale
having rain forecasted for the
weekend, the XDA staff did the
job they are known for as they
hustled to complete the race.
"It's never a great feeling when
you see the chance of rain on
top of your event, but it never
deters the race because we have
learned how to quickly adapt and
push harder to get the job
done," said Jason Miller. "When
you come to XDA we are always
going to do what's best for the
racers and the event."
XDA has released its 2023
motorcycle drag racing schedule
featuring five events. XDA
continues to adapt to the
changing markets by reducing the
season by one event and
spreading them out, giving
racers five weeks between events
to recharge, rebuild, spend time
with their families, and attend
other events. Get these dates on
your calendar now because 2023
will be bigger and better.
April 21-23 / Platinum General
Services Spring Nationals / MIR
June 2-4 / MTC Summer Nationals
/ VMP
July 14-16 / WPGC Bike Fest /
MIR
August 25-27 / FuelTech Bike
Bash / VMP
Sept 29 - Oct 1 / DME Racing
Fall Nationals / MIR
Orient Express
Racing Pro Street
Winner - Rodney
Williford
Runner-up - Greg Wallace
Champion - Rodney Williford
For the first time this season
Rodney Williford was not the
number one qualifier of the
Orient Express Racing Pro Street
class. Jason Dunigan came out of
the shadows and blasted a 6.395
at 233.40 in the last round of
qualifying, taking the number
one qualifying spot. Jamie Lopes
improved on his personal best in
qualifying with a 6.491 and
Ricky Wood with a 6.657. Kenny
Brewer returned to racing action
after taking a few races off to
attend to family matters.
Unfortunately, his return was
dashed by mechanical failures
that took him out of competition
on Friday night.
In round one, Rudy Sanzottera,
Jamie Lopes, Jason Dunigan, Greg
Wallace, Rodney Williford,
Darion Payne, Jordan Haase, and
Curtis Brown all took wins.
Since Williford already clinched
the championship before the
season finale, racers focused on
making the top ten to qualify
for the 26th annual Haltech
World Cup Finals presented by
Wiseco on November 2-6, 2022.
In round two Dunigan, Wallace,
Williford, and Lopes all turned
on win lights. Lopes ran a
personal best of 6.455 at 228
mph, however, when Lopes rolled
over the scales in tech, he was
too light, and his run was DQ'd
to reinstate Sanzottera back
into the race.
In the semi-final, Wallace took
out Dunigan while Williford took
out Sanzottera. Wallace is no
stranger to a final round, and
he was looking for his first win
of the season. Williford cut a
.032 reaction time and blasted
straight down the track; Wallace
cut a slower .067 and was unable
to catch Williford as they
approached the finish line.
Williford took his fifth win
this season and the 2022
championship.
With the season complete, the
top ten racers will look towards
the November Pro Street Shootout
sponsored by Platinum General
Services where they will compete
for $5,000 in cash purse at the
26th annual Haltech World Cup
Finals presented by Wiseco on
November 2-6, 2022. Racer
qualified are: Rodney Williford,
Jason Dunigan, Greg Wallace,
Justin Shakir, Darion Payne,
Gaige Herrera, James Waugh,
Curtis Brown, Jordan Haase, and
Ricky Wood.
DME Racing
Real Street
Winner - David
Stewart
Runner-up - Ralphie Navarro
Champion - David Stewart
The DME Racing Real Street class
delivered the drama this past
weekend as we watched all top
three championship contenders
struggle at some point. Rickey
Gadson started out the weekend
breaking the beams in qualifying
because his motor was hurt, and
he didn't want to take the
chance of not getting on the
ladder if rain ended qualifying
early. They worked all night and
into Saturday to get ready for
eliminations on Saturday night.
Stewart also had mechanical
struggles working through Friday
night until the early hours of
Saturday to get his bike ready
for Saturday qualifying. Class
champion Mark Hylton who sat
third in points took the number
one qualifying position with a
7.496 giving him the best
footing going into eliminations.
Gadson, Stewart, and Hylton all
took wins in round one and
headed to round two.
