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NITRO HARLEY CHAMP CRASHES AND BRANCACCIO GETS A WIN AT TEXAS MOTORPLEX, APRIL 23RD & 24TH

Steve Stordeur

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., May 2, 2005 - The Rucker Performance Lone Star Nationals presented by Drag Specialties got off to a scary start when Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley champion Steve Stordeur took a hard turn into the retaining wall.

As he launched to what appeared to be a flawless pass, Stordeur sat the front wheel down and the bike went into a wobble before making a dramatic turn into the wall. He clocked a 6.90 at 174.98 mph.

Stordeur was airlifted to a nearby hospital and eventually transported to a Houston hospital where he was treated for several days for injuries that included a separated shoulder, broken bones in a hand and foot, and road rash. He has since been flown home to Goshen, OH, to continue treatment for his injuries.

Although replays of the accident drew no conclusions that wind conditions played a role, officials decided that several of the Pro classes would resume qualifying under the one-eighth mile.

Teammates and bike owner Johnny Mancuso returned to the track from visiting Stordeur in time to complete qualifying, where a final lap gave them the #3 spot. Doug Vancil of Albuquerque, NM, and Japanese native Tak Shigematsu made up the top two spots with a 4.240 and 4.266, respectively.

Those same three qualifiers made it through to the semifinal round on Sunday before Shigematsu advanced over Mancuso, and Larry "Drums" Brancaccio of Nutley, NJ, beat #1 qualifier Vancil for his spot in the final.

Brancaccio and Shigematsu were both piloting DJ Johnson-tuned machines, and all indications were that a sure side-by-side finish was on tap.

Brancaccio's earlier consistent six-second laps and speedy lights gave him the advantage over Shigematsu, whose best so far had been a 7.16, but riders and fans alike were left waiting for the big finale when a weather front dumped several hours of rain at Texas Motorplex.

Larry "Drums" Brancaccio

Known for a determination to finish, AHDRA President Craig Tharpe kept a close eye on the radar and predicted that a short window of opportunity would eventually allow time to complete the event.

Indeed it did, and an "antsy" Brancaccio pulled to the line, where he hammered the tree again with a .040 and then tuned his slowest number of the day (7.144 at 162.63 mph)-good enough for the win over a slower .114, 7.762 at 141.45 mph from Shigematsu.

Brancaccio's win, which was preceded by a runner-up finish in Phoenix, gives the "often animated but never imitated" rider the lead in the national points standings.

Stordeur, whose status for the season is questionable, is in the second spot, while "boss man" Mancuso follows closely in the third spot.

Other highlights from the late-night Texas finals:

Dale Raudenbush of Old Zionsville, PA, upset a "Pro," Dave Feazell, in the S & S Pro Stock final. Feazell (of Hudson, IA) held all the top marks heading into the final, including low E.T. (4.694 in the eighth), and top speed (150.31 in the eighth and 178.97 in the quarter). But something went awry in the finale, and Raudenbush and the Old Glory Racing bike rode past him for a win with a 7.595 at 172.63 mph.

In JIMS Pro Fuel, leading the standings after back-to-back wins, Chris Streeter was set to capture a third title. His only solid pass in qualifying gave him the #1 spot with a 4.377.

Streeter, from Cleveland, OH, never got the FBM machine to its normal performance capacity on Sunday, and lost to Mike Bahnmaier of Wichita, KS, in the semifinal round.

On the other side, Mike Lehman of W. Palm Beach, FL, leapt easily to the finals in the six-second zone to face Bahnmaier.

Lehman finished with a 6.780 at 205.69 mph for the win after Bahnmaier experienced problems and coasted through the traps.

Lehman's victory leaves him just two points shy of Streeter's current points lead.

Canadian Doug Ainsworth was the Sampson Pro Modified front-runner across the board in Texas. He was quicker every round in qualifying and ended the day with record-setting marks at 8.186 in the ¼ mile, leaving reigning champ and record holder himself, Junior Pippin, in awe of Ainsworth's performance.

Ainsworth snatched more records on Sunday, including a 160.06 mph quarter-mile record that had been held solidly by Ohio's Paul Smith since 2002 at 157.98 mph. He also tied Pippin's eighth-mile record number of 5.141.

