Winston-Salem, NC, September 17, 2004—Indianapolis Raceway Park backed up its "fast" reputation when AHDRA came to town on September 11th and 12th.
When the "kings of the sport" took the track for Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley action, Johnny Mancuso was off the trailer with a 6.516 at 212.06 mph for the #1 spot in qualifying before Doug Vancil took over in round two with a 6.338 at 214.93 mph, shaving .040 off the record set by Steve Stordeur (6.378) in 2003.
Vancil, Mancuso, and Stordeur finished qualifying rounds one, two, and three respectively, and the stage was set with a full field of 16 and plenty of tight competition for Sunday's eliminations.
With temperatures a bit warmer for the opener, Vancil struggled at the launch, smoking the tire, but recovered to advance over Derrick Nelson in round one. Meanwhile, Mancuso had no problems advancing with a 6.452 at 213 mph over Greg Beckman.
Vancil improved his performance by running a 6.543 at 213.47 mph in round two and advanced over Joe Timmons, while Mancuso took on Tii Tharpe. Tharpe had the holeshot advantage, but Mancuso was able to charge ahead with a 6.672 at 198.61 mph for his semifinal round match-up with teammate and current points leader Steve Stordeur.
Mancuso and Stordeur provided a good race, and the boss (Mancuso) was first to the traps with a 6.496 at 208.88 mph over Stordeur's 6.512 at 210.64 mph.
Vancil's semi win came with a 6.612 at 205.85 mph over Mike Romine's 6.725 at 208.55 mph and landed him in the finals with Mancuso.
It was anybody's race as the two ran side by side, but the win light went to Mancuso with a 6.556 at 209.01 mph to Vancil's 6.583 at 209.92 mph.
Vancil didn't have enough to back up the 6.338 for the record, but it was the low E.T. of the weekend and Steve Stordeur scored the fastest marks with a 216.76 mph pass in Sunday's opening round.
The records were backed up and recorded in S & S Cycle Pro Stock competition when Dirk Higgins came alive in Sunday's eliminations. He struggled earlier in the weekend, losing fire in the opening qualifying round, but came away with the third spot with a 7.555 best in the final qualifying round.
Rick Maney was the front-runner with a 7.514 at 172.39 mph, and Dale Raudenbush was the #2 man with a 7.519 at 172.65 mph best of the day. Both riders were coming off stellar performances in Woodburn, OR, where Maney had set new records and Raudenbush was the winner.
Raudenbush drew Higgins in the semis in Indy and set off a turn of events for the Jon Miller/ Thiels Wheels ride.
Higgins landed a record pass at 7.438/172.52 mph against Raudenbush and advanced to the finals to take on Maney. Although Higgins had the slower reaction, he had the horsepower to finish ahead with a 7.486 at 174.44 mph to the 7.519 at 173.96 from Maney.
Higgins came away with the win, and enough for new national records at 7.438 in the quarter-mile and 4.665 in the eighth.
Tom Bradford competed in three categories at the Joker Machine Indy Nationals, but it was his S & S Cycle Pro Gas performance that best suited him this weekend.
He qualified #1 with a 7.565 at 176.10 mph on his '03 Buell; in Sunday's opening round he bettered his own national record with a 7.357 at 176.47 mph pass. He then cleared the field with consecutive 7's before a 7.406 at 175.82 mph win over Scott Tepper in the final. Bradford improved the national records with his 7.357 in the quarter mile and a 4.659 in the eighth mile.
Ranking tops in close competition, the Rivera-Primo Street Pro field was loaded with "edge of your seat" action at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Chip Ellis and Joe Sternotti have put their names in the record books recently, and Ellis led the field after three rounds of qualifying with a 9.011 at 138.40 mph. Sternotti was in the second position before Travis Lummus bumped him to third with a 9.167 at 147.57 mph in the third round.
It was the semifinal round on Sunday that set up a memorable finish. Chip Ellis took on newcomer Derek Poff, of York, PA, who was first off the line and first across the traps with a 9.444 at 138.48 mph over the 9.517 at 147.78 mph from Ellis.
On the other side of the ladder, Sternotti paired up with Lummus. Despite Lummus running his quickest of the meet (9.156 at 149.07), Sternotti answered with his own best, an 8.942 at 153.33 mph, which was good enough for the round win and a new MPH national record in the class.
In the upset of the weekend, rookie Poff was off the line early with a .103 to Sternotti's .345 in the final, and Poff rode to the win with a 9.472 at 138.23 mph. over Sternotti's 9.603 at 148.14 mph.
Rider Joe Perry of Kingsport, TN, was as hot as it gets in Drag Masters Hot Street action.
Resetting his earlier record, Perry ran a 10.285 in Sunday's third round of eliminations. He subsequently advanced to the final round against Mike Roberts where he nailed the record shut and secured the win with an identical 10.285 at 124.44 mph over a 10.299 at 128.59 mph from Roberts.
Perry also took home the new eighth-mile marks with a 6.488. Current MPH record holder Dan Norlin finished the weekend with the top speed of 131.64 mph. Norlin's record time was recorded at Woodburn Dragstrip several weeks earlier at 132.45 mph.
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