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RECORD NUMBERS SCORED AT AHDRA'S SEASON OPENER
GAINESVILLE RACEWAY- MARCH 4TH & 5TH

Race Report provided by Jack Korpela

AHDRA opened its 29th season of competition on a gorgeous sunshine-filled weekend with over 370 entries, showing up to compete in the Screamin' Eagle Bike Week Nationals presented by Gainesville Harley Davidson, March 4-5, at Gainesville Raceway in north central Florida.

Racers, fans and vendors from all over the country showed up to get that much needed first dose of V-Twin nitro of the year.

Screamin Eagle Top Fuel

2005-class champion Mike Romine seemed to pick where he left off last season with a 6.47 at 216 mph to qualify at the top of the pack in the season's first official qualifying session.

At the conclusion of qualifying Romine retained the top spot with a 6.40 at 217 mph. No. 2 qualifier Bob Malloy and No. 3 qualifier and former class champ Doug Vancil didn't fall far behind with elapsed times of 6.44 and 6.46, respectively.

Romine's dominance continued as he posted low elapsed time of the first elimination round with a 6.44 at 216 mph to take out Mike Lehman's 6.54 at 215 mph. Vancil advanced to the second round with a 6.53 at 195 mph over Mike Ferris' 7.20 at 185 mph.

The opening round's only upset was a big one. No. 2 qualifier Malloy encountered mechanical problems and coasted across the finish line with a 7.20 at 185 mph. No. 15 qualifier Larry Stanley advanced with a 7.65 at 185 mph.

In session No. 2 former Pro Stock Suzuki racer Tommy Grimes recorded a potential new AHDRA speed record with a lap of 6.51 at 222 mph, surpassing Romine's record of 221 mph, set in Gainesville last season. Grimes just missed the back up but scored a win over a broke Dean Comunal with a 6.54 at 217 mph. Grimes was eventually defeated in round No. 2 before he could back up the record.

Bill Furr showed incredible consistency throughout the day and made it all the way to the final round - his first since his high-speed crash at the Texas Motorplex during the 2004 season.

Romine defeated his brother Jack in the semis to meet up with Furr in the final. Romine, the 22-year veteran, overcame Furr's stellar .012 reaction time and posted low elapsed-time of the weekend with a 6.36 at 219 mph to Furr's 6.50 at 209 mph.


Screamin Eagle Top Fuel - Mike Romine


Screamin Eagle Top Fuel - Mike Romine

Jims Pro Fuel

Steve Simmons stole the Pro Fuel spotlight in qualifying with a 6.83 at 193 mph to take the top spot.

A total of seven bikes showed up and only Simmons and No. 2 qualifier Jay Turner were able to hit the six-second zone in qualifying. Turner recorded a 6.92 at 208 mph.

Simmons may have stolen the show in qualifying, but in the first round of eliminations it was Turner who emerged as the dominant force. Turner poster low elapsed time of the weekend with a 6.69 at 206 mph to defeat a troubled run from Russell Hildebrand.

Simmons recorded a 6.93 on his bye run, but clicked the throttle to save the equipment and went through the traps at 167 mph.

In a wild final Simmons left before the tree was activated, forfeiting the win to Turner, who's bike belched out sparks and flames off the starting line. Turner rolled across the finish line with a 14.88 to take the win.

Turner was not injured by the blast but admits that he didn't expect it. "I'm glad I won but I wish I wouldn't have torn up so many parts," Turner said later.


Jims Pro Fuel - Jay Turner


Jims Pro Fuel - Jay Turner

Kresto Pro Drag

With the departure of 2005 national champion Phil Schmidt and 2005 runner-up John Breckenridge, (both stepped up to Pro Fuel category) the Kresto Pro Drag category seemed to be wide open for someone new to step up to the top spot.

2005 No. 5 plate-holder Greg Byrnes was the first to take that step with a rapid 7.46 at 169 mph to qualify No. 1. No. 3 in the points last season, and early favorite of many to win this season's title, Willie Herschberger qualified second with a 7.51 at 168 mph.

In round No. 1 of eliminations Byrnes shook the tire hard off the line and was upset by Rick Casas, who couldn't have a picked a better time to run his best pass of the weekend with a 7.57 at 163 mph. No. 4 qualifier Mark Blackmer had the quick lap of the round with a 7.42 at 173 mph to defeat Mike Nicholson's (No. 5 qualifier) 7.62 at 170 mph.

