Peterson didn\u2019t start off setting National Trail on fire, qualifying fifth behind number one Chris Smith, his teammate Kemppainen, multi-time champ Ryan Peery, and Michael Balch.<\/p>\n
It was unusual qualifying sessions for the Circle M Ranch Top Fuel bikes\u2014in fact, all of the nitro bikes. The same strong winds that wreaked havoc on the NHRA race in Joliet and sent cars into the air at Indianapolis were blowing across National Trail. The second round was run all in the left lane on Saturday, with a morning round in the right lane on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even in round one of eliminations, Peterson was second slowest of all round winners. Louisiana winner Peery was quickest and seemed to be the favorite, given his career record of consistency and raceday improvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Paul Anderson was second-quickest and then took Peery out in E2 despite giving up .056 at the tree. \u201cOn Sunday, I had a computer board mess up in my fuel control box after Q3 in the morning and I couldn\u2019t do anything with it,\u201d reported Peery. \u201cCouldn\u2019t get fuel pressure up at the hit and my 60 foot times were not great. Rest of the fuel curve worked properly so the bike would still run consistent, just not great. Fixing the issue and will be ready for Martin, Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peterson beat Balch and the day was shaping up to be anybody\u2019s race. Kemppainen advanced when Tim Kerrigan was unable to make the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter our runner-up finish in Belle Rose, we headed to National Trail with high expectations,\u201d said DayStar Machine and Cycle Concepts\u2019s Steve Vickers, the builder and tuner of Kerrigan\u2019s bike. \u201cUnfortunately, we were plagued with gremlins all weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe air was not as good as Belle Rose, so we took some fuel out for Q1. We made it down the track, but only ran a 6.85. After reviewing the data, we realized that we had a malfunction with the fuel system, with even less fuel than we had planned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter repairing the fuel system issue, we were still too rich, and immediately dropped a hole for Q2 and Q3. Made another fuel adjustment, along with some timing, and we were able to run a 6.60 for E1 after JT (John \u201cJT\u201d Toth) broke coming out of the burnout.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring our maintenance to prepare for E2, we found a broken throttle shaft. We unfortunately did not have a spare, and after welding it back together, and breaking it again during reassembly, we were done for the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peterson then beat number one qualifier Smith in the semis. \u201cOverall, it was a great weekend being back on a bike, basically coming out of what felt like retirement,\u201d said Smith. \u201cJay (Turner) and Dorothy (Olson) reached out a few weeks ago and offered an amazing opportunity to ride one of the best bikes in the world with the tuning efforts of Jeremy Hoy, Jay, and Rex Harris\u2014how can you say no to that?!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were able to grab the number one qualifier spot, which was amazing. Unfortunately, we hurt the motor in Q3 and the bike slowed to a 6.54, and then slowed to a 6.65 in the first round of eliminations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily we had a bye in round 2 and chose to break the beam, and then head back to the trailer and replace the rear rod, piston and cylinder. The entire team jumped in and had tools and parts slinging everywhere and we were able to make the repairs in less than 30 minutes to make the semifinals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately our luck ran out there. We were out on Jordan by a slim margin (.002) until half half-track and then put a hole out and watched him cruise by. I am really looking forward to the rest of our season as I feel we have what it takes to be very successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kemppainen raced past Anderson in the other semi to set up the all-Stewart final. Samu held an .053 to .068 advantage at the tree and a great side-by-side race was on! Peterson lit the winlight with a 6.51 at 211 to Samu\u2019s 6.53 at 212, but the Finn\u2019s excitement was just beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the final run, I lost all air and could not shut off bike and (pop) parachute,\u201d said Kemppainen. \u201cAnd I was so close to the wall (where the pavement is rough and channeled), I couldn\u2019t hit hard brakes right away, so it was sandpit dirtbiking then.\u201d Samu actually ended up on Refugee Road (which we\u2019re told was NOT blocked!), placing himself between asphalt and bike to protect the motorcycle.<\/p>\n
