Man Cup presented by Vance & Hines
Spring Cup presented by Roaring Toyz & Exoticycle
South Georgia Motorsports Park
April 7-9, 2017
Spring Cup Sportsman Wrap Up
With not less than 515 motorcycles in competition at the Exoticycle/Roaring Toyz Spring Cup event, hosted by the Man Cup racing sanction, the bulk of the entries are the Sportsman racers who are the very backbone of drag racing. It’s great to see and experience the professional class racers who carry the front wheel of their drag bikes for over 1300’ of racing for the fans, but the handle bar to handle bar racing of the sportsman bikes can be just at thrilling. In many races, for the fans: when the Sportsman bikes are out on the racetrack, the racing is so close that without a win-light at the scoreboards, there is no way to tell who won a round of racing. This is pure drag racing at its finest – see you at the finish line.
Winner : Brunson Grothus / Runner-up : George Babor
In the Grothus Ultra 4.60 class of drag racing, at the Man Cup opening race of 2017, it was Brunson Grothus who bettered George Babor in the final round of racing. And it was no easy task for Brunson to do so with names like Joey Gladstone and Tony Mullen in the ranks of competition.
Brunson took out Kevin Clark in round one, Bernard canon in round two, had a solo into the finals, and when he and George Babor matched up in the final round, Brunson and George, both knowing they could chop the tree, went right for the jugular at the flicker of yellow. Brunson was deadly with a .008 reaction time and George was too close for comfort with a -.015 red-eye, that ended his day as R/U. Not a bad day for BPM, Babor Performance Motors, but a better day for Bradley and Brunson Grothus who earned the win with a great team effort.
Winner : Craig Adams / Runner-up : Pete Chongris
In Star Racing Top Gas action, thirty drag bikes showed up for round one eliminations, and five rounds later, it was Craig Adams over Pete Chongris in the finals for the win. Top Gas, racing on the 8.20 index is one of the toughest sportsman classes and is definitely a stepping stone class to the professional ranks of motorcycle drag racing. These racers really haul ass.
Craig Adams, in earning his way to the win, defeated John “Spooky” Markham in round one with a .004 RT on the tree, put up a .007 RT in round two, eliminated Quinn Brumfield on a double break out in E-3, duked it out with BAMF Dustin Lee in the Semis when Dustin went under the Index by .001, then in the final round, he strapped a .008 light on Pete Chongris who, knowing he had to chop the tree, did so a little too close and went red by .003: Big win for Craig Adams to start 2017 off in Top Gas. Every round of racing, every point matters in T/G. Race #2 in Memphis on June 3-4 will be big for these racers.
Winner : Mike Konopacki / Runner-up : Ed Hughes
MTC Engineering Super Comp racing had forty-five racers enter round one of eliminations with number one qualifier Bill Orsino taking the bye run. #1 in S/C for 2016 was Matt Smith, who is taking 2017 off to attend other interests, so the title in 17 is up for grabs. Bill Orsino advanced through round two only to be taken out in E-3 by Brian Dale, 8.91 to 8.93 respectively. Dale was then dispatched by Ed Hughes during E-4 and Ed advanced to the finals to meet the Canadian Assassin, Mike Konopacki, arguably the toughest Sportsman motorcycle drag racer alive today.
Ed and Mike, in the final round played it conservatively on the tree with .027 to .021 reaction times then battled it out at the stripe on the big end to settle the score. It was a double breakout matchup: Ed posted a 8.84 to Mike’s 8.86 elapsed time with the win light going to Mike Konopacki. Having raced drag bikes for decades in most every sanction as a Sportsman racer, there’s no telling how many races or passes Mike has made but think Dustin Lee effort and add about 30 years of drag racing to the equation and you get the idea. There’s no substitute for seat time in motorcycle drag racing and no one has more seat time than Mike K. To meet him in competition and advance a round is a win all in itself. Perhaps we will see more of Mr. Konopacki in 2017.
