Screamin' Eagle Top Fuel

Despite Mike Romine's absence from the winner's circle at AHDRA's past two outings, the Sturgis, MI, rider still has a strong lead in the Top Fuel standings that could lead him to back-to-back championship titles.

Romine is 229 points in front of North Carolina's Jay Turner while last year's No.2 plate-holder, Doug Vancil is just 2-point's shy of Turner's 2nd place position.

At AHDRA's Bristol meet on August 12th and 13th, Romine qualified No. 2 with a 6.54 at 211 mph while Tak Shigematsu of Ehime, Japan, blasted down the ¼ mile, clocking a 6.39 at 214 mph for the top spot.

Romine and Shigematsu met in Sunday's final. The D. J. Johnson-tuned bike piloted by Shigematsu brought on the horsepower again with a 6.44 at 215 mph for the win over Romine's 6.59 at 209 mph.

The series headed out west to Woodburn, OR, on August 26th and 27th. Romine chose to skip the long haul from Michigan to Oregon, confident that the outcome would have no bearing on his current lead in the standings.

It was Larry "Drums" Brancaccio taking the Top Fuel winning honors at Woodburn Dragstrip.

Brancaccio, from Nutley, NJ, piloted a bike backed by event sponsor Team Latus Motors Harley-Davidson and owned by Steve Dorn. Dorn was injured in an early season crash in Texas and turned the reins over to Brancaccio for the Woodburn event. Brancaccio turned out to be a good choice for the position as he advanced through the field to take on Chicago Joe in the event final.

Brancaccio, who was phenomenal at the tree all weekend, got out with a .049 light to Joe's .067 and clocked a 6.84 at 200 mph for the win over a 7.41 at 199 mph from Chicago Joe.

JIMS Pro Fuel

Armon Furr of Orangeburg, SC, leads the points chase in the Pro Fuel category; like Romine, he came up short in Bristol and skipped Oregon. Furr, however, will need to ride his best at the remaining three events on the AHDRA schedule to hold on to the lead with reigning champion Chris Streeter less than 100 points behind him.

Furr and Streeter both watched the win get away at Bristol Dragway when Steve Simmons of Greensboro, NC, and Jake Stordeur of Mason, OH, made their way to the finals.

Stordeur, son of veteran rider Steve Stordeur, is new to the fuel category, but his rookie title didn't stop him from advancing past Streeter in the semifinal round with a 6.98 at 187 mph over a 7.06 at 190 mph from Streeter for the upset round win.

On the other side, Simmons advanced by both Furr and No. 1 qualifier Jay Turner for his bid to the final.

In the final round, with nearly identical reactions, Simmons held on with a (.063) 7.07 at 180 mph for the win over a slowed (.069) 8.29 at 175 mph pass from Stordeur.

With the championship standings tight, Chris Streeter made the trip out west to Oregon from his hometown of Cleveland and accomplished his quest to rack up more points on Furr by advancing through to the finals.

In the final, he met up with Chicago Joe, who was having a stellar weekend with final- round appearances in both Top Fuel and Pro Fuel categories.

Streeter's attempt at the win was over early when he met with a flame-throwing boom right off the line while Chicago Joe grabbed the win with a 7.01 at 201 mph.

Kresto Pro Drag

Willie Herschberger of Bradenton, FL, and Rick Moore of Reading, PA, are heading up the battle for points in Pro Drag competition.

How tough are the two? Check out the stats: Herschberger, who leads the standings by 133 points, has appeared in seven out of ten finals so far. Moore has made his way to six finals. The two have faced off in the finals four times and so far each of them has earned three wins.

Moore, who qualified No. 1, captured his third win at Bristol Dragway with a 7.38 at 174 mph over a 7.51 at 170 mph from No. 2 qualifier Herschberger.

In Oregon, Will Simplot of Boise, ID, upset Herschberger in the semifinal round while Moore advanced in his semi to meet Simplot in the final. Simplot took the win with a 7.46 at 155 mph to a 7.71 at 175 mph from Moore. It was Simplot's second win during the season; however, his first win-which came at Sturgis Dragway-was a non-points event.

S & S Pro Gas

Joe Sternotti of Blackwood, NJ, is out front in the Pro Gas series and he'll need to fend off the defending champ, Mike Lozano of San Antonio, TX, to secure the title.

Sternotti, a champion himself in G2 Street Pro racing, has met up with Lozano in several final rounds throughout the season. Lozano has earned four wins out of five finals while Sternotti has appeared in six finals so far with two wins. Only 88 points separate Sternotti's lead over Lozano.

