Lightning flashed overhead as the last finals were run at AHDRA\/AMA\u2019s Zipper\u2019s Performance Mid-Atlantic Nitro Showdown at Cecil County Dragway. Bikes and teams lined up for winners circle photos as a solid wall of downpour advanced ominously up the track. With heavy drops falling, teams raced to get their photos taken and rush back to their pits. Damn the plaques, let\u2019s just get this done!<\/p>\n
\u201cGo! Go! Go!\u201d shouted the photographer, sounding like a NASCAR spotter on a restart as he shuffled through the queue of winners.<\/p>\n
Then it unleashed. Waves of vision obscuring rain swept by gale winds, looking more like a hurricane storm surge than a simple gully washer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the F just happened?\u201d said Nitro Funnybike rider Cameron Gunter as he emerged out of shelter a short time late. \u201cI mean what the actual F?!\u201d<\/p>\n
In a stunningly short matter of time, this motorcycle drag race went from simply finishing before the lights went on to surviving a cataclysm.<\/p>\n
With a worse forecast for Sunday, qualifying and eliminations were sped through on Saturday after the track was prepped from what seemed like strong storms Friday night. In retrospect, they were mere sprinkles.<\/p>\n
GMS Racing Engines Xtreme Outlaw<\/strong><\/p>\n Early in the day, when the main weather concern was the relentless sun and shirt-drenching humidity, one of the most watched records in the sport fell to the rider that built the previous record holder\u2019s motorcycle.<\/p>\n Gregg Dahl has actually held the unofficial no-bar, street tire, V-Twin quarter mile record for three years with a 7.62. But his customer Mike Motto\u2019s 7.72 was run at a sanctioned event and AHDRA champion Charley Douglass come tantalizingly close as well while Dahl devoted his time to his customers and business.<\/p>\n Douglass was the one who had it together in GMS Racing Engines Xtreme Outlaw qualifying at Cecil County, taking the number one spot but breaking his turbo bike in the process.<\/p>\n That left the two GMS nitrous bikes of Dahl and Motto to battle it out in the final. There might have been a malfunction that left Dahl sitting at the tree for a full .541 while Motto streaked away with a .164 reaction and a 7.92 at 173 miles per hour for the win. But Dahl hardly cared when the scoreboard on his side lit up with a 7.672 at 183.12 mph\u2014both ends of the record he lives to break.<\/p>\n And he insists there will be more. \u201cWe hope to get enough runs by the end of the year to get this new engine running the short times that we ran with smaller engine three years ago,\u201d said Dahl. \u201cIf that happens, look out!<\/p>\n \u201cAfter coming off of our test session at Mason Dixon Dragway three weeks ago, we felt that our goal of getting to 183 would be within reach. After struggling with an electrical issue early on, we did reach our goal on a last ditch attempt. We have a bit of map work to do to get where we want to be, so next time out should be a lot smoother.<\/p>\n \u201cAlways great to have the support of Leineweber Cams, Vincent Chen\u2019s Racing Bros Shocks, MS Shock Therapy, Renegade Race Fuels and Oils, Worldwide Bearings, Fuel Tech ECU, NGK Spark Plugs, Energy One Clutches and R&D Motorsports.<\/p>\n \u201cI also must mention my partner Damon Kuskie, our loyal pit wrench Tony \u201cJulio\u201d Laurita, and my close friend Mike Motto. We all came together to fight through the issues and come out with a successful effort. It was extra special to have the legendary Mike Magaro with us this weekend!\u201d<\/p>\n Motto lost his hold on the record but happily came away with the event win. \u201cWe have suffered the pain the past couple years trying to improve the longevity of our power plants,\u201d said Mike. \u201cGregg had electrical issues (this weekend) and I had shifter linkage issues, causing the bike to fail on the 2-3 shift. At one point we had both our bikes in pieces in our trailers. Greg and Damon bounced back and forth from trailer to trailer trying to help me and also get Gregg\u2019s bike going. We went to the staging lanes covered in oil and grease and well, everyone saw the results. I took the win and Greg reset the record!