Blackmer further improved to a 7.28 in the semifinals to beat Casas' 11.12. Herschberger also advanced to the final with a 7.60 to beat Chuck Jones' 7.84.

In the final Blackmer took the win with a 7.33 to Herschberger's quickest run of the weekend at 7.47.


Kresto Pro Drag - Mark Blackmer


Kresto Pro Drag - Mark Blackmer

S&S Pro Gas/ Pro Stock

Only five Pro Stock competitors showed up in Gainesville; therefore, S&S Pro Gas and Pro Stock were combined. Multi-time AMA/Prostar champion and NHRA regular Chip Ellis of G2 Motor sports held the top spot after two sessions of qualifying with a 7.08, before teammate and AHDRA rookie Matt Smith's 7.06 surpassed it. Ellis had no objection to sharing the spotlight.

Smith used a similar tune-up in round No. 1 of eliminations to beat James Kelly with another near-record 7.076 at 186 mph to Kelly's 8.15 at 157 mph.

2005 No. 4 plate-holder and No. 3 qualifier Tom Bradford improved from his qualifying numbers by more than a tenth, running a 7.07 at 188 mph to beat Rick Moore's 7.69 at 151 mph.

Ellis slowed to a 7.28 at 187 mph, but easily advanced to round two after Kevin Cadby fouled out by -.021 on the starting line. No. 5 qualifier and former AMA/Prostar Pro Stock champion Fred Collis also succumbed to a first round red light, missing the tree by -.018 and handing the win to No. 4 qualifier Dale Raudenbush, who ran 7.53 at 169 mph.

In the semis Smith defeated Raudenbush 7.06 to 7.46. Smith had a scary moment at the line when his bike shut off and the G-Squared crew was able to get it restarted just in the nick of time

Ellis defeated Bradford in the other semifinal. Bradford broke in the water box and was unable to make the run.

In the final Ellis hit a deadly .001 reaction time and recorded a new Pro Gas record at 7.063 to beat Smith's .015 light and 7.12.


S&S Pro Gas - Chip Ellis and Samson Pro Modified - Matt Smith

Samson Pro Modified

Matt Smith's incredibly successful AHDRA debut continued in Samson Pro Modified as he bettered the mph record during qualify at 162 mph, backing it up in the final session with a pass of 8.127 at 161 mph for the No. 2 spot. The run surpassed Doug Ainsworth's record of 162.22, set at Pacific Raceways last June.

Smith may have got the record but it was two-time defending class champion Junior Pippin who took the pole position, edging out Smith by two-thousandths with an 8.125 at 158 mph.

For 2006 Pippin has purchased No. 2 plate-holder Doug Ainsworth's motorcycle. Pippin's 2005 championship bike also fared well on day one. Pippin loaned the ride to fellow Georgia-based competitor Eddie Lee, who qualified third with an 8.127 at 158 mph.

Top three qualifiers Smith, Pippin and Lee were only separated by two-thousandths of a second in qualifying.

In the opening round of eliminations Smith recorded a blazing new elapsed-time record of 8.065 at 160 mph. The run surpassed Doug Ainsworth's mark of 8.076, recorded at Rockingham Dragway last season.

Top qualifier Pippin stayed on pace with an 8.15 at 157 mph to beat Lauren Long's wounded 20.04 at 30 mph. With the win Pippin earned a bye run into the semi-finals.

The stage was set for a final round showdown between newcomer Smith and veteran Pippin. Smith was first off the line with a .042 reaction time and was able to hold on for the win with an 8.14 at 160 mph against Pippin's 8.16 at 158 mph.

Smith had perhaps the most successful AHDRA debut of all-time, taking a win and a runner-up and setting a new record.

G-Squared Street Pro

One of last season's most successful AHDRA rookies, Zach Johnson began the 2006 campaign with a near-record run of 8.85 at 151 mph to take the pole in the four bike field. On race day Johnson scored a round No. 1 victory over Robbie Closson with a 9.195 at 149.65mph as Closson encountered problems.

Problems also set in for defending S&S 124-inch Challenge champion Michael Ray, who was unable to make it to the starting line for his showdown with Jeff King. King seized the competition bye run and advanced to the final to take a shot at Johnson.

In the final Johnson put the front wheel high in the air off the line but was still able to take the win. Johnson ran a 9.01 at 149 mph to better King's 9.53 at 147 mph.


G-Squared Street Pro - Zach Johnson

Screamin Eagle V-Rod Destroyer


Screamin Eagle V-Rod Destroyer - Don Stratton, Jr.