Unfortunately for Gadson, he cut
a -.005 red light against Drae
Taylor, ending his season sooner
than he hoped. Stewart took a
win over Caleb Holt and Hylton
took a win over Brittany Bohne.
But at this point it was
mathematically impossible for
Hylton to take the championship
and Stewart locked up the 2022
DME Racing Real Street
championship before heading to
the semi-final.
In the semi-final Hylton had
mechanical troubles giving an
easy win to Ralphie Navarro. On
the other side of the ladder
Stewart faced Drae Taylor who he
was able to defeat with a 7.551
to a 7.641.
In the final Stewart would get
the starting line advantage
cutting a .091 light to
Navarro's .116, as they raced to
the finish Stewart pulled ahead
of Navarro to win the final
event of the XDA season with a
7.607 to his 7.713.
MaxxECU Pro
Xtreme
Winner - Ronald
Procopio
Runner-up - Tommy Saxton
Champion - Ronald Procopio
Ronald Procopio's reign in
MaxxECU Pro Xtreme continued at
the season finale, but the
competition didn't make it easy.
Tommy Saxon took the number one
qualifying spot with a 3.905 for
the only three-second run of
qualifying. In round one of
eliminations, the crowd
witnessed three 3 second passes
for wins to Saxon 3.915,
Procopio 3.898, and Collins a
3.988.
Procopio came into the event
with only a three-point lead
over John Collins. Collins and
Procopio met in the semi-final
where the winner of the round
would be crowned the champion.
Collins cut a -.008 red light
against Procopio who ran a 3.886
to solidify his championship.
Chris Cutsinger also red-lit in
the semi-final to Tommy Saxton.
And then Procopio was announced
as the 2022 Champion before
heading to the final. Procopio's
win makes four different
champions in the last four years
that Pro Xtreme has been
contested at XDA.
Onto the final Procopio cut a
.043 light on Saxon's .054, but
the starting line advantage
would not come into play as
Procopio's rocket lit the board
up with a 3.875 for a record run
in the class! Procopio end the
year with a record and
championship to take into the
off-season.
MaxxECU Pro Xtreme is presented
by Billy Vose Racing, Fast by
Gast, 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 - Richard
Gadson
Runner-up - Marquise Blake
Champion - Curtis McDougald
Curtis McDougald is your new
2022 HTP Performance Super Stock
Championship. McDougald was
leading the points coming into
the event and officially
clinched the championship when
Darion Payne, who was right
behind him in points, lost in
round two. McDougald qualified
number one with an 8.818 and
looked to be on the path to
another win, that was until he
met Richard Gadson in round
three.
On a holeshot, Gadson took the
win over McDougald, and then
went on to win against Caleb
Holt in the semi-final before
going to the final. Gadson would
meet Marquise Blake in the
final, and it was both riders
first final round appearance of
the year in HTP Performance
Super Stock. With close reaction
times, both riders left
side-by-side, but Gadson's ZX-14
would pull away from Blake to
take the stripe first and win
with an 8.872 to Blake's slower
9.027.
Boosted Bulls
Winner - Craig Elliot / Cotton
Mouth
Runner-up - Geoff Godfrey /
Minion
Champion - Frankie Stotz /
Reddi-Wip
Malcolm Phillips came into the
DME Racing Fall Nationals
leading the Boosted Bulls class
with a two point lead over
Frankie Stotz. When Phillips
failed to enter the class, he
handed the championship to
Reddi-Wip's pilot.
In event eliminations Geoff
Godfrey on 'Minion' drew a
first-round bye that would put
him in the final against Craig
Elliot on 'Cotton Mouth'. They
both had a good start to the
round, but there wasn't enough
minion power to keep up with
Elliot as his win light lit up
the boards.
APE Nitrous
Bulls
Winner - Malcolm
Phillips / Striptease
Runner-up - Lavar Delee / High
Roller
Champion - Desmond Spalding
Desmond Spalding started the
2022 XDA season with a win in
APE Nitrous Bulls and continued
to win enough rounds to clinch
the championship before the
season finale. Spalding aboard
'Show Nuff' took a loss in round
two to Lavar Delee on 'High
Roller'. Delee went on to win in
the semi-final over Ken Grate on
'In Too Deep' to earn a spot in
the finals against Malcolm
Phillips.
