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AHDRA POINTS SERIES TIGHTENS UP FOLLOWING THE S & S MID-ATLANTIC NATIONALS

WINSTON-SALEM, NC, August 3, 2005 Under sweltering temperatures at Maryland International Raceway (M.I.R.), AHDRA dodged a stormy weekend forecast on July 16th and 17th to complete this mid-season event.

TF - Shigematsu

TF - Cox

PF - Turner

Lozano and Ainsworth

PD - Herschberger

Tak Shigematsu made a massive road trip from Japan to compete in the Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley field at M.I.R., and success came quickly for the D.J. Johnson-engineered team. Shigematsu ran a 6.630 at 203.80 mph for the #1 qualifying spot after three rounds on Saturday.

In Sunday's opener, he trailered points leader Doug Vancil before taking out North Carolina riders Tii Tharpe and Jay Turner to earn his spot in the final round. Shigematsu's win over Turner in the semi netted him the quickest pass of the weekend with a 6.556.

#3 qualifier Mark Cox and the Bojangles team just missed the top mark themselves with a 6.558 blast in the opening round to advance over Jay Turner. Cox stayed side-by-side with Florida's Mike Lehman, who is taking the points series by storm in double categories.

Although Lehman was slightly quicker at the tree (.110), Cox (.112) had the horsepower at 6.571 at 205.51 mph to get by a 6.632 at 206.45 mph from Lehman.

Next up for Cox was Bob Malloy. Cox stayed in the 50's and improved his reaction with a .086/6.583 win over a 7.175 from Malloy to set up what should have been a photo finish to the stripe with Shigematsu.

With the stage set, both Cox and Shigematsu heated the tires with plenty of smoke for the fans. A sudden hiccup from the Cox ride left the team sitting on the starting line as Shigematsu scored a 6.592 at 205.07 on the solo pass for the win.

Following the heat-filled competition at M.I.R., the Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley points standings leave Mike Lehman in the top spot with Doug Vancil just 10 points shy in second place. Sitting in third is Mike Romine, who ran the top speed of the weekend at 212.29 mph.

Pulling double-duty just as Mike Lehman does in the fuel categories, Jay Turner of Greensboro, NC, was giving it his all at M.I.R.

Leading in to Sunday's JIMS Pro Fuel eliminations, Turner was the #1 qualifier with a best pass of 6.775 at 201.19 mph. He rode by Tom Spangler in the opener and Chris Streeter in the semis for a final round bid against fellow North Carolinian Steve Simmons, the #6 qualifier.

Simmons had slower numbers leading up to the final, but ran his best pass of the weekend with a .078/6.990 at 186.98 mph in the final. It wasn't enough, though, to get by Turner, who finished with a .083/6.824 at 202.45 mph for the win.

Mike Lehman was ousted early at M.I.R., but he holds the points lead in JIMS Pro Fuel by 36 points over Chris Streeter, while Jay Turner is now in the third spot.

Sitting comfortably out front in the S&S Pro Stock points chase is Dale Raudenbush of Old Zionsville, PA, who has added another win to his resume at M.I.R.

The Old Glory race team got by Mark Collier of Roanoke Rapids, NC, in the final with a 7.471 at 172.94 mph to a 7.951 at 160.75 from Collier. Raudenbush took home the top numbers of the weekend with a 7.568 at 173.87 mph.

In S & S Pro Gas, Texan Mike Lozano already had a commanding lead in the series points; after his Maryland win, he charged even further ahead.

Lozano's win was awarded at the tree with a .043 reaction to a .154 from opponent Keith Browne of Semora, NC. Browne (#3 qualifier) was "super-charged" for the win with a 8.158 at 148.09 mph, but Lozano's alert start gave him the win despite his slower 8.245 pass.

The quickest and fastest numbers from the weekend in S & S Pro Gas came from Toby Mullis of Port St. John, FL, with a 7.512 low E.T. and a top speed of 175.57 mph. Mullis ended his chance for the win with a red-light foul against Lozano in the semis.

Phil Schmidt was the frontrunner in Kresto Pro Drag qualifying laps with a best of 7.443 at 159.85 mph. Newcomer to the ranks (but not based on his performance) is Willie Herschberger, who qualified in the second spot with a 7.637 at 165.76 mph. John Breckenridge rounded out the top three with a 7.794 at 167.49 mph pass.

The trio of Schmidt, Herschberger, and Breckenridge all advanced in Sunday's opening round, but things took a different turn in the second round.

Herschberger upset Breckenridge in a good race down the track, but for Schmidt a bye run that should have sent him easily to the finals was aborted when race officials spotted fluid leaking heavily from his bike.

In the name of safety regulations, Schmidt was shut off in the water box, and Herschberger would receive a bye run in the final for the win.

John Breckenridge left the event with a 13-point advantage in the Kresto Pro Drag points standings over Schmidt. Herschberger is still in it with 115 points separating him from the leader.

