About This Series
This article is part of an ongoing monthly series on Dragbike.com featuring select chapters from Elmer Trett and the Gods of Thunder, the 2012 biography by Senior Editor Tom McCarthy. Released throughout 2026 to honor the 30th anniversary of Elmer Trett’s passing, this series chronicles the life, legacy, and impact of one of the most influential figures in motorcycle drag racing history. Each chapter explores Trett’s journey from humble beginnings to global Top Fuel dominance, while also preserving the deeper history of the sport and the pioneers who shaped it. New chapters are published monthly exclusively on Dragbike.com.

Before reading this article, read the previous article posts:

• Series Intro
• Book Intro
• Chapter 1 – Humble Beginnings
• Chapter 2 – The Origins of Mountain Magic
• Chapter 3 – The Teen Years
• Chapter 4 – North to Ohio
• Chapter 5 – Fuelish Intentions
• Chapter 6 – Class Dismissed
• Chapter 7 – Fateful Liasons
• Chapter 8 – A Terminal Lesson
• Chapter 9 – Single Solution
• Chapter 10 – Very Unpopular Decisions
• Chapter 11 – It’s Not What You Have in Life that Matters

Chapter 12 – Historical Developments

After such a strong start in the 1982 season with the new Trett “Kawasaki” Top Fuel bike, there was much anticipation heading into the ’83 racing season.  Once Elmer crested the 190-mph mark, he became a viable contender in the race to be the first to break the 200-mph barrier for Top Fuel motorcycles.  Would it be Terry Vance, Sam Wills, or Elmer Trett?  All had an equal shot going into the 1983 season to be the first into the history books as “The man who broke the 200 mph barrier.”  Every race would have fans standing in their seats, watching the scoreboards light up with every pass as history unfolded.

Of course, there were championship points races being contended for the season with the NMRA, IDBA, and DRAGBIKE! sanctions, but the points races were secondary to the historic event about to unfold.  Every sanction promoter was hoping and praying they could lay claim to the first 200-mph pass run at their race.  This was history about to happen, and everyone wanted to be a part of it.

The three main racers with the best shot at breaking the 200 mph barrier were all highly skilled veterans, but they varied greatly in their war chests.  In 1983, Wills was racing with M.R.E. for Mike Murdoch who had hired Sam Wills to resurrect the original Terminal Van Lines bike that had been gutted, stripped, its parts scattered to the winds.  Wills moved to Florida before the start of the racing season to do this, as he recreated the once-magnificent machine with a few new Wills racing innovations.  He had the backing of Murdoch’s company, Murdoch Racing Enterprises, in their quest to go 200 mph.

Terry Vance, of Vance & Hines Racing was the pilot of the VHR bike.  With Byron Hines turning the wrenches, Suzuki offered the team whatever resources they needed to not only win another championship but also break the 200 mph barrier and push on to break the six-second barrier as well.  Suzuki wanted it all.  The money and talent was there, the rest was up to Vance and Hines.  Prior to ’83, the factory even went so far as to have cast-iron engine cases custom-made for their Top Fuel bike team.  Six units were delivered to VHR; engine case flexing was no longer a problem for Team Suzuki.

Of the three racers, Elmer was the underdog due to limited resources.  Once Elmer ran over 190 mph in the fall of ’82, it was clear he would take a shot at breaking the 200 mph barrier.  Elmer was mostly self-sponsored in ’83.  He had minor partial sponsorships like Karata, who gave him belt drive components that were vital to his racing efforts, but that didn’t put dinner on the table.  Trett’s Speed & Custom still had to provide that.  Elmer’s mom-and-pop speed shop consisted of his wife, Jackie, his daughters, Gina and Kelly, and his assistant mechanic, Steve Stordeur.  More than anything, Elmer was a true independent racer.

As the underdog, Elmer was arguably the most motivated and certainly the fan favorite. This was how 99% of all the motorcycle drag racers in the country raced in the early eighties; by the seat of their pants, so the preponderance of racers and fans best related to family Trett.  Suffice it to say, Elmer had a mighty strong fan base after thirteen years of motorcycle drag racing.

With Vance posting a 199.11 mph clocking at the NMRA Summer Nationals in June of ’82, it was clear he had the power to break 200 mph; all Hines had to do was match conditions again.   Hines was known throughout the sport as the best in the business.  He knew exactly where the power was; he could hop up the motor anytime needed, but was simply handcuffed by racing conditions, as were all the Top Fuel bike teams.  Racing conditions have an enormous influence on fuel bike racing performance.

A problem unique to the class of Top Fuel bikes is not power production, but power utilization: when, where, and how much one can apply to the race track. Every racetrack is different, and the track’s surface conditions vary from hour to hour at every race.  So, how much power a crew chief puts into a tune-up depends on how much power they feel the racetrack will hold.

