Len Darnell (Ron Lewis photo)

Kevin Boyer (Ron Lewis photo)

During qualifying on Friday and Saturday of the event, the Top Fuel Harley drag bikes delivered a solid performance that underscored why the class is a hit with the fans, especially in New England.

“Hey, where is Jay Turner in the pits?” one fan asked me, “I’ve got a T shirt I got from him years ago and I need him to sign it for me.” I gladly gave directions to the man and he was all smiles. He was waiting for Jay and the other T/F bike teams to return to New England Dragway, as they’ve not been here in force as a professional class in over a decade.

Number one qualifier for the wheels-up crowd, Jay Turner of Julian, NC, thundered to the number one spot with a stout 6.37 at 222 MPH for low qualifier and top speed of the meet during qualifying. Jay’s second bike at this race, driven by Tii Tharpe qualified #2 with Tii’s 6.43 at 219 MPH run. Tii really put on a show for the nitro Harley faithful during Q-3 on Saturday. His parachute popped out on the starting line and Tii traveled 1320 feet of race track in 6.61 seconds at 200 MPH! His previous 6.43 was slowed by two-tenths as he just hauled his laundry down the entire race track giving the fans and the announcer much to talk about.