<\/p>\n \u201cThese bikes are not for the fainthearted. Sometimes we have some very disappointing results, But man, they are fun when it all comes together. It looks like Gregg has developed an engine that we can really put the juice to. If we can keep the bike together, It looks like we are in a good spot to take the X- Outlaw championship for 2023. We are excited for The Rock!\u201d<\/p>\n That would be October\u2019s AHDRA and AMRA finals, the Jim McClure All-Harley Nationals at Rockingham Dragway on October 27-29 that the American V-Twin drag racing calendar revolves around.<\/p>\n In addition to Dahl\u2019s \u201cthank you\u201d list, Motto added MTC Engineering, Nitrous Express Systems, GMS Racing and \u201cEveryone at the shop who helps to make these machines fly! And of course, thank you to my wife for always being by my side and all of our race family for assisting me in my addiction to speed!\u201d<\/p>\n Top Fuel<\/strong><\/p>\n 2021 AHDRA champion and NHRA U.S. Nationals winner Ryan Perry capitalized on his typical consistent performance to take the Top Fuel win over final round runner-up Tracy Kile.<\/p>\n 2021 winner and current AHDRA champion Kile smoked the tire every round, including his round 1 match with Ziggy Stewart. Both these riders engaged in a peddlefest that saw Kile advance despite giving up .226 at the tree.<\/p>\n Kile\u2019s reaction fortunes went the other way in the final, as he was .041 to Peery\u2019s .148. Peery was there for the taking down-track as well, as he slowed to a 7.16 at 183. Kile was not able to put up a fight this time around, though, and coasted across the line well behind Peery.<\/p>\n \u201cThe tuner (himself) was on point, running 6\u2019s off the trailer,\u201d said Peery. \u201cBut the rider (also himself) wasn\u2019t happy. We needed more bikes to compete. The final wasn\u2019t pretty but a win is a win, so the owner (once again, himself) is happy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was my first trip to Cecil and the track was in great shape. We had a couple 1.07 60 foot times, which tell you the track is pretty tight\u2014my best being a 1.04.<\/p>\n \u201cThe air wasn\u2019t great and I couldn\u2019t make the power I wanted to for the big end, which resulted in some ETs in the .50s and .60s and low MPH. The weather also called for some bad storms to move in for Sunday, so Bill (AHDRA\u2019s Bill Rowe) called for a one day race. Makes for a long day when you\u2019re already short handed on help, just Miranda and I. But we did our best and came out with the W.\u201d Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel<\/strong><\/p>\n Kile\u2019s Bad Apple Racing teammate (and more) \u201cBad Ass Mary\u201d Dangrow came through for the Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel win, though, handing champion and defending event winner Sam White his first AHDRA loss of the season. Both riders left the starting line within .005 of each other, but Dangrow legged it out for the 7.44 at 168 to 7.51 at 167 win. Great race!<\/p>\n \u201cWinning is always an amazing feeling for all of us,\u201d said Dangrow. \u201cBut to win at Cecil County Dragway with Tracy\u2019s friends and family present, that\u2019s like what winning at Indy is for most drag racers.\u201d And she should know, since she\u2019s won at Indy too.<\/p>\n \u201cCecil County Dragway is the home track for the Bad Apple Nation, and also the track that I entered my very first race on nitro at. It\u2019s an amazing facility and surface to race on.<\/p>\n \u201cThis turned into a one day event, making it a bit more hectic than usual, but it was a great day. We had a little issue as we pulled the bike off the lift for the final. Backing it out of the pit, we discovered that my fuel line clamp had broken when the fuel line came off and nitro went everywhere. Not only did Sam and White Lighting racing wait for us to fix it, they gave us the new clamp that made that happen. That\u2019s the thing about these nitro classes, we are all there to help each other.