If a Top Fuel bike generates too much power for the track conditions at the time of the run, the bike will break the rear tire loose, suddenly decelerate, over-rev the motor, cause thousands of dollars in engine damage, and lose the round of racing. Top Fuel motorcycle drag racing is a merciless endeavor at every turn.  Making sufficient power in the right place at the right time is the toughest part of the equation for the tune-up team setting up the drag bike. But that’s only part of a record-setting performance; the rest is up to the pilot.

The drivers of the machines had their own problems to contend with in considering the issues relating to the march past the 200 mph mark.  How to slow the bike safely from a pass where they had suddenly gone faster than ever before.

In 1983, what race track drivers had to contend with was a major part of the equation in determining where when the much vaunted 200 mph run might occur.  Not all race tracks have the same quality of racing surface for traction, and not all race tracks are the same overall length.  Even when the start-to-finish distance is exactly 1320 feet, some tracks are shorter overall than others, and some have much shorter shutdown areas for drivers to slow their rampaging steeds. Stopping the motorcycle safely has always been, and always will be, the most dangerous aspect of Top Fuel bike racing.

At 200 mph, a Top Fuel motorcycle can cover the distance of a football field in less than two seconds.  Every drag bike pilot will confess that traveling at those speeds will really get your attention.  One mistake and it could be your last.  Due to race track conditions, there were precious few racing facilities where the big fuel bikes could run the number in relative safety during the 1983 season.  There were two tracks in particular that stood out as likely candidates.

One facility was located in Gainesville, Florida, home of the NHRA Gator Nationals.  Gainesville has always been well known for its excellent traction, giving racers plenty of bite to work with. The shutdown area is also adequate for assisting in deceleration from high speed.  A sand trap awaits unfortunate racers who have braking or parachute problems.

The downside of the Gainesville track is that it’s also well known for the morning and evening dew that settles in on many race days.  Due to the humid climate of the Sunshine State, it’s not uncommon for moisture to suddenly settle during a race day and negate a great racing surface.  Gainesville can go from sticky to icky on any given evening.  So there are a limited number of hours to a race day where racers can enjoy the excellent traction.  NHRA’s home of the Gators was one track that could produce the first 200 mph run for a Top Fuel bike, but it was the other NHRA track that the three pilots knew was the most likely candidate to host the historic pass about to unfold: Indy.

Located in Clermont, Indiana, about 20 minutes from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Raceway Park is home to the biggest race on the NHRA tour, known as “The US Nationals.”  Indy is a simple but powerful word that inspires the best in motor sports from racers the world over.  Elmer, Vance, and Wills had all raced at Indy many times during their long careers.  All of them had found Indy’s magic on their way to the winner’s circle before.  In their hearts, even before the ’83 season began, they knew that if the barrier was to be broken, it would happen before the NHRA US Nationals; history would likely be made during that race.

For Trett’s Speed & Custom, the early-season performance in 1983 was everything Elmer and his team hoped for.  During the season opener for the NMRA sanction, on May 21, Team Trett raced at the Englishtown, NJ, NMRA event, where Elmer qualified number one with a blistering 194.39 mph pass.  Just a week later, the team traveled north again to New England Dragway in Epping, NH, and on May 29, Elmer won the race while posting a 192-mph pass.

While at the Epping, NH, event, Elmer Trett, with great pride, accepted the Sifton Cams “Best Engineered Bike” award alongside Jackie, with Gina and Kelly present.  NMRA leader Jim Harris presented the Tretts with the award during a ceremony that graced the new Trett drag bike with the recognition it so richly deserved.  Of the hundreds of motorcycles entered at that event, Trett’s Speed & Custom had the best-performing and best-engineered bike.  It was a great moment for the whole family.

In June, at the NMRA Summer Nationals, Elmer took out Vance in the finals with another 193-mph pass, securing yet another victory for Team Trett.  On August 14, the Tretts won an IDBA event in Ohio while setting a new IDBA national record for Top Fuel bike with a whopping 197.36-mph posting.  Elmer came up a notch on the tune-up for the event that weekend, in preparation for the next race: he was now cocked and loaded for the biggest race of the year, the 23rd running of the NHRA US Nationals, which would include the Top Fuel bike class under NMRA sanction rules.

The NHRA “Big Go” with its hundreds of cars was set for September 3, 4, and 5 at Indianapolis Raceway Park.  The US Nationals were first held in 1960 at a drag strip in Detroit, but in 1961, on a handshake between IRP owner Tom Binford and NHRA founder Wally Parks, the US Nationals came to Indy’s Raceway Park, where it has been contested since.

Because of the size and scope of the enormous three-day NHRA event, Top Fuel bikes would be limited to a four-bike qualifying field to contest for the win.  Due to T/F bike eliminations being set for Monday during the final rounds of the car competition, the NHRA would only allow four bikes to go head-to-head.