Gainesville marked the beginning of the highly-anticipated V-Rod Destroyer category in which riders do battle on Harley's state-of-the-art factory dragbike.

"We're extremely excited," said Harley Davidson Racing manager Anne Paluso. "The feedback from the dealers has been great so we fully expected to see a lot of bikes at the first race."

Even two-time NHRA Pro Stock Champion Andrew Hines was in attendance to see the first official all-Destroyer race. "The Destroyers are a lot of fun to ride," Hines said. "It's great to see this many out for the first race of the year."

AHDRA expects the number of entries to continue to go up throughout the year as more racers take delivery of the bikes.

In qualifying Gene Thompson was the first to set a performance benchmark for the newly conceived class with a 9.284 at 140 mph to put him on the pole. Chuck Kennedy, Lou Gerencer, Jim Sweet, and Wanda Poff rounded out the top five with ETs of 9.31, 9.34, 9.36, and 9.39.

Most of the competitors were extremely pleased with the performance of their "dragbike-in-a-box" and praised Harley for such a quality machine.

At the end of two rounds of eliminations in the 32-bike bracket No. 2 qualifier Kennedy had improved the best ET a few thousandths to a 9.281 and pushed the top speed up to 142.65 mph.

At the end of the day it was Thomason and Don Stratton, Jr. (No. 7 qualifier) who made it to the first Destroyer final. Stratton hit a .030 light and ran 9.46 to Thomason's 9.55 at 137 mph to take the win.

"When I got this Destroyer, this is what I dreamed of," said Stratton, who purchased the bike Thunder Harley Davidson in Sharon, PA. "The bike is awesome. It's a lot of fun to ride right out of the box. I'm still learning how to ride it."

S&S 124-inch Challenge


S&S 124-inch Challenge - Michael Ray

One of the downfalls of winning a championship is the fact that everybody is eager to knock you off the top the next season. In opening qualifying for the S&S 124 Challenge, seven competitors showed up to try to dethrone defending champion Michael Ray. On day No. 1 Ray again prevailed as the man to beat with a pole seizing 9.52 at 140 mph.

No. 2 qualifier Mike Roberts was the only other competitor to qualify in the 9-second zone with a 9.64 at 138 mph.

Ray further improved during his first round bye run, recording a stellar 9.49 at 141 mph. Roberts was unable to get down the track in the opening round, forfeiting the victory to No. 7 qualifier Bruce Croneberger, who posted his best ET of the weekend at 10.08 at 125 mph.

Heading into the semi-finals Ray had nearly a full half second advantage on the rest of the field.

Ray easily advanced to the final after Kendall Johnson missed the call and Croneberger continued as he upset Chuck Bothe to advance to the final.

In the final Ray used huge two-tenths starting line advantage to get out in front and held onto the lead with a 9.63 to Croneberger's 10.45.

Drag Masters Hot Street


Drag Masters Hot Street - John Burdynski

Mike Roberts convincingly won the 2005 championship, but No. 3 plate holder Bruce Croneberger was the first to score in 2006, taking the Drag Masters Hot Street No. 1 qualifying position with an ET of 10.30 at 128 mph to edge out Roberts' No. 2 10.47 at 126 mph.

The atmospheric conditions improved on race day, and as a consequence, so did the performance of the category.

Top-seeded Croneberger improved to a rapid 10.19 at 129 mph during his opening round bye run. Roberts kept pace with a 10.22 at 128 mph to earn a bye run into the semi finals.

Croneberger advanced to the final to take on John Burdynski, who upset Roberts in the semifinals.

In the final Burdynski drilled a .022 reaction time and ran 10.52 to defeat Croneberger's wounded 14.00. It was the second consecutive year that Burdynski won the event.

Screamin Eagle V-Rod

Last year Screamin Eagle V-Rod runner-up Larry Edmonson couldn't seem to beat out teammate and defending class champion Jamie McNaughton. At the first race of 2006 Edmonson looked to have the bike to beat, qualifying in the No. 1 spot with an ET of 9.46 at 141 mph to hold off the quickly encroaching No. 2 qualifier Lou Gerencer, who ran 9.47 at 143 mph. McNaughton finished qualifying in the No. 3 spot with a 9.53 at 139 mph.

On race day, Edmonson reaffirmed what he proved with his No. 1 qualifying effort and further lowered the category's quickest run of the weekend to a 9.43 during his first round bye.

