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NITRO HARLEY RIDERS READY TO ROAR THROUGH THUNDER VALLEY

The sixth annual O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q will include the ultra-quick Nitro Harley-Davidson category. It is the second of three exhibitions scheduled for NHRA POWERade events this season, and the riders of the AHDRA Screamin' Eagle championship series are eagerly waiting for this weekend's action to start.

"We're very excited about going back to Bristol Dragway to showcase our series at the NHRA event," AHDRA General Manager Craig Tharpe said. "Bristol Dragway continues to be one of the queens of the NHRA member track fleet. We're always quick up there, and we're looking forward to being able to entertain the thousands of potential new fans that can come back to our event (AHDRA national event, Aug. 11-13)."

Six riders are scheduled to take part in the exhibition. They will have two qualifying runs Friday and two more Saturday before final eliminations kick off at 11 a.m. Sunday. Mike Romine and Doug Vancil have each claimed one AHDRA victory so far this season. They will be joined by Jack Romine, Tommy Grimes (winner of the first NHRA exhibition in 2006), Mike Lehman, and Takeshi Shigematsu for this weekend's exhibition event.

"We couldn't ask for a better location to hold one of the three Nitro Harley-Davidson exhibition events," Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso said. "The power produced by these Harleys is going to rattle the entire mountain. I think the fans are in for an exciting weekend of racing."

Though the Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team has the weekend off from NHRA racing, fans are certain to get their fix of Harley-Davidson inspired racing. Along with the nitro-burning Harley-Davidson entries, Bristol Dragway fans will get their first glimpse of the new Acceleration Nation interactive area, featuring dyno drag racing V-Rods for fans to ride.

"When we agreed to make Harley-Davidson the official motorcycle of the NHRA, we wanted to make it a priority to get the fans closer to the bikes," Paluso said. "Not only are we giving away 15 Harley-Davidson motorcycles throughout the season, but fans can hop on a real V-Rod and get a feel for what it's like to blaze down the track on a two-wheel machine."