Samu and the bike made it back to the winner\u2019s circle, both very dusty and quite sore. \u201cLuckily no damage to bike or me. Lots of cleaning but we will be ready for next race.\u201d<\/p>\n
No gravel, but Peterson had his clutch dust covered face in the winners circle. \u201cIt was a wild weekend, with the outcome you always hope for but is rarely achieved,\u201d said Jordan.<\/p>\n
\u201cChris Stewart has given me an amazing opportunity to ride a top-quality bike. He\u2019s laid back and creates no pressure, where you can just have fun and enjoy racing\u2014but at the same time wants to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the Chris Stewart Top Fuel bikes, it is the goal of any two-bike team\u2014get on opposite sides of the ladder and meet in the finals. Overall, this was a HUGE weekend for Romine Racing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into the semifinals, all of the Romine tuned bikes were still in\u2014Paul Anderson, and myself\u2014with Chris Smith being the fourtth bike with Jay Turner racing. Every round we had the performance edge and I was needing that performance from the Romine\u2019s after the second round\u2014where my lights were not where I typically like them\u2014and needed that E.T. to get back around the competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnybody involved with racing, knows that it is never smooth sailing. Even on successful weekends, typically it was a hard-fought battle and we had our fair share. Without the team that\u2019s around me I don\u2019t know how any of this could have been possible. We are always watching each other\u2019s backs and helping each other out where we can.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSpencer Aguiar is in the process of getting his own Top Fuel operation ready to race but couldn\u2019t quite have everything ready for the Ohio race. He stepped in helping with the between round maintenance and he is an absolute beast, I can\u2019t thank him enough!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy teammates, the \u2018Finland fun guys\u2019\u2014Samu, Mika Sjostedt (clutch man extraordinaire), and Jeff Killingsworth (not from Finland)\u2014also stepped in when I needed them. At one point we had already run the Top Fuel bike, it was back in the pits and we were delayed at the starting line from running the Funnybike. By the time we ran the Funnybike and got back, I ran over to start my between round maintenance on the Top Fuel bike and they went down the list of everything they had already done, I said \u2018Well, what am I supposed to do?\u2019 They replied \u2018Ride it!\u2019 Just and amazing group of people you can count on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can we forget Casey Jo (Sluggo) on top of the between round help. She did the running this weekend, taking me here and there, keeping an eye making sure I was where I needed to be. Every evening, she makes sure our team has a good meal to finish the night off with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRex Harris is like a damn superhero! He\u2019s there when you need him and without asking.. It\u2019s quite time consuming getting both Top Fuel bikes back after a run, a lot of times it\u2019s precious minutes if there are problems. But Rex has helped many times this year, giving me that extra time needed between rounds. I am typically turning off the race track and he is sitting there waiting. Thank you, Rex!\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bad Apple team has seen better weekends of Top Fuel racing, with Jimmy \u201cMac\u201d McMillan doing a reenactment of his Louisiana explosion. Tracy Kile blew the tire at the hit nearly\u00a0every qualifying pass, then pancaked the wall in E1. That resulted only in a bent pipe and Kile was back to the starting line to support his team immediately.<\/p>\n
Juha \u201cSushi\u201d Hintukainen and his ProCharged bike endured a weekend of breakage and Sushi was unable to make the call for E1. Jay Turner lost to Samu and Peery\u2019s teammate Buddy Johnson lost to Peterson\u2014both in E1.<\/p>\n
Sportsman racer Robert Willis shook down an old Bob Spina bike recently purchased by Stephen Coutsourakis. Expect to see Steve getting his Fuel license soon.<\/p>\n