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always challenging to go up against Sam in a final. He\u2019s a hard man to beat, and of course we always love to win. To quote the Bad Apple Motto started by Tracy: Winning don\u2019t suck!<\/p>\n \u201cI want to thank my crew Randy and Brenda Jackson, who drive down from Canada for every race; Frank Capone, who made sure I got from the big end back to the pit; Chad from Cecil County Dragway for making sure that we had a great racing surface; and of course Tracy Kile, who supports everything I do. Without these people and the support of the Bad Apple Nation, none of this would be possible.<\/p>\n \u201cI also want to thank Fairview Tavern, Capone Landscape, Vanson Leathers, Hawaya Racing Products, and The Bad Apple image department for their sponsorship and support.<\/p>\n Pingel Modified<\/strong><\/p>\n Bad Apple Racing\u2019s Frank Schaffroth also joined Dangrow in the winner\u2019s circle when he won the Pingel Modified final over Nate Carnahan. Nate\u2019s .067 light gapped Schaffroth\u2019s .314 pretty big at the start, but Frank\u2019s 9.478 at 139 drove around Carnahan\u2019s 9.81 at 129.<\/p>\n \u201cCecil County is always a blast,\u201d said Schaffroth. \u201cWith the help of my family and friends, I was able to work out some bugs and put some consistent numbers down.<\/p>\n \u201cAs always, big shout-out to Bad Apple Racing. We always have a big crew going at this race. Congrats to BAM on her win, and I\u2019ll be coming for Rockingham next. Also thanks to Long Doggers and Southern V Twin, both down in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n Nitro Funnybike<\/strong><\/p>\n Nitro Funnybike champion Michael Balch didn\u2019t have to put up much of a race in his final when first year nitro rider\u2014and number one qualifier\u2014Cameron Gunter timed out at the tree.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of bikes were\u2014I\u2019m guessing\u2014reluctant to show up because of the threat of rain,\u201d said Balch. \u201cSo it was only Cameron and I. Since the race was all pushed into one day it meant turn and burn. My team never took a break, worked straight through. We were blessed enough to get away with the win.<\/p>\n \u201cIn between the Milan and Cecil race, we sent the EM box out for repair. Once we got it back, our electrical problems were fixed. We were close enough on the tune-up to run A to B each run.<\/p>\n \u201cMy sponsors and team are the only reason I ever win, look good, or shine at all. Without them it would not be possible. Now we go back to GMS and service everything to get ready for Rockingham.\u201d<\/p>\n Zipper\u2019s Performance Pro Modified<\/strong><\/p>\n Cecil County is the home race for event and Pro Modified sponsor Zipper\u2019s Performance Products. John Price won Pro Mod at Milan last time out, won this race last year, and won again this time around.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, another race fighting Mother Nature and me dealing with a mechanical issue,\u201d said Price. \u201cMy fuel pump went out during my Q1 run, but it was good enough to get and hold on to the number one qualifier position.<\/p>\n \u201cI missed Q2 trying to make repairs. This could have been a problem with the condensed race schedule. I tried two borrowed fuel pumps with no luck. I just went old school and bypassed the pump completely. Ran three rounds and got the win. I am just sorry my good friend Gary Douglas had his own mechanical problems during the final. We always have a good race when paired up together.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to thank Zippers Performance for sponsoring the class and for the help they give me. It was great to have Danny and the Zipper\u2019s crew at the race and in my winners circle picture. It was also fun to see Danny going down the track again.