Rain Fails to Dampen MIR’s Good Times

Words by Tim Hailey
Photos by Terrence Belton and Genie Muldoon

Rain bracketed both ends of Maryland International Raceway’s Fast by Gast Superbike Finals on Oct. 2-3 but failed to derail the event completely. Fifteen inches swamped the Budd’s Creek area in the days leading up to the race, forcing event manager Jason Miller to extreme track overhaul measures on Friday. He promised a fast track and the MIR staff delivered. Four hundred sixty-six racers ignored the weather to compete at MIR’s last Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MiRock Superbike Series race of the year and set six new records along the way.

Johnny Dobrin  (Terrance Belton photo)

For the second straight race, class newcomer Johnny “Turbo” Dobrin qualified number 1 in Real Street, this time with a 7.924.

Points leader Jeremy Teasley and the Adams Performance/RS Motorsports Kawasaki ZX14 were way down the ladder in 15th. Teasley and the team found their groove on race day, however, and Jeremy beat teammate Mark Billiter in the semifinals.

Dobrin beat fellow turbo campaigner Michael Glace in the other semi, and he and Teasley will race for the spoils at the series finale in Rockingham on November 6. Dobrin also set the turbo Real Street MPH record over the weekend, but Teasley clinched the Real Street points championship. Ashon “Capo” Dickerson won Real Street B.

Pro Street number 2 plateholder Rodney Williford qualified number 1 in that class with a 7.15 at 203 — gobs quicker than the others. But Williford redlit to Mike Slowe in eliminations. Slowe then beat Mike “Dead Heat” Claycomb in the semi.

National record holder Bud Yoder beat Rob Budgell in a Michigan grudge match in the other semi before the rains came. Neither finalist can make the November MiRock final in North Carolina so they split the purse.

Teasley’s nitrous huffing Pro Street Kawasaki ZX14 encountered a litany of problems as he aimed for the 7.0s and beyond. Jeremy, who recently was hoping to add a Pro Street championship along with his Real Street crown, failed to make the field by .03.