Winner : Wade Smith / Runner-up : Clark Proctor
World Wide Bearings Crazy 8’s racing had thirty-eight racers line up on Sunday to do battle. Last year’s #1 plate holder Wade Smith was the man to beat coming into this race and Dustin Lee, as well as 36 others all had intentions of doing just that: but they fell short of their intended goal. After the tire smoke cleared and the final round of racing in C/8’s was run, there was Wade Smith on his way to the winner’s circle once again, the warrior supreme in Crazy 8’s racing.
In E-1 Wade took out Wes Brown, then Greg Hayes, Kenneth Selner in E-3, Barry Pryor Sr was sent to the trailer in E-4 and with a bye run in the Semis, it was a final round match up in six rounds that had Wade matched up with Clark Proctor for all the marbles. Clark, knowing he had the bad man in the other lane, attacked the tree and with a .016 foul made the fatal mistake of red lighting away his chances of a win. This is Wade’s first win of the season, but not likely his last.
Winner : Chris Roelse / Runner-up : Jerry Rios
In Wiseco Street Fighter competition, thirty-nine racers went into battle on Sunday, knowing John “Spooky” Markham was the man to beat with his Man Cup 2016 #1 plate on his 2007 Hayabusa. Bob Carlson, who finished #2 to old Spooky, last year, had Mr. Markham in round one and was a man on a mission when they paired up in E-1 competition. John Markham had a good light with a .034 reaction time, but Bad Bob had a better one with a .017 RT and last year’s #1 gun went out in round one.
Bob Carlson, who’s a very heavy hitter from New England motorcycle drag racing, was then dropped by another New Englander, Scott Pitas in E-2, which totally opened up the points chase for 2017 with the big guns from 2016, out early. Chris Roelse, who finished #9 in points for 2016 and Jerry Rios, who finished national #32 last year, met for the final round of Street Fighter. Jerry’s .255 RT was his undoing in the last round of racing as it was Chris Roelse, who won the event for the Street Fighter racers this day. It will be interesting to see the points chase unfold in this class this season. With four races ahead, it’s anyone’s race in this class.
Winner : Larry Zientek / Runner-up : Randall Meeks
Cycle X sponsored Super Eliminator, with twenty-one entries, had a good go at SGMP with the old two-stroker bikes battling it out with everything from CB750 Honda motorcycles, to a good old-fashioned Triumph dragster of vintage 1971 type creation. Fans and racers alike love to see and hear the Super Eliminator bikes race, as do the veteran motorcycle drag racers, because for a while it’s 1980’s NMRA days all over again.
On Sunday, race day, it was Larry Zientek who won it all, defeating Randall Meeks in the final round of racing. Larry’s 8.51 to Randall’s 8.65 won the race, and it was off to the winner’s circle for Larry Zientek of Texas.
W: Vance Houdyshell / RU: Duane Schmidt – W: Duane Schmidt / RU: Barry Pryor SR
In Vance & Hines V-Twin eliminator racing: Vance Houdyshell, of Vero Beach, Florida on his 2008 Buell won the event over Duane Schmidt of Sparr, Florida who was competing on a 2002 Yamaha Warrior.
They squared off in the final round and Vance’s .068 RT was just too much for the package of Duane Schmidt.
W: Dustin Lee / RU: Gary Russell – W: Rick Eaton / RU: Kelly McDaniel
With forty-five racers coming to the line for the MPS Pro ET racing series, it was no secret that this would be an all-day brawl to get to the late rounds of racing.
On Saturday night Rick Eaton took the win over Kelly McDaniel to declare the first winner of the 2017 season. Dustin Lee, the 2x Dragbike.com “BAMF” was the odds-on favorite coming into the race and he did not disappoint his sponsors nor fans with his winning performance on Sunday. Dustin waded through seven tough rounds of ET racing to meet up with New England veteran Gary Russell of VT in the final match up.
