Joey Gladstone in Pro Street mode.

Manufacturer’s Cup at Valdosta, Georgia

MANCUP World Finals Delivers Record Performances

Words and photos by Tom McCarthy

Fans and the racers alike want more of what the Manufacturers Cup sanction delivers to motorcycle drag racing: top level performances from the racers and their machines. The 2014 season ending race for the sanction did exactly that on many levels in spectacular fashion.

The most talked about class and performance of the season-ending Mickey Thompson, MoTech World Finals was the Pro Open class racing action that was dominated by a no-bars bike that combined bracket bike precision with Top Fuel bike performance.

Joey Gladstone, racing on the DME entry into the Pro Open class set a new world record for the Freshman class of Pro Open: a 6.50 elapsed time at 227 mph. Gladstone not only won the race, but logged runs of 6.62, 6.55, 6.55, 6.51 and 6.50 to eliminate all opponents along the way.

Gladstone’s Pro Open bike.

The four consecutive 6.50 elapsed time zone runs by a motorcycle with a small slick rear tire and no wheelie bars took everyone by surprise. The turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa with a motor built by Skip Gladstone just floored everyone. It’s rather sobering to note that no-bar bikes are now capable of qualifying along side Top Fuel motorcycles at any race. The Cooper Performance Pro Open class is a professional category of motorcycle drag racing that allows any engine, chassis, and power adding combination with two wheels. It’s not a blower and nitro leading the way, nor former Pro Fuel nor Funny Bike, but a hybrid street bike running mid sixes at over 225 mph without wheelie bars leading the class now.

And Gladstone was not the only professional racer entering his name into the record books.