The PennGrade1 American Motorcycle Racing Association (AMRA) brought their Harley-Davidson drag racing show to beautiful U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan on June 27-28. Qualifying for the Michigan Nitro Nationals showed veteran teams struggling with their combinations, but the cream rose on raceday.
Circle M Ranch Top Fuel
No class typified the “struggle on Saturday, win on Sunday” scenario more than Johnny Mancuso’s Circle M Ranch Top Fuel.
Up until Saturday, Curtis Heisler was best known for leaving bolts loose (or missing) from his wheelie bars last year at AMRA’s National Trail race. That error sent Curtis and his bike launching skyward like Evel Knievel at Snake River. He was uninjured and unfazed.
While giants such as Samu Kemppainen (sixth) and champion Ryan Peery (seventh) languished way down in the order, Heisler shocked the field by qualifying number one with a 6.52 at 214 mph.
And of course, he did so with a flair for the dramatic. As Heisler fought to steer the bike away from the wall, he waited to brake or pull his chute until the bike was straight and out of danger. Now the end of the track was coming up quickly and Curtis plunged straight into the sandpit, keeping the bike up until the very end. Once again uninjured and unfazed, Heisler exclaimed “What a rush.”
And despite rushing to try and get the bike back to race ready, Curtis was unable to make the call for round 1 on Sunday. That gave Hawaiian racer Spence Aguiar, the tenth place qualifier, a broke bye.
Samu—who only missed winning last year’s championship by crashing hard in qualifying at the Finals—took the tree by a whopping .117 against Bad Apple Racing’s Cameron “Flash” Gunter and raced on to an otherwise close 6.62/201 vs. 6.67/202 win.
Peery was comparatively asleep at the tree with a .187 vs. number four qualifier Paul Anderson’s .072, but outran Anderson 6.33/210 to 6.45/206 for the win.
Tii Tharpe shot off the line like a rocket on Red Rhea’s “Long Train a’ Runnin’” bike before dropping a hole, allowing Rebel Glover to drive around with a 6.61 at 200 on a Jay Turner Racing bike.
Also on a JTR bike, John “JT” Toth was .202 slower than Jordan Peterson at the tree and .14 slower on track.
Peterson’s light against Toth was a .103, then he went way the other way with a -.131 redlight against teammate Samu in round two. “I staged extremely shallow, so I must have rolled back out of beams when I was going to hit the throttle,” reported Peterson. “It didn’t go forward because all the numbers were way off from the previous run, so the timers were activated before the bike was in motion.”
“That’s a little shitty that I run against the teammate Jordan before semifinal,” said Samu. “But yeah, now here everybody races, so we got ten bikes, sixteen bike ladders, so it happens, right?”
Peery was razor sharp in E2, nailing a .008 on Glover, who was .079. Ryan’s 6.40 at 209 was somewhat slower as the track heated up, but was well ahead of Rebel’s 6.669.
Aguiar once again had a bye, but finally had to race Peery in the semis. Ryan was even deadlier at the tree—.003—and ran 6.42 at 208 for the win and lane choice against Samu, who ran 6.50 on a bye to the final.
Peery slacked off to a more sane .039 vs. Samu’s .076 in the final and took the win with a 6.41 at 209.
It was the second big win in a week’s time for Peery, who won the IHRA Triple Crown race at National Trail. “Satisfaction is just the same,” Ryan said after the AMRA win. “Whether you’re winning there, winning here—doesn’t matter. Winning is winning.”
As mentioned at the start of this article, it wasn’t originally looking like a winning weekend for Peery at U.S. 131. “The first (qualifying) round we spun the tire at like a second and a half. Just too fast on the flow controls, need to slow them down. But after that pass, I came back, and I’m like, ‘Damn, the transmission didn’t shift again.’ And it didn’t shift last weekend (Peery manually shifted all raceday at National Trail).
“So I started taking it apart, and I’m like, ‘Screw it, I’m putting my spare box on.’ We got the box on, started checking it, they’re getting ready to call us, and it’s working worse than the other one. So we tore it apart. It just was not having it.