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to thank Keith Carper and my brothers David and Steve for their help, Gregg at GMS and Mike Shultz at HDFR for their help over the years, and a big shout-out to the Cecil County crew and Bill and Chrissy Rowe of the AHDRA for for getting the race in.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was my fourth AHDRA win in a row and puts me into the points lead\u2014just barely over Chris Hoppe\u2014going in to Rockingham. See you there!\u201d<\/p>\n Super Modified<\/strong><\/p>\n Gary Douglass won Axtell Cylinders Super Modified when Keith Carper was unable to make the call for the final. Season dominator Kimberly \u201cK-Charm\u201d Deshields had to borrow an index bike when her own mount was delayed after the team\u2019s truck broke down.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat a weekend, or should I say Saturday,\u201d said Douglass. \u201cI decided to run two bikes for this event for the first time this year. It is a tough chore for a two day event and downright grueling for one day because of the heat and humidity.<\/p>\n \u201cI qualified number one in Super Modified and ran a 9.13 in the final for the win. In Pro Mod, I qualified number two. I made it to the finals and both legs and hands developed cramps from the heat and humidity. I didn\u2019t know if I could continue. Got the bike staged and when the green light came on the bike quit\u2014dead battery. I think the Lord didn\u2019t want me to make the attempt and I ended with runner-up in Pro Mod.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to AHDRA and Cecil County Dragway for getting the event completed. I want to thank my family, Jacob Bush, Jody Simpson, Charley, and Cindy Folks for all their help. Without them I could not do this thing I love called Harley drag racing.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso thanks to Axtell for sponsoring the Super Mod class and Zipper\u2019s Performance for sponsoring the Pro Mod class. Thanks to John Price for the extra purse.<\/p>\n \u201cA big thank you to Energy One for being with us all these years. Also thanks to Chad Hart, SA Racing, H.D. of Lynchburg, Jerry Johnson, and Billy Mathias. Last but not least thanks Tim Hailey for all your work helping to keep the sport alive.<\/p>\n \u201cSee you all in Rockingham!\u201d<\/p>\n Pro Bagger and Bagger<\/strong><\/p>\n Geronimo Pratt won both Pro Bagger and Bagger Street at Cecil for the second straight year. Julius DeManns broke down-track and was unable to challenge Pratt for the stripe in the Pro Bagger final.<\/p>\n Pratt handily took the tree .190 to Shawn Miller\u2019s .324 in the Bagger Street final and just as handily held on to the lead with a 10.17 at 132 to Miller\u2019s 12.64 at 106.<\/p>\n 9.30 index and Vreeland\u2019s Harley-Davidson 9.90<\/strong><\/p>\n Ken Strauss also doubled up, winning 9.30 index and Vreeland\u2019s Harley-Davidson 9.90. Strauss wound out his ProCharged bike to erase Chris Hoppe\u2019s .013 starting line advantage and run 9.37 to Hoppe\u2019s 9.42 for the 9.30 win in that final.<\/p>\n His 9.90 final round came at the expense of Kevin Laughman. Strauss put a full tenth on Laughman at the tree and ran a 9.97 to Kevin\u2019s 10.26 for the win.<\/p>\n \u201cI decided to go at the last minute,\u201d said Strauss. \u201cWife had to work so it was tough time running two classes to the end in the heat solo, especially trying to beat the rain with a one day event.\u201d<\/p>\n 10.30 Super Pro<\/strong><\/p>\n Richard George backed up his Milan win with 10.30 Super Pro honors at Cecil County. Carnahan runner-upped for the second time in one day despite having a .010 starting line advantage against George, who ran only .027 over the index for the win.<\/p>\n Universal Fleet & Tire 10.90<\/strong><\/p>\n Cody Hayworth won the Universal Fleet & Tire 10.90 final against Kevin Gaunt, who failed to run the number after a brilliant .006 light. Hayworth posted a 10.930.<\/p>\n \u201cMy 10.90 bike was on rails all day,\u201d reported Hayworth. \u201cThe finals was a really good race, running a 10.93 to take the W.