NHDRO at Indianapolis

NHDRO Hustles the Weather Again

Words and photos by Tim Hailey

One thing the NHDRO has gotten exceptionally good at is dealing with disagreeable weather. Frequently plagued with an unfavorable forecast, NHDRO just as frequently figures out a way to jack up the schedule, squeeze the program in, and out-hustle Mother Nature. So while the same rain that washed out the first day of Indy 500 qualifying across town fell down on the May Bike Fest at Lucas Oil Raceway on May 15-17, the NHDRO dropped the tree on its fifth season and took the stripe.

No one hustled a McIntosh Machine & Fabrication Pro Street bike down the LOR quarter mile better than Bud Yoder. With tuning help from Mark Paquette and Terry McIntosh, Bud and his turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa took every opportunity to improve in every condition.

But qualifying went to former champ "Mothug" Doug Gall, whose 6.99 led the field after two rounds. Gall met up with Yoder in the semis for what was probably the best race of the day. Yoder nailed a .006 light and ran the first .80 of the weekend, an .87. Gall, meanwhile, ran a .92 at a stout 211 mph in a losing effort.

Yoder's teammate Paquette blew the oil filter off in the waterbox, halting his own semifinal bid against Frankie Stotz. Hustling his little Honda CBR1000RR, Stotz was on a good pass until the motor pulled down in high gear and slowed him to a 7.04.

So, with lane choice for the final, Yoder laid down low ET of 6.84 and matched Gall's high MPH of 211.96. Stotz's valiant 6.95 at 201 came up short.

Defending PST champion Jeremy Teasley had a regrettable weekend on the John Drake-owned, fluorescent "No Fear" turbo 'Busa, wheelieing and losing to Rudy Sanzottera in round 1.

But Teasley took the first win in MSP True Street, NHDRO's new class showcasing the sport's edgiest riders and most aggressive tuners. With true hand clutches, an instant green light, and a short eighth-mile finish line, True Street races start and end quickly. The final boiled down to Teasley on his Kawasaki ZX14 vs Gall on NHDRO's unpainted "Uptown Funk" Hayabusa, After Gall grabbed a slight edge at the tree, Teasley scored a 5.02 at 149 to 5.16 at 145 win.

Keith Lynn seemed to have Pro Comp in hand, qualifying number one with a 4.14 on his turbo/nitrous/gas Kawasaki Funnybike and clicking off .14's as easily as opening a Miller Lite. That was until he met up with Man Cup champ Brunson Grothus in the final. Lynn's bike dropped the wheel and slowed short of the finishline while Grothus' Pro Mod Suzuki kept on the spray to a 4.17 at 160 mph win.