26th annual Haltech World Cup Finals
Import vs. Domestic presented by Wiseco Powersports
Maryland International Raceway
November 2-5, 2023
2023 World Cup Finals – Pro Street Motorcycle
The top ten Orient Express Pro Street racers from the 2023 XDA motorcycle drag racing season were invited to compete at the 27th Haltech World Cup Finals presented by Wiseco at Maryland International Raceway On November 2-5, 2023.
Sponsored by Platinum General Services, Rodney Williford, Mark Rendeluk, Jason Dunigan, Darion Payne, Jordan Haase, Ryan Bonitatis, Brandon Litten, Kenny Brewer, Justin Shakir and Jayson Geerman represented the ten bikes competing for eight spots in qualifying.
The event started on Thursday and featured five qualifying sessions over three days, with temperatures ranging from 57 to 77 degrees. During those three days, half of the class improved on their personal best runs to make moves on the Orient Express Pro Street GOAT List.
Mark Rendeluk improved his ET and MPH to earn the number one qualifying spot with a show-stopping 6.367 at 233.60mph.
Justin Shakir improved his MPH from 234.29 to 235.72.
Brandon Litten improved from a 6.580 at 221.82 to 6.546 at 223.17 mph.
Ryan Bonitatis suffered a head gasket failure during qualifying but was able to repair his motor by using the top end of his spare motor. He came back out swinging the next day and dropped into the forties, going from a 6.584 to a 6.479 while upping his MPH game to 226.28 from 224.88.
In round three of qualifying Rodney Williford would get some TV time when his bike lit up the track with a fireball at the finish line. Click here to watch the interview on FloRacing.com
Aruba racer Jayson Geerman went from a 6.69 to a 6.646 and made it on the MPH GOAT list with a 222.58 run. Unfortunately for Geerman, his improvements would not be enough to qualify for the eight-bike field. He and Kenny Brewer would both be spectators on Sunday while the rest of the class slugged it out for the trophy in front of 50,000+ fans.
Watch Qualifying Sessions
- Qualifying Round 1 – https://youtu.be/XLd6qG-19HA
- Qualifying Round 2 – https://youtu.be/Eipj2OGCdtg
- Qualifying Round 3 – https://youtu.be/p-zShxG42Ls
- Qualifying Round 4 – https://youtu.be/rjPHUl1pLQs
- Qualifying Round 5 – https://youtu.be/sZ5PK_dWKLI
Final Qualifying Order
1. Mark Rendeluk / 6.367 / 233.60
2. Justin Shakir / 6.390 / 235.72
3. Jason Dunigan / 6.407 / 231.99
4. Darion Payne / 6.471 / 225.15
5. Ryan Bonitatis / 6.479 / 226.28
6. Rodney Williford / 6.498 / 227.04
7. Brandon Litten / 6.546 / 223.17
8. Jordan Haase / 6.569 / 224.62
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
9. Jayson Geerman / 6.646 / 222.58
10. Kenny Brewer / 6.822 / 212.79
Sunday featured the warmest temperatures of the event, however the class tuners did an incredible job of adjusting to the varying weather for the entire event and put on a great show while representing the XDA motorcycle drag racing series.
ROUND 1
W – Mark Rendeluk / 0.051 / 6.552 / 225.90
L – Jordan Haase / 0.150 / 6.538 / 222.73
Rendeluk and Haase finished the XDA season as final round competitors with Rendeluk getting the win. Haase rolled into the beams looking for redemption despite having a feeling that something wasn’t quite right with his bike. Rendeluk got the starting advantage, however, Haase ran him down to run a quicker and personal best time of 6.538 while his turbo came apart and broke loose to hit in the leg at the finish line. Rendeluk’s reaction time and clean 6.552 would earn him the first-round win.
W – Darion Payne / 0.044 / 6.483 / 221.74
L – Ryan Bonitatis / 0.045 / 6.514 / 226.96
With both Payne and Bonitatis qualified with a 6.47, we anticipated a competitive run for the crowd. Neither rider got a starting line advantage as they left the starting line side-by-side. Both riders kept their front wheels down, but Payne started pulling out in front of Bonitatis as they approached the finish line. The Cranky Racing bike stayed ahead to take the win with a 6.483. Bonitatis lost with a 6.514, but improved on his MPH once again in one weekend to a 226.96.
W – Justin Shakir / 0.040 / 6.588 / 217.39
L – Brandon Litten / -0.015 / 6.732 / 198.38
Justin Shakir qualified #2 and had lane choice advantage over the #7 qualified Brandon Litten. This was Litten’s first appearance at a World Cup Final for the seventeen-year-old racer. Unfortunately, Litten would give it away at the tree with a -.015 red light, sending Shakir to round two.
W – Jason Dunigan / 0.011 / 6.439 / 230.72
L – Rodney Williford / 0.034 / 6.492 / 229.04
Jason Dunigan was the 2022 World Cup Winner, while Williford took the win in 2021. This pair just raced at the XDA season with the win going to Dunigan. The pair took their time staging while having a little fun with each other at the tree. Dunigan knew Williford had the power to win and wasted no time cutting his best light of the weekend to get that starting line advantage on him. As the two flew towards the starting line, Dunigan’s top-end power pushed him out in front of Williford, where he stayed to get that win light with a 6.439 to Williford’s 6.492.
SEMI-FINAL
W – Mark Rendeluk / 0.037 / 6.405 / 229.94
L – Darion Payne / 0.005 / 10.73 / 87.21
Darion Payne was hungry for that win when he cut a .005 on Rendeluk; unfortunately, he lost traction at the hit and could not recover for a fighting chance at a win light.
W – Jason Dunigan / 0.048 / 6.401 / 231.64
L – Justin Shakir / 0.045 / 6.412 / 233.24
Shakir, who has struggled this season, showed up to the World Cup Finals ready to perform. With both riders qualified at the top of the field everyone knew this round could go either way. With no starting line advantage, these two racers stayed side-by-side for a nail-biter of a run as both bikes approached the finish together. Dunigan got there quicker with a 6.401 to Shakir’s 6.412.
FINAL
WIN – Mark Rendeluk / 0.035 / 6.482 / 229.43
RU – Jason Dunigan / -0.024 / 7.467 / 133.82
DME Racing teammates Rendeluk and Dunigan both ran 6.40 passes in the semi-final to set them up for an exciting final. Team tuner Andy Sawyer made small changes to compensate for the dropping temperatures so that these two could fight it out at the starting line. The World Cup Finals has never had a repeat winner, and Dunigan wanted to be the first, but that ambition came at a cost when he turned on a -.024 red light to hand over the win at the starting line to Rendeluk.
Past Winners
- 2018 / Ryan Schnitz (inaugural event) – Click here to read the coverage.
- 2019 / Jeremy Teasley – Click here to read the coverage.
- 2020 / With Covid restrictions in place, the event morphed into the Hail Mary Derby ‘No Rules’ testing event. Chris Moore made a record pass 6.300 at 233.64 mph! – Click here to read the coverage.
- 2021 / Rodney Williford – Click here to read the coverage.
- 2022 / Jason Dunigan – Click here to read the coverage.
About the XDA
The Xtreme Dragbike Association (XDA) is an east coast motorcycle drag racing series with 700+ motorcycle racers competing at each event. Every XDA event hosts professional classes, sportsman classes, grudge racing and a vendor midway. Lifestyle activities such as bike shows, bikini contests, DJ and live bands are also held at select events. For more information on the XDA, please visit XDAracing.com or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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