WINSTON-SALEM, NC, June 13, 2003 - Doug Vancil of Albuquerque, NM, took home the Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley win; Mark Conner (Canyon Lake, TX) was the JIMS Pro Fuel winner; Tom Bradford (Eagle, WI) battled hometown favorite Dirk Higgins (Kirby, OH) for the S & S Pro Stock trophy; Steve Dorn traveled all the way from Oregon to collect his Kresto Pro Drag win; and Susie Wevodau (Harrisburg, PA) scored a win for the ladies in Nonpareil Super Sport.

These are only a handful of highlights from the Roeder Harley-Davidson Buckeye Nationals - a weekend of racing that was the longest ever recorded in the AHDRA books.

AHDRA racers and staff were beaming after a smooth day of qualifying on Saturday and leading off Sunday's opening ceremonies and eliminations with impressive numbers in the grandstands. The Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harleys came out with plenty of thunder and six-second excitement, and Mark Conner kept the crowd on its feet after smashing the JIMS Pro Fuel records in qualifying. It was set to be a teeth-clenching day of racing.

Mother Nature interrupted, with rains that took over before a complete round could be run in all classes. The downpour grew heavier, and AHDRA track officials and Norwalk Raceway Parks President, Bill Bader, Jr., kept a close eye on the radar. AHDRA President Craig Tharpe announced that a clearing period was in sight, the track would be dried - and "We ARE going racing!"

Racing, indeed. After three hours of track drying and prep, the nitro Harleys were back in the lanes, and Doug Vancil proved the conditions were sweet, giving the diehard fans waiting it out a 6.35 blast at 216.27 mph. But the cheers were short lived after sprinkling rain returned, forcing yet more track drying. The race with Mother Nature continued until it was obvious that she would win - for the moment, at least.

After examining every option, Tharpe announced that the final remaining rounds would be completed at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning. The majority reacted joyfully; after all, many weary competitors had hung in and traveled from as far away as Oregon. Yet a few folks had other obligations, including airline reservations and - most important - jobs to return to that forced them to forfeit remaining rounds.

So why the decision to finish on Monday?

"We needed to finish this race," a determined Tharpe explained. "After the Florida rain-out and only one Eastern race on the scoreboard, and a western swing of four in a row coming up, it was important to complete this event."

The Roeder Harley-Davidson Buckeye Nationals not only finished under unique circumstances, but this marathon weekend of racing also finished with at least twelve new national records. These included the JIMS Pro Fuel E.T. record of 6.632 and mph of 206.99, set by Mark Conner; a brand-new Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley mph record (217.25) set by Doug Vancil; and a Rivera-Primo Street Pro mph record set by Doug Morrow of Daytona Beach, FL. A complete listing of all records will be available in the coming weeks on www.ahdra.com.

AHDRA traveled to Denver, Colorado, on June 14th and 15th for the second of the four-race sweep. Next up: the American IronHorse Lonestar Nationals, June 21st and 22nd, at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, TX.

For more information on the 2003 National Points Series, please contact 336-924-2095 or visit www.ahdra.com.