The highlight reel of the weekend was accomplished by Curtis Heisler, who neglected to put in the top bolts of his wheelie bars for his E1 match with Anderson. As soon as the bike struck the bars, the bike launched skyward like a rocket, turning to one side before crashing back to earth and tossing Heisler to the centerline. There he laid motionless until racer Frank Velasco and the Nat Trail safety crew reached him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he was OK. Later in the day, back at his pit, the mid-60s racer was quite nonchalant about the horrifying event. \u201cThis one\u2019s all on me,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got have some excitement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking over the bike\u2014which was in surprisingly good shape, he continued, \u201cOf course it\u2019ll cost me.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s racing!<\/p>\n
Nitro Funnybike<\/strong><\/p>\n Peterson added the Nitro Funnybike win to his weekend\u2014his second straight on the Romine Racing prepared, Phil Lower-owned mount.<\/p>\n The Funnybikes seemed to struggle in Ohio, with Peterson qualified number one at only 7.02\/185. He finally ran a 6 second lap with a 6.83 in round one of eliminations, then a 6.91 to take the final round win over defending champ Cameron \u201cFlash\u201d Gunter of the Bad Apple Racing team.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was waiting on a shipment from UPS,\u201d Gunter deadpanned about his .328 light vs. Peterson\u2019s .074. \u201cMr. Peterson with Romine Racing cuts a tree like no other. There is just so much real estate to run a Romine Racing bike down. Congratulations to them for the win.\u201d<\/p>\n Like his Top Fuel mount, Peterson\u2019s Funnybike is tuned by the Romines. But the bike has a different owner.Owner Phil Lower and his girlfriend Jennie are really just some of the best people to be around,\u201d said Jordan. \u201cAlways so positive and fun, Phil is always right there to give a helping hand with anything, and as far as a bike it is second to none, the best of the best. It is simple to look at these Romine bikes and see the organization and quality of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, the Romine crew. We had Patti back for this race, so everything felt more normal. Mike, Jack, Patti, Phil, and Jennie do all the between round work on this bike. I\u2019m just the lucky guy who gets to ride it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWith my size, it\u2019s certainly harder to make a Funnybike or any bike go faster and quicker, and they are constantly changing or trying new things to make it even quicker than before. They had some success this weekend with the changes. They had more they wanted to try but parts were not available before the race.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe bike was leaving much harder\u2014I could feel that instantly\u2014and then the time ticket backed that feeling up. The bike was on a rail. Aside from trying to hit the tree and stop the bike, I didn\u2019t have to do anything but hang on for getting it down the track. They already have some more ideas to try for the next race in Martin Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n Peterson addressed his two pro class wins at one event. \u201cIt\u2019s something that doesn\u2019t happen all the time. I remember being at races as a kid where the biggest names of the sport would have a double-up victory and seeing them pointing both bikes at each other in the winner circle with their crew gathered around. I use to think that was so awesome. Never thought I\u2019d get to enjoy that same sensation. Everybody involved I cannot thank you enough. It was amazing!\u201d<\/p>\n Jack Romine added a little more detail to what they\u2019re working on. \u201cMike is starting to get a handle on the clutch with the changes he made,\u201d said Jack. \u201cPicked up the performance a little to 6.83 but dropped a hole early. Still has never ran 200 mph. A modern day Funnybike should drop off the trailer and run 6.6 seconds. We are still struggling. We have made some more changes and we are ready for Martin and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n A Nitro Funnybike that DID run 200 mph (201.91) at National Trail was the brand new camouflaged bike of former champ Jim Doyle. \u201cWe had JTR (Jay Turner Racing) build this new bike,\u201d said Doyle. \u201cThe motor, RacePak, and ignition were taken from the old bike. The rest of it is new with many upgrades. The bike is very comfortable to ride and goes straight, and that makes it a joy to ride.