“We missed the round and ended up putting the other box back on. That box controls the transmission shift, it controls your fuel curve, your fuel map for the run, and it sets off the flow controls at a time sequence, so there’s a lot that this box does.
“So third round, we went up there, we pre-staged, we armed the system—which is the box—and as I’m getting ready to roll in, all of a sudden it starts pulling me, and I’m like, ‘What the shit?’ And I went ahead and hit it anyways. Made the run, and the parachute came out (like, right away).
“So, what had happened was some interference triggered the box two and a half seconds before I hit the throttle. So, as I was pre-staged, rolling in to stage, it went off, started pulling me. It’s doing its timers and fuel curve, and everything. Literally hit the throttle as it shifted the transmission—which was a positive—it did shift the transmission. And the fuel curve was dumping all the fuel out, so literally hit the throttle as it was doing those things. I didn’t know it at the time, but I knew that I needed to hit the transmission button just as a backup, so I don’t spin it to 6000 rpm. And when I hit the button manually, I hit the parachute button, so it threw the ‘chute out halfway down the track, or whenever it was. I didn’t know it at the time, just till I got to the end of the track. You feel it’s sluggish and not pulling right. I’ve done it twice now, once at the line and once in the run, so I know what it feels like now. But I just figured it was lazy in the middle, and that was that.
“So come back, and we’re just frustrated. Just went to bed all pissed off with nothing working right. Wake up, refreshed, slept good, and just started tackling the gremlins. Let’s look at the fuel box. ‘Hey, it shifted.’ Okay, that’s good, let’s build off of that. And then caught everything else working, and went out there for the first round eliminations, and put a .30 on the board. Everything worked.”
A 6.33 at 210, low ET of the event. “Track wasn’t hot and the air, the density altitude, was a lot lower, so you make more power, naturally. After that, it was just a struggle to be consistent and get the tune-up competitive where that first run was. But we just tuned following the air.
“The track here was tremendous. The track guys did an awesome job—even though they make us wait an extra ten minutes while we’re all suited up—they do a tremendous job. They’re actually working it, and they actually look at the spots where it needs attention. So they did a great job, they gave us a phenomenal track, and it was consistent. The amount of time they spent on it, and just the attention to details. Yeah, this track was probably better than IHRA.
“So we have a consistent track, and you just need to tune consistently to the air and go from there. So we just made adjustments and kind of detuned it per round just to stay competitive.
‘I’ve got to thank my wife and Jack Romine, because that was my help this weekend. So Miranda helping me start the bike in the pit and getting everything ready, and food and feed me, and then Jack just helping up at the line, lining me up, and just taking care of all that.”
Ryan also gave a shout-out to Bad Apple wrench Jon Wayne Stephens for helping him push his bike.
“Runner-up is not too bad comparing what we had yesterday,” said Samu. We have huge problems. We run out our clutch program. We had to take whole new clutch plates, whole new clutch kind of weight system, and we were running like crap yesterday.
“And this morning we thought, ‘Okay, we need to do something,’ and then we run .50s, .50s, went to the final. So I think that’s like—not a win, but kind of.
“We tried to put more power in the bike, but seems to be that we are blowing through the clutch at mid track and drop a hole. We tried to battle, but it’s never bad to be in a final. I still have to be happy.”
Meanwhile, Samu’s wounds from his Rockingham off continue to improve. His skin looks less gooey overall and the constant pain has waned.
“Going good! My arm’s working, and no constant pain anymore. I look prettier than ever!” he said, showing off the Alien-like scars that look like a creature emerged and attached itself to his veins. “Hurts like normal tattoo, more, and it takes like five months to heal, so, if you want one, just rent the bike and come here.”
Armon Furr Nitro Funnybike
Kenneth “Stubby” Hultman was the lone Armon Furr Nitro Funnybike contestant at Michigan. “A win is a win, right?” said Stubby.
“I put everything into it regardless of number. I am always working diligently at bettering myself. I call it working the numbers below the decimal. I was cutting excellent lights, I ran straight without lifting, I’m improving my ET, and hey, I didn’t break as many parts.