Sternotti gained his second win in Bristol against Lozano with an 8.10 at 160 mph to a troubled 10.50 at 80 mph from Lozano.

In Oregon, Sternotti and Lozano were at it again. This time it was Lozano who prevailed with a 7.72 at 170 mph for the win over Sternotti's 7.81 at 163 mph.

Samson Pro Modified

Junior Pippin of Conyers, GA, is well on his way to a third consecutive national title in Pro Modified competition. Pippin, who is 250 points in front of second-place contender Shaun Reno, has taken five wins out of seven final-round appearances. Reno, of Gloucester, VA, has earned two wins out of four finals for the season so far.

In Bristol, Pippin had his work cut out for him against Eddie Lee of Douglasville, GA. Lee qualified No. 1 with an 8.330 at 154 mph while Pippin took the No. 2 spot just five thousandths of a second behind with an 8.335 and a matching 154 mph speed.

Lee started eliminations with a bye and then beat Shaun Reno's 8.43 at 156.63 in the semis with a near-identical qualifying time of 8.332 and top speed of the weekend (156.84) to advance to the final. Meanwhile, Pippin got a solo opening run on a broke bye from Jack Hollenbeck before advancing to the final over Tom Caldwell with the low ET of the weekend at 8.27.

A battle of performance was set as Pippin and Lee staged for the final. Lee was out first with a .047 reaction to a .084 from Pippin, but Pippin charged ahead for the win with an 8.28 at 156 mph over Lee's 8.46 at 155 mph.

When the competition moved on to Oregon, Pippin, Reno, and Lee stayed back east and it was Randy Borho of Beavercreek, OR, who took the spotlight. He qualified No. 1 with an 8.65 at 152 mph and went on to race the No. 5 qualifier, Californian James Surber, in the event final.

Borho went on to take the win (his second of the season) with an 8.63 at 153 mph over a 9.60 at 130 mph from Surber.

G2 Street Pro

Andy Simon of Fairless Hills, PA, can likely secure his solid lead in the Street Pro points chase by simply showing up at the remaining events. He is on a top performance streak with eight wins out of his nine event competitions so far.

He sits 286 points in front of Iowa native Jeff King, who has earned four runner-up finishes for the season out of four final-round appearances.

This points chase will soon enough focus on the race for No. 2 as King tries to stay ahead of No. 3 in the standings, Zach Johnson. Johnson, last year's second-place plate-holder, has scored one win out of three finals so far and sits just 91 points behind King.

In Bristol, Simon took out a red-lighting Robbie Closson (#4 in the standings) for the win before his final round win two weeks later over King in Woodburn. He also reset the national record marks in Woodburn when he clocked an 8.579 at 158.59 mph.

Simon has been racing for 35 years in everything from motocross, drag cars, and stock cars to-now-Harley racing. Despite his resume, his success during the 2006 has brought forth a few doubters on his legality.

Doubters beware. Simon submitted to a full tear down at a recent AHDRA event and passed the detailed inspection with flying colors. AHDRA reporter Jack Korpela followed Simons's tear down and fellow competitors and fans alike can read what Simon had to say about the "strip search" as well as his key to success in the September issue of AHDRA's Speed Magazine.

Screamin' Eagle V-Rod

Followers of the AHDRA series may remember the exciting battle for the Top Fuel championship coming down to the final race of the season last year between Romine and Vancil. This year, that same hot contention for the lead appears to be forming in V-Rod competition with heavy hitters, Jamie McNaughton and Larry Edmondson, Jr.

The pair—who happen to be teammates—are riding for Eagle Harley-Davidson. McNaughton, of Milwaukee, is the reigning champ of the class while Edmondson, of Battleground, IN, holds the No. 2 plate.

It seems the two may repeat a No. 1 and No. 2 finish, but it remains to be seen which one of them will take the championship title.

Edmondson is a mere five points in front of McNaughton with four wins while McNaughton has three wins heading into AHDRA's final three events.

Edmondson added to his narrow points margin over McNaughton when the two met in the Bristol final. Edmondson won with a 9.55 at 140 mph over McNaughton's 9.60 at 137 mph.

These two points leaders skipped the Woodburn event, thus giving the current third placeholder, Robert McConnell, the opportunity to improve his position. McConnell, of Greenwood, LA, advanced to the final in Oregon, but was stopped short of the win by Terry "Vicious" Vaughan.

McConnell cut the better light, but Vaughan, of Phoenix, caught him with a 10.29 at 126 mph to an 11.24 at 105 mph from McConnell. Vaughan is currently fifth in the standings behind fourth-place Lou Gerencer.

