Hurricane Alley First Season Finale
Hurricane Alley Motorcycle Drag Racing at Belle Rose
Louisiana’s No Problem Raceway served up a big pot of perfect weather for the finals of Hurricane Alley’s first racing season on Feb. 10, and racers and fans responded to the sunshine in record numbers. Snowbirds Bruce and Debbie Sampson came all the way from Minnesota to enjoy the warmth of the Sportsman’s Paradise state, signaling what should be a growing vacation trend amongst northern racers.
But by far most of the racers were from Texas and Louisiana, with the Pelicans taking five wins and six runner-ups to three wins and two runner-ups for the Longhorns. Entries tallied over 150, and spectators filled the stands and tailgated in pick-up trucks backed up along the track.
Quick 16
With Houma’s Paul Miller tuning, Jimmy Randolph of nearby Theriot qualified #1 in Naarden Quick 16 on Jerriod Blanchard’s Wheels Racing Top Gas Suzuki. At the end of the day, Randolph redlit against Jerry Pomilla’s JP Race Engines bike (shown) in the final. Jimmy took the season title, though, when David Richeaux had to sit out of eliminations. Richeaux’s mount was in the shop and his replacement Harley-Davidson broke in qualifying. Randolph’s runner-up finish was enough for him to tie Richeaux, with his #1 qualifier putting Jimmy over the top.
Pro ET
Paul Holman and Michael Matthews (shown) made for an all-Texas, all-’84 Suzuki Vanson Leathers Pro ET final. It was Matthews’ second straight final round appearance in the class, and Holman’s 10.98 dial-in gave Michael a full second to watch Holman’s wheelie bars head towards the finish line. It also gave him plenty of time to see Paul’s redlight, and Matthews was able to ease off the line for an easy win.