Dustin’s .015 RT to Gary’s .029 earned Dustin the edge he needed to beat Gary at the stripe. Dustin is slated to race all five Man Cup events in 2017 and he will be a force to be reckoned with – every time out. Lee is as tough on the tree as he is at the stripe; he races both ends of the race track very well. Only in November will racers find out how well.
W: Pablo Gonzalez / RU: Clark Proctor – W: William Cruz / RU: Chad Aquino
Street ET class racing, sponsored by C&S Cycles, had a solid sixty-two motorcycles engage in side-by-side action during E-1 on Sunday. Some of the best street ET racers in the country were in the ranks: Gary Russell, Bob Carlson, Danny Ingram, Stanley Russell, Dusty Brazel, Wade Smith, Ricardo Marte, it’s a heavy hitter’s club for sure. Last years’ #1 plate holder Bad Bob Carlson went out in round two, as did Nat #2 Stanley Russell. After six rounds of eliminations, it was Pablo Gonzalez of Carolina, AR who made the final round call in E-7, but his opponent, Clark Proctor could not, so it was off to the winner’s circle for Pablo Gonzalez after a had fought day of racing.
Pablo took out Stanley Russell in E-2, he chopped the tree onto Mark Brown with a .006 light in E-3, next round he eliminated Tyler Fisher, then Joel Stephens with a .003 RT, and then put away Jimmy Heisler in round six. Pablo’s win was well earned and he’s now at the head of a very tough class heading into race two of a five-race season with Man Cup. Hopefully he can make all five events; he has a title shot within his reach. On Saturday it was William Cruz over Chad Aquino.
Congratulations to all class winners from us at Dragbike.com! We hope to see you all next race in Memphis Tennessee on June 3-4 at Memphis International Raceway.
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WEEKEND VIDEO PLAYLIST
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Until Next time…
– Tom McCarthy |
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About Man Cup Motorcycle Drag Racing : Headquartered in Safety Harbor, Florida, Man Cup motorcycle drag racing is North America’s largest professional motorcycle drag racing sanctioning body. Man Cup promotes motorcycle drag racing on a national event basis for professional, sportsman and ET bracket racers alike and is open to riders of all skill and experience levels. The Man Cup Series is the only national event style motorcycle drag racing series comprised of events throughout the eastern half of the United States. For marketing opportunities with the Man Cup as well as more information on Man Cup Motorcycle Drag Racing, please visit www.mancup.info on the web or 7 2 7 – 7 4 2 – 5 2 4 5 voice/text.
2017 Schedule
- April 7-8-9 / South Georgia Motorsports Park
- June 2-4 / Memphis International Raceway
- July 15-16 / Galot Motorsports Park (1/8 mile)
- September 23-24 / Rockingham Dragway
- November 17-19 / South Georgia Motorsports Park
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The Man Cup Series is brought to you by our sponsors : Adams Performance – APE – Bates Leathers – Brocks Performance – Carolina Cycle – Cometic – Cooper Performance – D&G Chassis – DME Racing – Daytona Senors – Dragbike.com – Exotic Cycle – Falicon Performance – Galot Motorsports Park – Grothus Dragbike – Hawaya Racing – Hot Rod Chrissy Photos – HTP Performance – JRI Shocks – Lectron – McIntosh Machine and Fabrication – Memphis International Raceway – MoTec – MPS – MRE – MTC – Muzzys – Penske Shocks – Pingel Enterprises – Portable Shade – PR Factory Store – RCC Turbo – Roaring Toyz – Rob Bush Motorsports – Rockingham Dragway – S&S Cycle – Schnitz Racing – Shinko – Star Racing – Western Power Sports – South Georgia Motorsports Park – Trac Dynamics – Vance & Hines – Ward Performance – Web Cam – Wiseco Pistons – World Wide Bearing – Wossner Pistons