Reigning champion Junior Pippin holds the front spot in the Samson Pro Modified category, but Canadian Doug Ainsworth is gaining momentum rapidly.

Ainsworth, the #1 qualifier, made it a three-in-a-row streak after defeating Ohio's Paul Smith (#2 qualifier) in the final at M.I.R.

While #3 qualifier Pippin was upset early by #10 qualifier Lauren Long, Ainsworth left the East Coast event trailing him by 111 championship points and the event's top marks of 8.185 at 159.83 mph.

Coming off a first career win at the AHDRA Seattle meet, Zach Johnson of Germanton, NC, set the pace in G2 Street Pro qualifying with a 9.030 at 151.65 mph that would ultimately be the top numbers of the weekend.

Johnson's #1 qualifying spot landed him a bye in Sunday's opener, and he advanced in second-round action over champion Joey Sternotti in the semis.

Meanwhile, #2 qualifier Travis Lummus of Waynesville, NC, advanced over Derek Christenson in his opening round and received a bye in the semi that would get him to the final with Johnson.

With experience and plenty of performance records on his side, Lummus got out with a huge hole shot advantage and never looked back as he took the win light with a .062/ 9.144 at 149.66 mph to Johnson's .202/9.390 at 149.91 mph numbers.

Lummus is staged for a championship comeback with a lead of 272 points over second-place Joey Sternotti.

Although Sternotti trails the Street Pro competition, he's managed the #1 spot with ease in the S & S 124 Challenge category despite a loss to Michael Ray in Maryland.

Ray, of Memphis, TN, was the #1 qualifier with a 9.609 and met Sternotti in the final. When Sternotti encountered problems early, Ray sailed down the track for the easy win. He is now in second place behind Sternotti in the points standings.

PG - Brown and Lozano

SP - Johnson & Lummus

Meanwhile, Jamie McNaughton currently holds the national record numbers, the national points lead, and the Maryland winnings in the Screamin' Eagle V-Rod category. He defeated Larry Edmondson in the final and boasted top numbers of the weekend with a 9.416 at 141.59 mph. He is now more than 200 points in front of reigning champ Tripp Nobles for the 2005 championship title.

Mike Roberts of Akron, OH, is leading the Drag Masters Hot Street charts. He rode by Bruce Croneberger for the win in Maryland; his numbers from his round 2 win over Dan Norlin, of Aurora, CO, were the quickest and fastest of the weekend at 10.016 at 131.88 mph.

Roberts' points lead has him 152 points in front of second-place contender Norlin.

In Rucker Performance (9.70) Super Gas racing, Craig Pollard of Evington, VA, was the top qualifier. He advanced to the finals to face N. Springfield, PA's Blake Holliday, who had advanced over Greg Krenik and frontrunner Brett DeGood to earn his final-round bid. Holliday went on to take the win over Pollard in the final.

Brett DeGood of Mt. Top, PA, left Maryland just over 100 points in front of second place Greg Krenik in the standings.

Krenik has the points lead in S & S (10.30) Super Sport competition with Julia Holliday (Blake's bride) trailing in second by only 85 marks. Neither Krenik nor Holliday saw the finals in Maryland, but Mike Harrison and Larry Maynhart did, with Harrison taking the win for Ohio's Team Freedom Racing.

Dean Druschel of Swanton, OH, captured another '05 victory for the Poor Boys Racing Team with a win over Greg Kuypers in the Performance Corner (10.90) Super Eliminator final. Reigning champ Donnie Huffman leads the standings by 36 points over young gun Billy Lee Jr. Both riders were upset early in the Maryland field that comprised more than 30 entries.

It's Huffman again in the front seat as far as points go this time in the Screamin' Eagle (11.50) class, although he didn't fare well in the competition at M.I.R.

Local racer (and former champ himself) John Henderson took the top honors there with a win over KW Seneca. In a battle at the tree, Henderson hammered the light with a .025 to a .191 from Seneca for the win.

Double '04 champ Dan DeGood is resting easier following an overdue victory in Syn3 ET racing. DeGood says the heat was so intense at M.I.R. that he chose to sit out one of the three time trial runs on Saturday. The break paid off, as he got his needed win in a final round match with Brian Fox.

DeGood now leads the standings with Robert McConnell trailing by just over 100 points.

Over 200 racers suited up in the nearly 100-degree temperatures at the S & S Cycle Mid-Atlantic Nationals presented by All American H-D and H-D of Frederick.

Taking in all the action and appreciating the efforts of those racing were the members of the MD/DE State H.O.G. Rally. The rally attendees witnessed plenty of excitement on the track with special V.I.P. seating. The satisfaction was evident and you can bet they will be back for more.

Next up for the AHDRA is a non-points meet at Sturgis Dragway on August 7th and 8th, followed by the S & S Cycle Thunder in the Valley Nationals presented by Smith Brothers Harley-Davidson, August 13th and 14th in Bristol, TN.

For more information on the AHDRA Screamin' Eagle Performance Parts national points series, please contact 336-924-2095 or visit www.ahdra.com.