“I am also working on establishing a stellar crew, along with bringing a young new rider to the sport. Congratulations to Ian Newell for achieving his Pro Fuel license on the bike that took me to high levels in 2025. His new crewmember Steve Mangum did an outstanding job supporting us for his first time exposed to nitro…and my demand for excellence. Hats off to my Crew Chief Seven Stuart (yes his mother named him 7). He brings to the table employment as a Harley-Davidson Certified Mechanic, Lead Technician, and Shop Forman for a H-D dealership in Virginia.
“All of us treated this race no different than any other race, regardless of entry count. We all worked just as disciplined as if it was World Finals. We spoke to each other as a collective team to formulate plans of what we could do better as a team, forever focused on working the numbers below the decimal.
“Almost forgot to say something about my wife Becky. She’s the most important part. She is the glue that hold this all together. Forever arranging dinner, preparing beverages to keep us hydrated, adjusting our leathers to look our best. And all the videos for us to go over our runs to improve from.”
Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel
As always, Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel had the largest pro bike field. And as usual, “Bad Apple Mary (BAM)” Dangrow came out on top. Bad Apple Racing’s Top Fuel racer Tracy Kile didn’t ride at this event, so more attention on Mary’s bike always pays off, this time with the win and number one qualifier.
“Every year I pick a ‘Bible Verse of the Year,’ and this year my Bible verse is Isaiah 54:17—No weapon formed against you shall prosper,” said Mary.
“Well, the start of this weekend was a bit of a struggle and my verse was on my mind a lot. We came to the track with a bike we thought was set and ready to go after testing at Rockingham in May. Boy were we wrong.
“Friday after set-up, we discovered an issue with the bike that required a rear cylinder replacement. The plans to make one test pass for information on Friday changed. After a couple heat cycles late Friday night on gas, we did our start-up on nitro with the front cylinder smoking heavily.
“Randy (Jackson) got up at 6am Saturday morning, removed the front cylinder, then—like he and Brenda always do—they cooked us all breakfast.
“With the front cylinder replaced, Q1 went pretty normal except I was headed toward the wall and let out of it just after the 1000 foot, giving us a lower number than we had hoped (7.43 at 147).
“Q2 went pretty normal. I ran the right lane and solidified the number one qualifier spot with a 7.26. Thankfully we did well in Q2, because we didn’t make Q3. After my start-up, I checked my rear tire and brake like always before I get on the bike and I saw my chain guard laying against my tire. I cut the bike off and we backed it off the line. After some discussion, we decided we wouldn’t really learn anything from that pass, so as long as no one ran quicker than a .26 we were going to skip Q3.
“I had a bye run in E1 and the bike ran great (7.34). We then faced Richard Boone in E2. The bike ran normal again (7.33 to Boone’s 7.70), so we were feeling pretty good that whatever gremlin got into it had moved on. Which really makes things hard. When several people with a ton of nitro experience put their heads together and come out shrugging their shoulders and scratching their heads, it makes it a little frustrating. But everything was working so off to E3 we went.
“We faced Sam (White) in the semis, and thankfully the little gremlin only showed its face for a second shortly after the eighth mile with the bike nosing over. Thankfully it quickly recovered and we were able to take that round. Jon Wayne picked me up at the end and we hightailed it back to the pit because I thought the gremlin was back. After checking everything over and looking at the data, we discovered the bike was trying to drop a cylinder but it recovered quickly. We slowed a bit to a 7.37 and with Hot Rod (Carlisle) running a 7.34, we lost lane choice. But off to the final we went.
“Facing Hot Rod again is always fun. He’s a great person and competitor and has been right there with me in the numbers. Last race we faced each other was in Rockingham at the finals in 2025. Thankfully, he didn’t get his revenge yet. We were able to run a 7.26 to his 7.34 and take the win.
“The Pro Fuel class is an awesome class to be in. We had fifteen bikes on property in competition, with three bikes making their license passes. The class continues to grow and there’s nothing like winning a race when you’re doing it through a full field.
“I’d like to thank Randy and Brenda Jackson, Jon Wayne Stephens, Jackie and Tom O’Brien, and Cameron Gunter for all the help and work they did to keep everything rolling. Thank you to Tracy Kile, my partner in life for his hard work, encouragement, support, and faith in me. And thank the good Lord for blessing me beyond what I deserve.