During qualifying, all eyes were mostly on Vance in anticipation of his chances to be the first to crest the 200 mph mark.  Elmer surprised some by qualifying number one with a stout 7.16 elapsed time at 197.80 mph.  Vance was in the number two spot with a 7.336 elapsed time with a troubled 174.75 mph terminal speed.  O’Brachta sat in the number three slot with a 7.339 ET followed by a 191mph posting.  Wills sat in the final qualifying position after a 7.445 clocking at 181.08 mph.  However, there was much controversy surrounding Sam Wills’ last qualifying pass.

Wills, on board the resurrected Terminal Van Lines bike the day before eliminations, posted a 7.34-second time on the scoreboard clocks, which also displayed a stunning 208.81 mph pass.  Without any previous runs at or near this speed, the NHRA immediately investigated the details of the pass.

NHRA officials questioned the NMRA Tech director, Jim Harris, and they looked at all aspects of the run by all means at hand.  After a review of the matter, the NHRA invalidated Wills’ run.  In the September 30 edition of the NHRA’s newspaper, National Dragster, the official position on the matter was, “It was later determined that the front wheel of the bike did not trip the first MPH timing light and the speed was voided.”  Therefore, Wills’ next best numbers of 7.44 @ 181 stood as his official qualifying numbers.

Because Elmer qualified number one, he was first out on race day and had first crack at making history.  Elmer vs. O’Brachta was the pairing.  O’Brachta, knowing he was not as fast or as quick as Elmer, got off the starting line first but was too quick to move and blew his chances for a win.  But it really didn’t matter.  This was Elmer’s big day.

Elmer’s tune-up was exactly what he needed when he needed it most.  Elmer posted a 7.34 elapsed time at 201.34 mph, officially breaking the 200 mph barrier for Top Fuel motorcycles.  His previous qualifying pass of 197.08 showed his runs were no fluke. From the start of the 1983 season, Elmer never laid down a complete quarter-mile pass that was slower than 192 mph.  Elmer was no longer the fastest and quickest man in the world on a Harley; he was now the fastest man in the world on two wheels and would soon add the quickest to his growing resume as well.

On Elmer’s final run of eliminations at the race, he faced Vance, who had one final chance to challenge the new king of speed.  Vance’s bike broke down halfway down the racetrack as Elmer’s thundered to victory in 7.16 seconds at 199.11 mph.  Elmer needed 199.33 or faster to make his 201 a new world record, and while he came up just short of the one percent backup run, he proved to the world unequivocally he was indeed the king of speed.  During the historical 1983 US Nationals, Elmer not only won the race but also earned the respect of all his Top Fuel motorcycle peers.  He was the man to beat at any race, on any race day.

Throughout Elmer’s 20 years of Top Fuel motorcycle drag racing.  Indy would impact Elmer greatly.  Every racer brings their best efforts when they race at Indy, but it’s not a race track that’s always kind to its contestants, as Elmer would experience just one year later.

1984, when Trett’s Speed & Custom returned to the IRP racing facility, they did so with visions of greatness dancing in their heads.  Elmer’s outcome in this race would be far different from his last experience at the NHRA US Nationals.

On Saturday qualifying, Elmer and Wills’ roles were reversed: Elmer suffered a cruel twist of fate in his race program, while Sam Wills’ turn to shine came.  No one could have predicted what was about to transpire.

Elmer and Wills launched together, side by side, as they often did, but this time Elmer suffered severe tire shake that caused his left rear axle adjuster to become misplaced,  thereby causing his rear wheel to become severely misaligned with his chassis.  Suddenly, Elmer’s rear tire was cocked to one side, causing his motorcycle to shudder violently and lurch sideways off its intended path as it pitched Elmer off the bike like a bucking bronco.

To the horror of fans in attendance, Elmer was tossed off his drag bike like a rag doll not long after launch.  While all eyes were on Elmer tumbling unceremoniously down the race surface in the left lane, most fans completely missed Sam Wills’s historic pass in the right lane.

Sam was piloting the new Virgil Naff-Mike Gray machine, the second generation of the former Terminal Van Lines bike, to a 7.03 pass at 195.22 mph.  The elapsed time was the second-quickest ever recorded in competition by a Top Fuel bike at that time. Sam Wills went on to win Indy while Elmer headed back to the shop for repairs.  Changes were necessary; the next great barrier was now in Elmer’s sights: Who would be the first to run a six-second pass?

The Next Installment of Elmer Trett and the Gods of Thunder will be released on August 1, 2026 on Dragbike.com

For those interested in owning a printed copy of the original book, please contact Tom McCarthy. Limited copies are available. E-mail Tom on Facebook

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