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AHDRA GETS BIKE WEEK OFF TO A THUNDERING START WITH RECORD MARKS IN EIGHT CATEGORIES

The AHDRA Screamin' Eagle Performance Bike Week Nationals at Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Florida March 5th & 6th, 2005

Both the 2005 All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) season and Bike Week started with a thunderous blast under sunny skies and much improved attendance at Gainesville Raceway.

If off-season heart surgery wasn't enough to stop Steve Stordeur's tear through the Screamin' Eagle Top Fuel class, then what is? Despite soreness from having his chest opened up for a heart valve replacement, defending champion Stordeur was just as consistently quick as he was all last year aboard his Mancuso H-D bike. Stordeur took Drums "The Nut from Nutley" Brancaccio down in the final despite Brancaccio hammering him at the tree. Stordeur's 6.576 was good enough to beat a 6.857 from Brancaccio.

Mike Romine riding for the Harley-Davidson of Salt Lake team came away with the new speed record in Gainesville (221.56) beating the record set in 04 in Gainesville by Orangeburg, S.C's, Bill Furr (220.85).

Steve Stordeur

Larry Brancaccio

Chris Streeter's Clone Cycles bike went through major surgery last summer, emerging with a beefier PRP motor and big belt drive. The new combination was relatively quick from the start, but blew a head off at the 2004 season finale in Vegas. In it's first pass since being repaired, Streeter piloted the bike to personal bests of 6.707 at 200.84 mph. Chris's consistency at that pace carried him past defending JIM'S Pro Fuel champion and #1 qualifier Mike Lehman in the final. Lehman and the Harley-Davidson of Palm Beach team came away with the new JIMS Pro Fuel National record E.T. mark at 6.583.

Floridian Chuck Jones fell just short in his season-long battle with Kresto Pro Dragster champ Scott Truett last year. During that season, a sometimes-heated rivalry developed between Jones and Michael Mulderink. With Truett sitting out the season opener (and perhaps the season), Jones and his Cycle-Rama mount faced Mulderink in the final and came out on top.

The opening round of S&S Pro Gas spotlighted the delivery of G-Squared billet motor, NHRA Pro Stock Buells to customers Ryan Schnitz/Rob Muzzy and Chris Rivas/Mohegan Sun. While those teams struggled on Saturday, Tom Bradford and tuner Rob Schopf finally regained the successful 2003 tune-up on their own NHRA Pro Stock-legal Buell and qualified #1 with a 7.262 personal best. Unfortunately for them, it's 2005. After upgrading a problematic air shifter, last place qualifier Schnitz opened race day with an '05 standard 7.08 to oust former champ Bradford in round 1. Schnitz later ran a 7.06 to take the new national record. Young Schnitz rode his red Muzzy mount past cagey veteran Mike Lozano, on yet another NHRA bike, in the final for the win.

Ryan Schnitz

Riding one of his older Hal's Speed Shop mounts in the traditional gas and carburetors format of S&S Pro Stock, Bradford celebrated a win over privateer hero Dave Feazell.( #1 qualifier) who piloted the Jon Miller-built Thiel's Wheels machine at Gainesville and captured the speed record at 180.72mph.

If Pro Modified is a junior Pro Stock class, then it's only fitting that the class was won by defending champion Junior Pippin. Junior to no one in the class in terms of either experience or skill, Pippin qualified #1 and piloted his Gene Lummus H-D prepared mount past Shaun "Headblade" Reno in the final. Pippin left with three marks for the record books including an 8.206 in the quarter mile and a 5.141 at 131.36mph in the eighth.

Junior Pippin

Four-time G-Squared Street Pro champ Travis Lummus started off strong in his attempt to regain the crown from Joe Sternotti. Jersey native Sternotti's tuning responsibilities multiplied many times over the off-season, and the champ struggled to be competitive at Gainesville. With the only Street Pro bike in the 8's all weekend, Lummus cruised his Gene Lummus H-D bike easily past Derek Christenson in the final. Lummus tied his own E.T. marks at 8.83 in the quarter mile, but grabbed new speed records at 153.84mph in the quarter and 126.40 in the eighth mile.

Travis Lummus

Tripp Nobles is 2 for 2 in Screamin' Eagle V-Rod championships on his Don Tilley H-D machine, but '05 started with Tripp behind the 8 ball relative to Motor Company engineer Jamie McNaughton (#1 qualifyer) aboard the rival Eagle H-D bike. But when McNaughton slowed in the final, Tripp was there to collect the win. McNaughton was able to collect a speed record for his efforts at 142.74mph in the quarter mile.
Dragmasters Hot Street champion John "The Juggler" Burdynski took the class into the 9 second bracket for the first time on his way to winning the class at the Gainesville opener. Burdynski beat Eastern champ Mike Roberts in the final and put his name in four spots in the record books - 9.983 at 134.58 (1/4) and 6.376 at 110.57 in the eighth.

John Burdynski

After turning wrenches in Tom Bradford's shadow for years, Rob Schopf stepped into the spotlight with the inaugural win in the brand new S&S 124 Challenge class. Schopf's Hal's Speed Shop FXR sped past Jim Fagan's G-Squared mount. Schopf's performance set the performance standard in the new class with 10.355 at 132.68mph being the number to beat in the quarter and 6.655 at 106.38mph setting the pace for the eighth mile marks.

Rob Schopf

Dave Ostrowske made it easy on Craig Pollard in the Rucker Performance Super Gas final, redlighting by a healthy -.059 margin. Virginian Pollard rode Tommy Wood's '76 Super Glide Shovelhead to the win.

Greg Krenik won both the Super Gas and S&S Supersport Western Division championships last year. He started this year off with a Supersport win over Julia Holliday, who redlit.

Kevin Barber scored the Performance Corner Super Eliminator win when Charlie Walker trimmed the tree too closely with a -.015 redlight.

Laurel, Maryland's Keith Carper road his '98 Sportster past Louisianan Robert McConnell's '01 Buell for the Screamin' Eagle Performance double breakout win.

And perennial champion Dan DeGood started his defense of the Syn3 ET crown with a double breakout win over Floridian Willie Benjamin.

The 2005 AHDRA season continues April 2nd and 3rd with the Arizona Bike Week Nationals presented by Arrowhead Harley-Davidson and Chandler Harley-Davidson at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona.

For more information on the 2005 Screamin' Eagle Performance Parts Championship Series, please contact 336-924-2095 or visit www.ahdra.com.