Sunshine Floods The Rock - Track Drowns in Dragbikes
The Lee's Performance Center Fall Bike Nationals
by Tim Hailey

Beautiful 74 degree forecasts and near zero chance of rain has drained the Sandhills and every other kind of hill around of it's dragbikes, more than 400 of them. The line getting into the track was long, the lanes are packed and a long weekend of racing is promised for all the racers who came from near, far and all the 'burgs in between.

Some Yankees stayed below the Mason-Dixon after last weekend's Prostar double bill in Gainesville so that they could race The Rock, including The Adams Family. But while condo-ing in Orlando, the Craig/Kevin/Bill trailer was stolen sometime Friday morning along with everything inside, including the Pro Stock stuff Bill Adams took to sell in G-ville. With the trailer not at a track and marked "Adams Landscaping," the weaselesque and hated-by-all thieves probably thought they were stealing fine lawn tractors. Instead, they got a Top Gas bike and whatnot.

Speaking of trailers and tractor-trailers, the FBR shop's weekend is starting out ruff. FBR Heavy Hitter Angelo Hammond flipped his tractor-trailer rig on Tuesday. Hammond failed to heed that warning and went to the track anyway, only to go down Friday night when his chain adjuster broke and locked up the rear tire, spilling Angelo at the eighth mile. Walking spritely through the pits early Saturday, Hammond credited his Advanced Design Leathers for the fact that he only received two small rugburns in the incident.

Then four guys playing cards in the FBR trailer left a propane heater on as they dosed off Friday night. "I could smell the propane before I even opened the trailer this morning," Marion Ford said Saturday. "I knew what had happened and some of them were in a bad way." Indeed, two of 'em went the to hospital and were held for treatment.

But yo, we're here for racing so let's get it on. And on and on as the 400+ bikes were slowed by everything from wrecks to streetbike oildowns to the ambulance taking a kid to the hospital with a broken leg. But the weather was great and everybody was here to race so why not? Would we rather be in our hotel rooms? I think not. At the strip club? Maybe, but the track is cheaper.

Until it gets cold, and then it's the wrecked bikes, broken bones and insurance premiums that get expensive. So sometime past 9pm, Saturday's program went to ET survival mode and the third round of pro qualifying was postponed 'til 10am Sunday. But grudge racing? Those guys don't need no stinking insurance.

Velocity Racing World's Fastest Streetbikes

Barry Henson need only take the tree in round 1 to snag the World's Fastest Streetbikes championship, sponsored by his own Velocity Racing. After starting out the season with teething problems on both the Honda and the Honda Team, Henson had his act together for season's end as everyone assumed he would. Barry won the last three Prostar events and ran a 7.47 at 196.6 in testing at Gainesville.

"They say this track holds all of the IHRA records, and I've run .60's here before," Henson said about Rockingham, so he expects to throw a good number on the board this weekend. But with 2 rounds down, 7.919 at 187.96 has been his best shot (not counting a 7.75 morning test pass). Still, that's good enough to lead the class. 6 Fastest Streetbikes have made qualifying passes so far.

Barry Henson 7.919 187.96
Allen Kea 7.945 172.21
Trevor Altman 8.001 175.87
David Stewart 8.075 178.85
Lee Shierts 8.080 182.82

Click here to view a video clip of Barry Henson

Mickey Thompson 60 Inch Class

Like Henson in the long bike class, short wheelbase phenom Mike Slowe also need only take the tree to secure the Mickey Thompson 60 Inch Class championship. But John Flood was the big noise in the first round of qualifying, running a 8.108 at 178.45 on the Orient Express bike. That time held up through 2 rounds, with Slowe stuck down in 5th with an 8.344. 26 60 inch bikes have qualified so far.

John Flood 8.108 178.45
Doug Witt 8.234 171.69
Greg Mullis 8.267 175.73
Lil Butch Thompson 8.309 173.63
Mike Slowe 8.344 176.05

Schnitz Racing Outlaw Pro Street

Mighty Joe Long leads Outlaw Street points, but Chris Moore leads Schnitz Racing Outlaw Pro Street with a 7.224 and a top speed of 194.24. There are 14 Outlaw bikes qualified so far.

Chris Moore 7.224 187.89
Matt Smith 7.259 193.02
Angie McBride 7.301 178.54
Dave Norris 7.310 189.66
Nikie Corley 7.359 187.81

Heavy Hitters Fat Boy Class

Rodeo Ronnie Mitchell of Mirror Image Polishing leads the Heavy Hitters on the shortened nitrous 'Busa that Phill Stoll normally rides as a Shootout bike. Mitchell's 8.725 leads Ehren Litten's 8.852, also on a 'Busa. 18 Heavy Hitter bikes have qualified so far.

Ronnie Mitchell 8.725 158.52
Ehren Litten 8.852 163.10
John Vermeulen 8.869 162.63
Darryl Stewart 8.926 154.44
Tyrone Smith 8.931 163.79

In other news, Chip Ellis is making passes on the new ZX10, with a best of 9.26 that I've seen so far. The otherwise stock bike sports a swingarm and a gear.

Brock Davidson has brought a brand new 4-into-2-into-1 sidewinder he's developing with Hindle. Test passes are being made on Dustin Clark's bike.

Hollywood's arranged a latenight grudge session. Johnny, the Texicans, Big Boy and others are here but Shine and Marasco are at the AMA banquet in Vegas. More from The Rock later.

Tim Hailey can be reached at timhailey@earthlink.net
You can purchase his videos "No-Bar Mix One" and "Wheelie Bar Mix One" at www.eatmyink.com