<\/p>\n \u201cPaint was done by Jimmy Cable from North Carolina. The Vansen leathers of Massachusetts were camoed by Jeff Disinger in New York, and team shirts were done by ProThings in Arizona.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe bike is a tribute to all branches of the military with a special note to U.S. Marines that will be 250 years old this year. I did serve six years in USMC myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Like McMillan in Top Fuel, Universal Fleet and Tire\u2019s \u201cRacin\u2019 Ray\u201d Robinson replayed his Louisiana head-torching display and was done for the weekend before reaching 60 feet.<\/p>\n Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBad Apple Mary\u201d Dangrow and her crew continue their Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel sweep. Her number one qualifying 7.43 at 168 mph had nearly 3\/10ths and almost 6 mph on the field.<\/p>\n That advantage didn\u2019t stop Mary and the Bad Apple team from improving every round on raceday, running a very stout 7.25 at 170 against John Jenkins for the win in the final. She also took the tree .138 to .430 against Jenkins, and took the tree in every round all day.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat can I say about this weekend?\u201d said Dangrow. \u201cIt was difficult and amazing all wrapped up into one.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe arrived early with plans to test on Friday. However with the winds and track conditions, we decided to sit tight and wait for Saturday morning qualifying.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe went into qualifying with a familiar tune-up to see what the bike would do. However, I didn\u2019t give us much help. I had a brain blip after sitting pre-staged for a while and left before the tree was activated. And with the wind gust blowing me toward the wall in the right lane, I let off just after the eighth mile.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe wind gusts didn\u2019t give up on Saturday, so second round of qualifying was run with all bikes in the left lane. With that pass we ran a 7:43 and took the number one qualifier. Q3 was postponed until Sunday morning for multiple reasons, including the wind.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSunday was a busy day for us starting at 10am with Q3. With the completion of Q3 we had a bracket bike running another 7:43 and keeping the number one spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPro Fuel had a 16-bike field at this event, so there were no \u2018free\u2019 passes, and every round was a round you had to fight through to win. Things got a little intense for me before E1 as I watched Tracy hit the wall in Top Fuel. My first reaction was to head straight to a scooter to go down track. As I was running to a scooter, Dorothy (Olson of JTR) grabbed me and said \u2018He\u2019s ok. He is. I have known him and raced with him for a long time and unless that man flips end over end on that bike, he is ok. He wouldn\u2019t want you to throw away this run for that so stop, get focused and stop acting like a girl!\u2019 We both laughed. Dorothy has an amazing way of snapping me back into focus to do what I\u2019m supposed to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs we made our way through the ladder we got quicker, running a 7:32 in E1 and E2, a 7:30 in the semifinals, and running a 7:25 in the final against John Jenkins.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI want to give a shout out to John. He got his license at the season finals in Rockingham last year and was already in his first Pro Fuel final. We\u2019re pretty proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n Jenkins had a few things to say himself. \u201cFirst I would like to thank the AMRA for providing us great venues to race, and Eatmyink for supporting and keeping fans informed of many race events,\u201d said Jenkins.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe came prepared to win. Seven clutch packs, five gallons of oil, spare parts and plenty of nitro. We were ready to rock.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cQualifying was dicey due to the wind, which pushed everyone to the right. We ended up 11th out of 16, which was a bit disappointing. Eliminations we were able to run personal best of 7.49 ET and 170.21 mph to make it to the finals in spite of rookie mistakes and baking biscuits at the starting line.