<\/p>\n \u201cBurnt up a plug on the other bike, so 10.30 and 9.90 didn\u2019t fare so well. But there is always the next one.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to the AHDRA for putting on a great show despite Mother Nature doing her thing, and special thanks to Tim Hailey for helping keep this sport alive!\u201d<\/p>\n 11.50<\/strong><\/p>\n The 11.50 win went to Gary Burkley. His .166 light was quicker than champion Chris Ussery\u2019s .212, giving him the win despite giving up .043 at the stripe in a good race.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to thank Warren Harley-Davidson, specifically Pam Schaffer, for the use of the motor until mine is rebuilt,\u201d said Burkley. \u201cI want to thank Rick George for helping me get ready for the first round of qualifying. I want to keep this momentum going heading into Rockingham.\u201d<\/p>\n Eliminator and Trophy<\/strong><\/p>\n Mike Tewey\u2019s .077 light paved his way to the Eliminator win over final round runner-up Mike Carpentieri.<\/p>\n Chris Vilardi\u2019s final round redlight handed the Trophy win to David Hebert.<\/p>\n Junior Dragbikes<\/strong><\/p>\n Timmy Gaunt took the tree .065 to .140 against Jaden Hines in the Junior Junior Dragbike final, but Hines stayed close to his dial-in for the win.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if the Junior Drag kids had more fun Saturday racing or Friday night watchin\u2019 the jet funny cars and jet dragsters,\u201d said said Jaden\u2019s father, Michael Hines Sr. \u201cBill Rowe was bigger than Elvis for four hours Friday night. The kids loved it.<\/p>\n \u201cThen they got to race on Saturday. The weather was sticky out. Michael and Jaden\u2019s numbers were all over, and a lot of breaking out happened. Both Gaige Wall\u2014from RMC Raceway\u2014and Jaden broke out in their race, with Jaden getting the win.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael got third place in the Senior class. Gaige raced in his first AHDRA race and he did well all weekend. See everyone at The Rock.\u201d<\/p>\n Kylie Himmelreich took the Junior Senior Dragbike final against Bradley Croneberger Jr. despite giving up .028 at the tree.<\/p>\n \u201cKylie didn\u2019t test on Friday, coming off a win at her hometown track the week prior,\u201d said her father, Jared Himmelreich. \u201cShe cut a .011 light in Q1, which put her number one qualifier.<\/p>\n \u201cShe ran her bye (and) was faster. I set her ET at a 13.72 and she went a 13.85 for the win. This is her second win in AHDRA and we\u2019re still looking for sponsors for the 2024 race season. Thanks to Bill and Chrissy for all they do for AHDRA.\u201d<\/p>\n Shutdown Area<\/strong><\/p>\n AHDRA\u2019s Bill and Chrissy Rowe look forward to seeing everyone at the AHDRA and AMRA finals, the Jim McClure All-Harley Nationals at Rockingham Dragway on October 27-29.<\/p>\n AHDRA\/AMA thanks\u00a0<\/strong>Vreeland\u2019s Harley-Davidson<\/a>,\u00a0MTC Engineering<\/a>,\u00a0Hawaya Racing<\/a>,\u00a0Pingel Enterprise<\/a>,\u00a0GMS Racing Engines<\/a>,\u00a0Zippers Performance<\/a>,\u00a0Vanson Leathers<\/a>,\u00a0Universal Fleet & Tire<\/a>,\u00a0Daryl Coffin Motorsports,\u00a0Axtell Cylinders<\/a>,\u00a0Advanced Sleeve<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Racers For Christ<\/a>.<\/p>\n The post AHDRA Beats Biblically Proportioned Deluge at Cecil County<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated | Drag Racing News, Opinion, Interviews, Photos, Videos and More<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lightning flashed overhead as the last finals were run at AHDRA\/AMA\u2019s Zipper\u2019s Performance Mid-Atlantic Nitro Showdown at Cecil County Dragway. Bikes and teams lined up for winners circle photos as a solid wall of downpour advanced ominously up the track. With heavy drops falling, teams raced to get their photos taken and rush back to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89604","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"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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