“Thank you to my sponsors: Fairview Tavern, Capone Landscape, and a special shout-out to Vanson Leathers. Vanson has sponsored me for several years in my racing, and after my dear friend Larry McBride had an on-track incident a couple weeks ago, which I’m sure everyone has heard by now. His leathers were beat up, but they never broke through. That is quality and that is why I always wear Vanson and I thank them for keeping us riders safe.”
Axtell Cylinders Hot Street and Super Gas 9.90
There’s usually at least one double winner at each AMRA event, and this time it was Jeremy “Skinnywrench” Wilson. He won Axtell Cylinders Hot Street and Super Gas 9.90 on his Bagger.
Wilson qualified number one in Hot Street with a 9.89 at 130, then beat Chad Trayner in the final. Riding the proverbial knife in a gunfight, Trayner took the tree with a .103 to Wilson’s .348—that’s playing it safe! Jeremy’s 9.85 at 136 drove cleanly around Chad’s 11.01/119.
Wilson also qualified number one in Super Gas with a 9.914—.005 closer to the index than Robert Alther’s 9.919. Jeremy faced Joe Petersen in the final and was sharp on the tree this time with an .086 to Joe’s .239. That gave Wilson the room to ease over the stripe for the win with a 10.08 to Petersen’s 9.99
“The 9.90 class is definitely a very competitive class,” said Jeremy. “They surely make you work for that win light. Was absolutely amazing to be number one qualifier in Super Gas and Hot Street and win both classes.
“I would like to first thank the AMRA for hosting another great event for us to race. Also I would like to thank my sponsors: Williams County BMV, Newton’s Chop Shop, Chad and Holly Laney, A1 Cycles, my shop Skinnywrench Cycles, and everyone that helps out in any way for all of the support. Can’t wait till the next event in Byron, Illinois!”
Zipper’s Performance Pro Bagger
“Zipper’s Performance Pro Bagger was never on my horizon until the 2026 AMRA U.S. 131 event,” said David “Paco” Cartwright. “After returning from an Upper Peninsula trip with my brother, I stopped in at Baker Drivetrain to check in on Scott Lerg. Coincidentally and unbeknownst to me, Bert Baker had a scheduling conflict that precluded him from attending the Michigan event (and riding his turbo Bagger), and the Baker team was trying to hatch a solution at about the same time I walked through their doors. Timing is everything.
“After checking up on Scott, Bert asked if I’d be interested in riding his Pro-Bagger. ‘Hell, yes!’ was my response, although I informed him we really need to consult with my team (mutant Motors by Wolf) before I go full regalia. After a brief conversation, my team changed their driving schedule to Haslett to support Baker and me.
“Pulling an “all-nighter” they (Bert, Wolf, Jay, JT, Scott, and Cody) prepped the bike, hooked up Baker’s truck and trailer, loaded it, and Wolf drove the Baker rig to US131 with me in hot pursuit.
“Friday testing I ran an 8.02 at 171. Saturday I qualified with an 8.11 in Q1 and did not run Q2 or 3. 8.11 was enough for number one qualifier.”
Louisiana winner Nick Boey posted a nifty .058 light to Paco’s .175 in the final. But while Paco rode out a wheelie through half-track to an 8.12, Boey’s bike failed to shift and coasted across the stripe at 40 mph.
“Very humbling to be asked to fill in, and very satisfying to win for the Baker Team,” finished Paco. “Bert Baker and Scott Lerg have an incredible amount of time in this bike to make it happen.”
Thundermax Street Bagger
Cartwright and Boey also race Thundermax Street Bagger, along with Paco’s Mutant Motors by Wolf teammates Jimmy Maikranz and Jeff Boudreaux.
Number one qualifier was an all-out battle between Boey and Maikranz, with Jimmy’s 8.52 at 142 coming out on top of Nick’s .54 at 138.
And that’s pretty much how raceday played out after the two advanced to the final. Boey had a slight .004 advantage at the tree, but his 9.42 at 139 allowed Maikranz to drive around with a 9.37 at 147.
“Great weekend in Michigan,” said Maikranz. “We captured the number one qualifier spot and won the race.U.S.131 is an amazing facility and the track crew are some of the best on the circuit for us.
