Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MIRock Superbike Series MIR race report

Teasley and Shifflett Double at MIR

Words and photos by Tim Hailey

There’s nothing a racer loves better than to double—winning two classes at one event. And in the veteran-laden fields of the Mickey Thompson MIRock Superbike Series, doubling is double hard and double rewarding. And so it is fitting that two racers doubled at the Fast By Gast Spring Nationals at Maryland International Raceway in Budd’s Creek, MD on April 26-28.

Jeremy Teasley used to rule the DME Real Street class, winning championships seemingly with ease. But last year was an inconsistent one for Teasley and his nitrous-huffing, RS Motorsports Kawasaki ZX14, perhaps due to bike owner/builder/tuner Roger Starrette’s constant improvement program. Set a record this event? Let’s change everything and try to go quicker at the next one! So in stepped Johnny “Turbo” Dobrin, who dominated 2012 with his smooth Exoticycle turbo Suzuki Hayabusa and won the championship.

With only one week between the rain-delayed MIRock season opener at Rockingham Dragway and the MIR event, busy businessman Starrette had little opportunity to alter the bike that set a new ET record at The Rock. And at MIR, the ’14 seemed destined for a MPH record, nearly hitting 200 with a 199.73 in qualifying.

Dobrin responded, dialing in even more power to his ‘Busa. But you could see the bike leaning, the chassis torqued and twisting as Dobrin tries to chase down the quicker-off-the-line nitrous bike. And in the MIR final, Dobrin’s ‘Busa wheelied in the first 60 feet as Teasley streaked away to his second win in two races.

Winning two races in a row is sweet, but winning two at one is sweeter. With four members of the Teasley family entered in the 46 bike Crazy 8’s field, there was a decent chance that one of them would win. There was Jeremy’s younger brother Cameron, who won his first ever race last week on the CarrCraft Racing Hayabusa. Returning to action was older brother Brandon, the former AMA/Prostar bracket racing dominator. Even dad James Jr, AKA Crow, was in the field at MIR.

But when the class boiled down to the final it was Jeremy facing a youthful member of another motorcycle drag racing family—Jordan “By the Fire” McDougald. And McDougald was ON fire, taking the tree with an .016 bulb. When it came to running the number, Teasley’s stock wheelbase, stock motor ’14 was more up to the task and he took his second win of the day.