It was all Ainsworth until the long-awaited final, when he got into trouble early-losing fire while champion Pippin of Conyers, GA, cruised on for the win light with an 8.359 at 153.09 mph. Pippin furthered his lead in the standings while Ainsworth trails by 138 points in the second spot.

In G2 Street Pro, Joey Sternotti of Blackwood, NJ, got his first '05 win in a hard- fought battle under stiff competition in his championship class.

Travis Lummus of Asheville, NC, was seeking a three-for-three season start with an 8.976 best in qualifying for the pole position. Sternotti followed in second with an 8.984 best.

If you followed the 2004 charts, a Lummus-Sternotti match-up seemed predictable-maybe even inevitable.

Enter Jeff King of Muscatine, IA. The #3 qualifier, King beat a fellow newcomer, Zach Johnson, in Sunday's opening round, which left him facing one of the best-Lummus.

Fans take note. If you haven't followed this no-wheelie-bar class before, check it out. The competition is heating up. Lummus and King staged for the semifinal round, with Lummus holding the performance advantage. King gets out first (.152), Lummus follows (.194), and the best race of the day ended when King nosed the stripe with a 9.240 to a 9.247 from Lummus.

King headed to the rain-delayed final and had the holeshot advantage again, but the champion, Sternotti, broke away for an 8.851 win over a 9.680 from King.

AHDRA newcomer Marco Andreano led the S & S Pro Gas field after three qualifying rounds, with a 4.666 best under eighth-mile racing. Barely edged out for second was Tom Bradford of Eagle, WI, with a 4.669.

Andreano, of Jersey City, NJ, advanced to the final on a bye after Cliff Dwy and Brook McCabe both broke, resulting in a "no winner semi." Bradford meanwhile advanced over Phoenix winner Mike Lozano, who also broke in his semifinal lap.

Although Andreano was off first with a .064, Bradford made the difference for the win with a .078, 7.458 to the 7.710 from Andreano.

In another "no semi winner" situation, Phil Schmidt was the solo rider remaining for the Kresto Pro Drag final.

John Breckenridge (#2 qualifier) and Gary Stroud (#6 qualifier) were paired for the semi that ended instantly when both left before activating the tree, resulting in a double foul. Schmidt, however, advanced over Jim Fontaine for his final-round appearance.

With no logical reason to wait out the delay, Schmidt staged his Pro Dragster under sprinkling rains and broke the beam for a legal win.

In other heads-up racing:

• Mike Roberts (Akron, OH) led the field in qualifying and stuck it out for the win in Drag Masters Hot Street over Colorado's Dan Norlin.
• Tripp Nobles of Statesville, NC, overcame a third-place qualifying spot and low E.T. marks from Milwaukee's Jamie McNaughton (9.509) to take the win in Screamin' Eagle V-Rod.
• A young Michael Ray of Memphis, TN, had a veteran-sized weekend in the S & S 124 Challenge field. Ray, the #1 qualifier, beat double-final contestant Joey Sternotti for the win. Ray's top numbers for the weekend were 9.695 at 139.14 mph.

And from the index racing side:

• Brett DeGood of Mt. Top, PA, grabbed a big holeshot win (.025/9.844) over Rucker Performance Super Gas champion Dale Tyson in (.092/9.815) against a 9.90 index.
• Jack Wagner of Escondido, CA, had all the right marks for the win over Mike Fitzgerald in S & S Super Sport 10.30 action.
• Bill Lee Jr. of Ellenton, FL, took out champion Donnie Huffman in Performance Corner Super Eliminator 10.90 racing.
• Wayne Pugh was nearly perfect in SEP 11.50 racing. The New Mexico rider qualified in the top spot with an 11.500 and sealed it with an 11.507 win over Mike Schultz of Manassas, VA.
• Richard Martin of Kansas City, MO, was the Syn3 ET winner over Clay Wilwert of Dubuque, IA.

Next up for the 2005 Screamin' Eagle Championship Series is the S & S Cycle California Nationals presented by Drag Specialties on May 14th and 15th in Bakersfield, CA.

For more information, please contact 336-924-2095 or visit www.ahdra.com.