“Huge thanks to the Mutant Motors by Wolf team for making it happen for me, especially since we split the team in half, across Michigan, trying to help out a friend in need.
“Thanks to all our sponsors: Wood Performance, Polydyn, HPI, Darkhorse, Baker Drivetrain, Murray Performance, Meg and Chris Mann, T.J. Hicks, and Mom and Pop Boudreaux.”
Zipper’s Performance Modified
Cody Hayworth was the Zipper’s Performance Modified number one qualifier with a 9.26 at 134, but lost in the final when his bike died on the two-step. That handed the win to Kimberly DeShields, who ran it out to a 9.40 at 142.
“Thanks to the AMRA for putting on a great event,” said DeShields. “The Martin track crew was phenomenal. The track conditions were top notch. I’d also like to give a shout-out to the medical team there this weekend. We sure did keep them on their toes.
“My sponsor this year is Rolling Thunder Cycle Service in Enville, Tennessee, and Norden-Leslie Racing, in memory of Earl Norden. A very big thank you to my crew, Vinnie and James for keeping the bike running competitively. A big thanks to all the guys at the shop who maintain the bike between races. I couldn’t do it without them. Thanks to Cammie and Bones for making lots of delicious food for us over the weekend and keeping me cool under the sun.
“We were unable to race this bike last year due to personal reasons after losing Earl but we are looking forward to having a great comeback year with it. And of course, our photographer. He was all over the place this weekend getting awesome pics. Thanks Tim Hailey, for all you do for us.”
Pro Outlaw
Lake Charles, Louisiana H-D dealer Billy Doherty was certainly on his reaction time game in the Pro Outlaw final, using the only advantage he might have with his wheelie bar, normally aspirated bike against Jeremy Williamson’s turbo Bagger. His .018 put him out first against Williamson’s .044. While Billy ran an 8.44 at 141, Williamson’s bike drove through the clutch and ran 8.99 at only 113 mph.
“What a crazy weekend, the race at 131 was like a rollercoaster of emotions,” said Doherty. “My crew chief Larry Pratt is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and we have a lot of his friends that follow us. So each time I go up there it’s like a family reunion.
“We entered my Pro Mod in the Pro Outlaw class, knowing since Jeremy showed up with a Turbo Bagger we were out classed. We kept getting faster each qualifying pass and we qualified number two.
“Luckily in eliminations we made it to the finals, but we knew we had no chance against Jeremy that is almost a second faster than we were. I lined up and launched and as expected Jeremy pulled away from me. Then in fourth gear I made up the distance and shifted into fifth gear and passed him. I looked up and saw the win light in total shock. I was like WTF just happened?
“I have to thank Larry Pratt and Larry Klunder for all of their help all of these years.
“One other thing one person from the organization stated ‘See? Anybody can win.’ My answer to that is you can get lucky in a class that the rules are against you, but luck doesn’t win a championship.” And like his old buddy Donnie Huffman, Doherty races for championships.
Top Eliminator 9.30
David Doremus’ 9.32 took number one qualifier in Top Eliminator 9.30 on Saturday, and he raced into the final on Sunday. His .038 put fellow finalist Randy Erdman (.072) into a hole to start. Erdman did a great job of catching up without breaking out with a 9.306, but Doremus’ 9.32 held on for the win.
The quiet Doremus is a tough racer on a beautiful bike. He has 46 national event wins, 24 runners-up, and 16 championships.
“I always like going to 131,” said Doemus. “Great track and staff.
“Saturday got off to a good start in test and tune. I ran a 9.300 when it didn’t count. It’s still good to put a number down like that.
“David Hedicker (crew chief) and I qualified first, which gave me a first round buy run on Sunday. Second round I got a broke buy on Cody’s (Hayworth) misfortune. The final was a tight race with Randy. I came out on top on a holeshot victory.
“Thanks to Benchmark Excavating, and I couldn’t do it without crew chief David.”
BK Electric Super Pro 10.30
“I thought I lost in the first round. Then I looked at the time sheet and realized I won,” said Gary Burkley, who went on to win BK Electric Super Pro 10.30. “The final was not the way I wanted to win. My opponent (Richard George) had mechanical issues. However, that’s part of racing.”