\u201d<\/p>\n Now back to Mary. \u201cAfter five rounds of racing on Sunday, we were blessed with the win and we reset the eighth mile Pro Fuel record to 4.491. Winning doesn\u2019t suck, especially when it\u2019s on Tracy\u2019s birthday and our second in a row for Bad Apple\u2019s 25th year in Nitro Harley racing\u2014which makes it even better.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes a lot to manage our little traveling circus and our whole team works together to make it happen. I want to thank Randy and Brenda Jackson for crewing on my bike and keeping the entire team fed. Jon Wayne Stephens for pegging everyone back from the end of the track and being Tracy\u2019s right-hand man, with his hands in every bike. Jimmy and Stacey McMillan, Jake Anderson, Jason Shurtz, Scott Peek, Daryl Campbell, and Julie Ledford for jumping in to keep things rolling along. Special thank you to Tom and Jackie O\u2019Brein for taking care of Rocky and Casper at this event so we could do our jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs always, I am especially thankful for Tracy for his work, his tuning ability, and his love and support in everything we do. And to God for blessing me beyond what I deserve and giving us the ability to do what we do.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to thank my sponsors Fairview Tavern, Capone Landscaping, Vanson Leathers, Hawaya Racing Products, Ted Munsell at Trick Works LLC, and Victory Fuel for their support and commitment to the 2025 season.\u201d<\/p>\n Two-time defending champion Sam White and his White Lightning Racing team made a step forward in what is a rebuilding year for the team. White qualified second before breaking during his round one win and failing to make the E2 call.<\/p>\n Rookie White Lightning rider Darren Brinkman qualified 12th<\/sup>\u00a0and lost to Al Balice in round 1<\/p>\n Universal Fleet and Tire\u2019s Jason Leeper qualified 13th<\/sup>\u00a0and beat Jim \u201cBad Influence\u201d Martin before falling to Balice in round two. Balice fell to Dangrow in the semis.\u00a0<\/p>\n Louisiana runner-up Kenneth \u201cStubby\u201d Hultman qualified ninth and lost to Louis Sansone in round one.<\/p>\n Stewart Racing\u2019s nitro rookie Brian Conley Jr. didn\u2019t have the tool for the job this weekend, qualifying last and exiting early.<\/p>\n Rocky Jackson qualified sixth and lost to Jenkins in round one.<\/p>\n And lastly, lean, mean Walter Halonski qualified tenth and went all the way to the semis before falling to Jenkins.<\/p>\n Shutdown Area<\/strong><\/p>\n Tim Grindle won Pro Outlaw, Bert Baker won Zipper\u2019s Performance Pro Bagger, Jeff Boudreaux won Thundermax Street Bagger, George Futch won Zipper\u2019s Performance Modified, Jeremy Wilson won Super Gas 9.90, Jason Crisp won Axtell Cylinders Hot Street, Chris Hoppe won Top Eliminator 9.30 and Baker Drivetrain Eliminator Dial-in, Matt Hauser won BK Electric Super Pro 10.30, Jim Clarke won Pro Eliminator 10.90, and Austin Hughes won Thundermax Street Eliminator 11.50.<\/p>\n The Nitro Harley competitors look forward to seeing the Harley-Davidson drag racing family, riders and fans at beautiful U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, on June 28-29<\/p>\n The Nitro Harley racers thank<\/strong>\u00a0Bad Apple Racing<\/a>,\u00a0Chris Stewart Racing<\/a>,\u00a0DayStar Machine and Cycle Concepts<\/a>,\u00a0Universal Fleet and Tire<\/a>,\u00a0Jay Turner Racing<\/a>,\u00a0White Lightning Racing<\/a>,\u00a0P and C Johnson Trucking<\/a>, RP Motorsports,\u00a0Hawaya Racing<\/a>, and Johnny Mancuso\u2019s Circle M Ranch.<\/p>\n This report was prepared by Tim Hailey. Enjoy everything there is to read, see and watch about motorcycle drag racing and more at\u00a0https:\/\/www.eatmyink.com\u00a0<\/a>;<\/p>\n This story was originally published on June 2, 2025. The post Nitro Harley Lightning Strikes Twice for Peterson and Stewart Racing at National Trail<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When the Nitro Harley-Davidson thunder subsided at National Trail Raceway following the PennGrade1 AMRA Ohio Nationals on May 16-18, towering rider Jordan Peterson was celebrating two wins and team owner Chris Stewart was thrilled by an all-Stewart Racing Top Fuel final. \u201cWhat an incredible and unexpected weekend!\u201d said Stewart. \u201cThe Romine (tuning\/building brothers Mike and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101000\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Drag](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/DI_flat_red-e1711481551475.png\")
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