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Motorcycle drag racing heavy hitters Tommy Miceli and Billy Vose tested bikes last night at Englishtown Raceway Park in preparation for their NHRA Pro Stock Bike debut this weekend at the NHRA Pep Boys Nationals (formerly the Keystone Nationals) in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Miceli, a major player in both Pro Mod and Streetbike Shootout, took the seat of the CTS/CRAVE Suzuki of Ben Hatcher, which was last ridden by Geno Scali at the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indy. Hatcher's relationship with Miceli came about when Hatcher mentioned to announcer Lewis Bloom that he was looking for a new rider and Bloom recommended Miceli, one of the most skilled and experienced riders in the sport. Miceli also raced Pro Stock in AMA/Prostar competition in 1998-1999.
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Tommy
Miceli will be in the big show this weekend as he makes his
much-awaited NHRA Pro Stock
Bike debut on Ben Hatcher's Suzuki at the NHRA Pep Boys
Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway
in Reading, PA. The right hand photo shows
Miceli (he's the little guy) and Hatcher. |
The team was first scheduled to test on the Wednesday after the Prostar Atco event but the World Trade Center attacks put the plans on hold until this week. Miceli was only able to make one pass on the bike as the equipment arrived late to the track and Englishtown has a 10pm non-muffled curfew. The run was a planned 1000 foot shutoff but Miceli still hit a respectable 1.12 60 foot time. The team was using a test motor but will install a full-bore FMS powerplant for Reading.
Hatcher was very pleased with the results and looks forward to a strong relationship with Miceli.
"We are really excited about working with Tommy," said Hatcher. "What we really wanted to do here was to get him used to our routines and the bike. He fit in right away. He is the sixth rider I've been involved with and we have never had a better initial experience. I am also really excited because he is so light. It allows me to take full advantage of the bike which is something I haven't been able to do before."
Hatcher noted that the team is only scheduled to make the Reading date but NHRA Las Vegas is not out of the question. Making the NHRA Winston World Finals is unlikely because the AMA/Prostar World Finals is the same weekend and Miceli is in championship contention in both Pro Mod and Streetbike Shootout.
"So far we have worked really well together," continued Hatcher. "We are going to see how we do at Reading and take it from there. We are self-financed so we have to see if we can secure some sponsorship funding."
The personable Miceli was expectedly excited about the opportunity. "This is something I've looked forward to for a while," he said. "It's great to be able to make my debut with such a strong team. This is a great bunch of guys to work with and they have competitive equipment. It's a great opportunity."
The team will run under Hatcher's CTS banner, his own offshore drilling services company as well as Rescue Company 5, part of the New York City Fire Department that lost 12 men during the WTC attacks. The team will promote a fund for the families of the men. For more information contact: rescu5man@aol.com
Vose will team up with "Pizza" John Mafaro on an FMS-backed effort. The partnership between Vose (who gets the vote for "Rider of the 90's Decade" from Dragbike.com staff) and Mafaro, a former NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champ, begs comparison to the classic theoretical physics problem of the "irresistible force meeting the immovable object". All kidding aside, the pair seem to be working well together from the get-go. When asked who was making the calls, Vose replied, "Pizza's the boss," only to have Mafaro chime in, "No, no. Billy's the boss." We'll see…
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In
an world-class partnership multi-talented rider Billy Vose
will team with "Pizza" John Mafaro
to compete in NHRA Pro Stock Bike. In the photo on the
right Vose is no doubt going into one
of his passionate explanations. Raceway Park manager
Eddie Kraweic (center) looks intrigued
but Mafaro doesn't seem to be buying it. |
Vose, who has a strong working relationship with FMS owner Byron Hines, drove out to the Trinidad, Colorado, speed emporium to pick up the engine for the project. They will use Mafaro's Chassis Only-built bike.
We at Dragbike.com were fishing for a reason for the partnership, looking for Vose to play the role of blocker for FMS-powered Antron Brown as he is locked in the Winston championship chase with Angelle Savoie but neither Mafaro or Vose were budging. They both say it is a matter of mutual respect.
"I saw Billy ride his Pro Stock bike at the Prostar Atco event," said Mafaro. "I said to myself, 'this guy can really ride a bike'. I knew I wanted to team up with him. Right now we are just planning on making Reading and we will take it from there. If we do well and I get juiced up then we'll see. I know if we get the power he has the ability to win the race."
The team made three laps at Englishtown, culminating in a best of 7.33 at 181 mph.
"Pizza is very meticulous in his approach to racing," said Vose. "He is like Byron (Hines) in many ways. He has also shown me a lot of respect. For him to allow me to work on and ride his bike says a lot."
Vose, a multi-time AMA/Prostar and IDBA champion actually ran NHRA Pro Stock Bike at the 1996 Winston Invitational, a non-points event where he beat Dave Schultz in round one and lost to Matt Hines in the semis. The Pep Boys Nationals will be his NHRA competition debut.
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