Last time Burkley won a national event was at Cecil County, and a huge storm erupted just as he was rolling into the winner’s circle. Not this time, as the sun shown brightly on Gary and his V-Rod, who were also number one qualifier.
“I want to thank the AMRA for putting on a great event, and I have to thank the Warren Harley-Davidson family for all their support. What an exciting weekend!”
Pro Eliminator 10.90
Young Aiden Pollworth and his large family team are always around late in eliminations, and the 24 year-old racer finally sealed the deal with the Pro Eliminator 10.90 win at 131. And he did it by winning over one of the cagiest of all veterans—Jim Clarke.
In a classic wheelie-bar (Pollworth) vs. no-bar Bagger (Clarke) final, Pollworth naturally took the tree .048 to .109. Aiden’s 11.04 was enough to take the win against Clarke’s closer-to-the-index 11.01.
“I’ve been racing with the AMRA since 2019 and have made multiple finals, taken out some very heavy hitters, just to end up falling short in the big race,” said Pollworth.
“My grandfather has been dealing with some health issues, which ended up being a big factor in him hanging up the jacket and me moving up to the 10.90 index on his bike, with my best buddy now piloting my old bike. This weekend in Michigan was my first ever sanctioned AMRA event win and it just so happened to be on his birthday weekend after finding out some news about his health. So it was a very important and special win.
“I’d have to say my toughest round was absolutely the finals against the reigning champ Jim Clarke.
“I’d like to thank my grandparents, the Szafrans, my lady, and Sontag Speed Supplies for making this all possible.”
Thundermax Street Eliminator 11.50
About half an hour before the Thundermax Street Eliminator 11.50 final, Kevin Winters redlit in another class. “We won’t see that happen again!” said Loren Potter, watching with a group of railbirds.
And indeed we didn’t, as tough competitor Winters took the Street Eliminator later in the day. His .074 light gapped final round opponent Derek Johnston by .052, his 11.49 closer to the index in a double breakout race.
“It was my first race of the season for me,” said Winters. “I haven’t touched the bike since last year at Bowling Green, Kentucky. So we’ll see what happens and if this old man still has it.
“Saturday, I rolled off the trailer first round of qualifying and went number one with an 11.501 in the Street Eliminator 11.50 index class. Sunday I managed to capture the win to complete a perfect weekend in the class. I guess the old man still has it.
“I also competed in Eliminator bracket class and Pro Eliminator 10.90 index class. Went three rounds in Eliminator bracket class and ultimately lost to my teammate Steve Lacy, who went on to win. Pro Eliminator 10.90 index class went to second round and got beat by Aiden Pollworth who also went on to win his first race.
“Great weekend overall. Love seeing all the racers and friends. See ya in Byron for the next race.”
Baker Drivetrain Eliminator Dial-in
As Winters said, Steve Lacy took the Baker Drivetrain Eliminator Dial-in win. In a double redlight final, his opponent John Hughes was first and worst.
“With the Ohio event in May getting canceled, my season has gotten off to a late start,” said Lacy. “But things all worked out for me Sunday with the Backwoodz Performance Sportster!
“Now typically I just take race day one round at a time, but this event I added a little extra pressure. I knew, if I could lock down a final round ‘W,’ I’d get the opportunity to chat with the great Tim Hailey and the Eatmyink nation! Thanks for doing what you do!”
Shutdown Area
The AMRA Harley-Davidson drag racing family will stick around in the Midwest for the next race at Byron Dragway in Illinois on August 7-9. The Byron race rained out after qualifying last year, so the whole field—including Nostalgia Nitro—looks forward to racing there. Make sure you’re there!
This AMRA race coverage report is brought to you by AMRA, Tracy Kile’s Fairview Tavern in Asheville, NC, and the media outlet where you’re seeing the coverage.
This report was prepared by Tim Hailey. Enjoy everything there is to read, see and watch about motorcycle drag racing and more at https://www.eatmyink.com ;
This story was originally published on July 9, 2026. 
The post AMRA Harley Drags Thunder at Beautiful U.S. 131 first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