Reigning champion, Jamie McNaughton.

Edmondson is 5-point's in front of McNaughton.

Screamin' Eagle V-Rod Destroyer

In its inaugural season, this class competing on the out-of-the-box Harley-Davidson factory-produced dragbike has seen a few leader changes and is also predicted to play out until the season finale to determine the first-time champion.

Here's how the scenario has progressed.

Don Stratton Jr. of Beloit, OH, started off the season with a win and was the first leader in the standings before Tripp Nobles of Macon, GA, pulled off back-to-back wins in Arizona and Texas, thus taking over the top spot.

New Orleans competitor Erik Ryder joined the competition in St. Louis, MO, where he recorded record marks, defeated Stratton in the final, and took the points lead from Nobles-but only briefly.

Nobles rebounded at the next outing (Commerce, GA) when he advanced to the finals and finished as runner-up to Michael Ray of San Antonio, TX. Nobles' finish was good enough to put him back in the points lead.

He was holding his own and maintaining the lead until Michel Ray's performance record continued to climb. Following Ray's win in Georgia, he has since earned four runner-up finishes and has taken over the lead-just four points ahead of Nobles.

Ray took on L.E. Tonglet in the Bristol final. Tonglet (brother of NHRA Pro Stock bike rider G.T. Tonglet) got by Ray's 9.45 at 139 mph with a 9.49 at 139 mph for the win, his first of the season.

Next, Ray made the trip to Oregon where he met Derek Nonnamaker of Salem, OR, in the final round. Ray grabbed his fourth runner-up finish as Nonnamaker took the win (his second of the season) with a 9.32 at 140 mph to a close 9.39/141 mph from Ray.

Despite the Ray and Nobles points leads, this one is far from over.

Don Stratton, Jr. sits just 94 points out of the top position at No. 3 while Erik Ryder is in the fourth spot, with 100 points separating him from the leader, Michael Ray.

Points are based on winning rounds, and all four of the current leaders have proven they can go the distance for the win. Those same four are capable of, and have proven, record-setting performances. (Setting quarter-mile ET records earns competitors 20 bonus points).

With that said, the road to capturing the first Screamin' Eagle V-Rod Destroyer championship will be a thrilling ride until the end.

S & S 124 Challenge

Michael Ray may be headed to accomplishing what only a few others have done: win two championships in one season.

Ray, the reigning champion in the S & S engineered 124-cubic-inch class, is leading the series again in 2006. He has earned six wins out of seven finals so far and sits 110 points in front of Robbie McCaa of Anaheim, CA. McCaa has three wins out of six finals.

Rounding out the top three and still in contention is Mike Roberts, the reigning Hot Street champ who trails the lead position by 149 points.

McCaa captured one of his wins in Bristol, against Lou Gerencer of Elkhart, IN. McCaa ran a 9.91 at 137 mph against a troubled 13.16 at 72 mph from Gerencer.

Mike Roberts, who has a number of final-round appearances under his belt, took on Michael Ray in the Woodburn final. In a tight race, Ray came out ahead with a 9.52 at 139 mph to a 9.51 at 141 mph from Roberts.

Drag Masters Hot Street

In other heads-up competition in the AHDRA Screamin' Eagle Championship Series is the no-wheelie-bar Hot Street category.

Bruce Croneberger of Cressona, PA, came out strong early in the season and has since collected five wins out of seven finals. The defending champion, Mike Roberts of Clinton, OH, trails Croneberger by 80 points.

In Bristol competition, Croneberger met up with the '04 champ, John Burdynski, in the final round. Burdynski, of Houston, chopped down the tree with a .007 to a .106 from Croneberger, and then charged to the win stripe with a 10.45 at 128 mph over a 10.79 at 129 mph from Croneberger.

In Oregon, Dan Norlin of Aurora, CO, stopped Croneberger short of the final. Norlin has a pair of wins himself for the season and collected one of them in Oregon when he met Mike Roberts in the final. Norlin clocked a 10.34 at 131 mph on a single run after Roberts had trouble at the start. With Norlin's win, he currently sits 182 points from the lead spot in the series.

Casa Bella X-Mod

Debuting as a trial category at selected events this year, the X-Mod category will find a permanent home at AHDRA events in 2007.

With a demand from racers to see a Modified category consisting of a smaller tire, smaller engine, and single carburetor, Tony Mione of Casa Bella Development stepped forth to sponsor the class and ultimately test its success.

The class has seen respectable participation from competitors, but perhaps most happy with the progress is Floridian Stephen Galati.