Phillips aboard 'Strip Tease'
knocked out Antonio Patton/FTW,
Caleb Holt/Apocalypse, and
Garnell Claudle/Mama Lia on his
way to Saturday's final round
under the lights. Delee was
blowing on the dice off the
starting line, but his numbers
would not hold as Phillips took
it all off to turn that win
light on for the win of the
night.
3 Sixty 5
Monster Bulls
Winner - Josh Eubanks
/ Belmont
Runner-up - Antonio Williams /
Flawless Victory
Champion - Spencer Claycomb
Spencer Claycomb held a
twenty-four-point lead over
Antonio Williams coming into the
final event for the 3 Sixty 5
Monster Bulls class. Williams
aboard 'Flawless Victory' was on
a mission to take the
championship from Claycomb as he
won every round on his way to
the finals, including taking out
Claycomb in the semi-finals.
Josh Eubanks on 'Belmont' was
doing his job on the other side
of the ladder, taking wins over
Howard Gerken/Son of Sam and
John James/Dope Sick to meet
Williams in the final.
If Williams could win the final
round he would also win the
championship. But we aren't
writing fairy tale endings, and
'Belmont' blasted down the
eighth-mile taking the win and
crushing Williams hopes for a
championship. Claycomb on 'Under
the influence' held the points
lead by eleven points for his
first 3 Sixty 5 Monster Bulls
championship.
Tommie's
Motorsports DMV Bulls
Winner - Malcolm
Phillips / No Cap
Runner-up - Brysen Bender / Dime
Piece
Champion - Malcolm Phillips / No
Cap
Malcolm Phillips may have lost
the championship in Boosted
Bulls, but he took a win in APE
Nitrous Bulls and then snatched
the DMV Bulls championship for
himself Saturday night. Going
into the DME Racing Fall
Nationals Aubrey Valentine led
the points with John Carter and
Malcom Phillips right behind
him.
While Valentine was focused on
staying in front of Carter, and
Carter was focused on beating
Valentine, Phillips Tip-Toe-Burglared
his way to the championship.
Valentine and Carter took losses
in rounds one and two while
Phillips on 'No Cap' kept
winning to a fourth-round final.
There Phillips faced Brycen
Bender on 'Dime Piece.' Phillips
was tucked and rolling and there
was no way for Bender to
overtake his performance as
Phillips made a straight hard
pull pass to the finish line for
the event win and the
championship.
Tommie's
Motorsports All Motor Bulls
Winner - David Fondon / Bad
Bitch
Runner-up - Deshaun Jones / Dr
Jekyll Mr Hyde
The Friday night Tommie's
Motorsports All Motor Bulls
class was once again dominated
by David Fondon on 'Bad Bitch.'
Edward Thomas on 'Da Setup' won
the first two events of the
season, and Fondon has won the
last four. Deshaun Jones on 'Dr
Jekyll Mr Hyde' was Fondon's
latest victim as he easily
turned the win light on for his
fourth straight win this season.
Vance & Hines
4.60
Winner - Wes Hawkins
Runner-up - Ron Bonitatis
Champion - Ronald Procopio
Going into the final event of
the 2022 season, Ronald Procopio
clinched the Vance & Hines 4.60
championship and could not be
dethroned. So, when Procopio
lost in round four, while
disappointing, he was still
smiling as the class champion
three years running. We have a
feeling we will see bounties
placed on him next season.
On Saturday, Steven Shriver Sr
secured the number one
qualifying spot with the only
perfect 4.600 pass over
forty-six other competitors.
Shriver didn't make it past
round three when he broke out,
taking a loss to Rick Bunting.
Wes Hawkins and Ron Bonitatis
were both on their 'A-Games' as
they rolled into the beams for
the season's final round.
Hawkins cut a .007 reaction time
that would give him a big
advantage over Bonitatis's
slower .074. As they both raced
to the eighth-mile finish,
Bonitatis would be run a quicker
4.627 over Hawkins 4.631,
however, Hawkins better reaction
allowed him to get to the finish
first and turned on his win
light.