However, at the end of the day it was McNaughton who appeared to come out on top again. In the final, Edmonson got out of the groove and slowed to a 9.70 at 136 mph to McNaughton's 9.46 at 140 mph, but McNaughton lined-up inside the "illegal" groove for street tires and the win was forfeited to his teammate, Edmondson.


Screamin Eagle V-Rod -
Larry Edmonson

Rucker Performance Super Gas


Rucker Performance Super Gas - Shawn Vantucci

Don Stratton Jr. missed running dead-on the 9.70 index by a mere four-thousandths with a 9.704 at 112 mph to capture the No. 1 qualifying spot. 2005 Rucker Performance Super Gas champion Brett Degood qualified fourth with a 9.72 at 127 mph.

In an all-Destroyer final Stratton got a three-hundredths holeshot on No 6. qualifier, Shawn Vantucci, who overcame the deficit with a 9.76 to Stratton's 9.88 to take the win.

Vantucci was glad he decided to enter his Destroyer in Super Gas, as well as SYN 3 ET and Screamin' Eagle Destroyer.

"I rode it about three times last October and I fell in love with it," Vantucci said. "It was running the perfect ETs for Super Gas. It's a great bike. It leaves nice and straight and launches really hard. Luck went my way and I was able to pull it out."

S&S Super Sport


S&S Super Sport - Billy Joe Bowman

Twenty competitors showed up to compete in the hotly-contested S&S Super Sport category. At the conclusion of qualifying Jimmy McMillan came closest to the 10.30 index and garnered the No. 1 spot with a 10.33 at 126 mph.

However, McMillan was upset in the semifinals by Philadelphia's Billy Joe Bowman.

On the other side of the ladder No. 2 qualifier and defending class champion Julia Holliday used stellar .027 and .004 reaction times to advance to the semi, where she had a bye run to the final.

Holliday redlit by -.014 in the final and Bowman collected the first S&S Super Sport win of the season with a 10.43.

"I feel great," Bowman said of his first ever AHDRA win. "I have to thank my excellent crew chief, my wife."

Bowman qualified No. 3 and scored wins over David Hope, Mike Harrison, McMillan, and Holiday to accomplish the feat.

Performance Corner Super Eliminator

Seventeen-year AHDRA veteran Ron Rogan of Pittsburgh took the year's first SEP win by defeating Greensboro, NC-based Lane Boger in the final. Boger was first off the starting line with a .034 light to Rogan's .113, but Boger hurt a motor at about 900 feet and coasted to a track-oiling 12.78 at 62 mph. Rogan hit the brakes at the finish line and took the safe win with an 11.23 at 87.97 mph.

"I feel great, it's about time," Rogan said. "We worked our butts off to get here." Rogan's 1999 Buell seemed to run flawlessly and hit the 10.90 dial-in all day long. "I started getting into a zone after a while," Rogan said. "I was doing everything I needed to do. It's my first win in Gainesville, I'm really happy."


Performance Corner Super Eliminator - Ron Rogan

Screamin Eagle Performance SEP

The mission in Screamin Eagle Performance SEP is simple - cut a good light and run as close to 11.50 as possible without going under.

In qualifying, Greg Best and his 1999 1200 cc Harley came the closest. Best continued to hit the mark on race day and marched to the final to take on No. 15 qualifier Wells Hargrove of Lynchburg, VA.

In a great side-by-side final, the duo had near identical lights, with Best cutting a .079 and Hargrove hitting a .069, Hargrove crossed the finish line first by a few inches with an 11.606 to Best's 11.609.


Screamin Eagle Performance SEP - Wells Hargrove

SYN 3 ET

SYN 3 ET was filled with 82 gung-ho bracket racers. In the final No. 3 plate holder JP Hendrzak took win with a .038 light and an 11.14 on an 11.19 to take out Larry Fore's 12.40 on a 12.38

"I've taken a lot of runner-ups in the class, so it always feels really good to finally get the win," Hendrzak said. "It was a great weekend."

Hendrzak has come up with a great plan to make following the AHDRA schedule a little easier in 2006.

"I have built two identical bikes and this one here is going to go out on the West Coast so I can fly to all of the races," Hendrzak said. "They are basically the same exact bikes."


SYN 3 ET - JP Hendrzak

AHDRA heads to Firebird Int'l Raceway (Phoenix, AZ) April 8th & 9th for the Screamin' Eagle Arizona Bike Week Nationals.

For more information on the 2006 Screamin' Eagle Championship Series contact 336-924-2095 or visit www.ahdra.com.


Barnett Nitro Harley Outlaw winner - Mike Ferris