Galati, AHDRA's 2005 Sportsman Rookie of the Year, is 4-for-4 on wins so far. Waiting in the wings for his chance at the winning honors is his DragMaster-sponsored teammate, Greg Kuypers, who has finished second to Galati in all four finals. The two are thus one and two in the points standings.

Kuypers has two more shots (Virginia and Vegas) at interrupting Galati's winning streak.

Rucker Performance Super Gas

In the Super Gas class that competes against the 9.70 index, Bob Drapp has made a mid-season charge for the championship title. Drapp, of Winterhaven, FL, has collected four wins, three of them consecutively, and has a 231-point lead over reigning champ Brett DeGood.

DeGood, of Mt. Top, PA, advanced to his second final of the season in Bristol, and took his second runner-up finish against Jeff Stevens of Bloomington, IN. Stevens got the win with a 9.97 against a 10.01 from DeGood.

In Oregon, Drapp skipped the competition and DeGood was able to get through three rounds before a loss to Californian Ron Hall. Daniel Harvey of Farmington, NM, and Dustin Long of Sacramento, CA, advanced to the finals where Long clocked a close-to- perfect, 9.704 for the win against Harvey's 9.98.

S & S Super Sport

Julia Holliday was the second female to earn a national championship, and currently stands to be the first female to capture the title twice.

Holliday competes against the 10.30 index in Super Sport competition and so far she has hit the winning score two out of the three finals she has competed in.

The N. Springfield, PA, rider will have to be on top of her game for the remaining season with only 34 points separating her from Larry Maynhart, in second place.

Maynhart of Swanton, OH, captured his second win of the season in Bristol, against Virginian G.W. Bass.

In Oregon, it was Jack Wagner of Escondido, CA, taking the win over James Empey of Poulsbo, WA.

Wagner is currently fourth in the standings behind Mike Harrison of Uniontown, OH. Harrison, who collected a win earlier in the season, is just 100 points away from the leader, Holliday, while Wagner needs to make up a 245-point difference.

Performance Corner Super Eliminator

Donnie Huffman is looking for a big finish in 2006. The Lakeland, FL, rider came away with two championship titles in '05 and is on top of the standings in both of his defending categories.

In the Super Eliminator class that races against a 10.90 index, Huffman has taken three wins out of four finals so far. He has a 192-point lead over Cleve McConnell's second- place spot. Should Huffman maintain his lead, he would hold the title for a third consecutive season.

Huffman grabbed one of his three wins in Super Eliminator racing at the Oregon outing against Rick Baldwin of nearby Carver, OR.

In Bristol, Scotty Hooper of Cullman, AL, got by Charlie Walker of Brandon, MS, for the win. Hooper is currently fourth in the standings while Walker is eighth.

Screamin' Eagle Performance (SEP)

Donnie Huffman's second defending '05 title came in SEP-11.50 index competition. He's at it again with a 96-point lead on Dan DeGood, a former SEP champion himself.

In sportsman racing, points are earned by each winning round, meaning that the larger the fields at each event (32-bike limit), the more chances there are to grab the coveted 20 points for each successful round.

Huffman's lead is the result of collecting successful rounds along with a win and runner- up finish.

DeGood, of Mt. Top, PA, has made it through to three finals for two runner-up finishes and one win, while K.W. Seneca, who is third in the standings, has collected three wins.

How could Seneca have more wins and be in third place? It goes back to the number of rounds it took to get those wins. Seneca likely advanced through a few smaller fields to get the wins, which ultimately gives him fewer points than others who were likely competing with a full (or closer to) 32-bike field.

Seneca, of Irving, NY, grabbed his third win in Woodburn over Robert McConnell of Greenwood, LA.

In Bristol, it was Keith Carper of Laurel, MD, advancing through the field for the win over Joey Talbott of Forest, VA.

Will Huffman hold on for back-to-back double championships? Will DeGood take the championship to cap off his retirement from racing?

That remains to be seen…one round at a time.

Syn3 ET

In AHDRA's bracket class, the stakes are again highly dependent on winning rounds. The field sizes during the season may range from nearly one hundred to sixty competitors at any given event.

For J.P. Hendrzak of Maryland, his 76-point lead over Robert McConnell is a result of advancing through fields to grab three event wins.

McConnell has a pair of runner-up finishes. In third place and 134 points from the top spot is Bob Drapp, who has earned three wins for the season.

Drapp took his third win in Bristol, over Robert McConnell.

In Oregon, it was Liz Davis (a.k.a. HyperLiz) taking her first win of the season against Billy Rowe Jr.