1 Stop Speed
5.60
Winner - Mike Sweeney
Runner-up - Dustin Lee
Champion - Dustin Lee
In 1 Stop Speed 5.60 Nick Noble
held on to the points lead all
season and went into the final
with a thirty-one points over
Dustin Lee. In round one of
eliminations, Noble opened the
door for Lee to overtake the
lead when he lost to Mike
Schulz. Lee didn't let the
opportunity pass him by as he
went on to win all his rounds to
make it to the final. And with a
final round appearance, he
sealed the championship despite
what the final round would
produce.
With the championship secured,
Lee had looked to end the
weekend with a winner circle
finish, but first, he would have
to take down Mike Sweeney.
Unfortunately for Lee, Sweeney
wasn't prepared to let him have
his way. Lee did cut the better
light with a .054 to Sweeney's
.067. But when it came to
passing that eighth-mile flag,
Sweeney would get there quicker
running a 5.637 to Lee's slower
5.638 and taking the event win.
Mickey
Thompson Tires Top Sportsman
Winner - Kevin Adams
Runner-up - Boo Brown
Champion - Jimmie Miller
Jimmie Miller went into Mickey
Thompson Tires Top Sportsman
with a nineteen point lead over
Robin Procopio and George
Shriver. Both Shriver and
Procopio lost the first round
making Miller's only focus now
on Dustin Lee, who was forty
points behind him. Miller took a
loss in round three, and lucky
for him, so did Dustin Lee. With
Lee losing the same round
Miller's championship status was
announced over the PA for him to
start celebrating.
Only thirty-two riders can
qualify for the quickest bracket
class in XDA. Ben Knight would
take the top qualifying spot
with a 7.532, while Delaware
racer James Farmer would round
out the field in the
thirty-second position with an
8.167 ET. Farmer would take out
Knight in round one when Knight
went red on the tree. In round
two Boo Brown would put Farmer
on the trailer as he made his
way to the final round to take
on Kevin Adams. Brown would
create his own demise as he went
-.001 red to give Adams the
event win at the starting line.
MPS Racing Pro
ET
Winner - Louis Green
Runner-up - Derrick Milbourne
Champion - Dustin Lee
Going into the DME Racing Fall
Nationals Dustin Lee had a
forty-point lead in MPS Racing
Pro ET, with Jimmie Miller hot
on his trail. On Sunday Lee took
a fourth-round loss, and luckily
for Lee, Miller lost that same
round and secured his position
for another Pro ET championship.
Louis Green Jr and Derrick
Milbourne made it past the
fourth round and landed
themselves in the eighth round
final after defeating the other
118 competitors in the class.
Green was running deadly close
to his dial-in round after
round, but he was going up
against champion racer Derrick
Milbourne and there could be no
room for errors. Green dialed a
9.11, Milbourne a 8.82. Green
with a slower dial-in left the
tree first and cut a better
light, .018 to Milbourne's
slower but still capable .032
reaction. When they got down to
the finish line Milbourne gave
up the stripe running an 8.875
while Green ran a closer 9.133
to take the win.
Brock's
Performance Street ET
Winner - Ashawn Hopkins
Runner-up - Donta Yates
Champion - Mark Blake
In Brock's Performance Street
ET, over 150 racers have entered
the class this year making it
another tough season. Mark Blake
was winning many rounds this
season, and with one event win
he kept himself out in front of
the competition to earn himself
the 2022 Championship.
In weekend racing Ashawn Hopkins
and Donta Yates didn't let the
weather affect their mindset as
they stayed focused to turn on
six-win lights before they met
in the finals. Hopkins dialed a
9.41 and Yates a 9.14. They
raced their Suzukis to the
quarter-mile finish line with
virtually identical reaction
times. Hopkins turned on his win
light with a closer 9.434 ET to
Yates's 9.178.
The 2023 will begin XDA season
will begin on April 21-23 at
MIR, mark your 2023 calendar now
and don't miss a weekend of
racing with the quickest and
fastest sanction in the country.
Visit
xdaracing.com
for event information, class
rules, schedule, and more.
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 |
