In other important team movements, Ken Johnson has left Star racing after 32 years there. Ken will co-crew-chief with Chris Rivas for Liberty Racing in NHRA P/S motorcycle. Liberty Racing is the new venture of NHRA Rookie of the Year Cory Reed, who along with team mate, team manager and co-driver Angelle Sampey Drago, which will contend for the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Mello Yello series championship title in 2017. They will be competing on Victory P/S bikes with motors built and serviced in house

In Top Fuel motorcycle news, there is a high degree of probability that UK 10x T/F motorcycle champion Ian King will compete in the USA in 2017 and hopes to contend for the ManCup T/F championship. Ian and his team are quite capable of doing so and if successful, Ian will be the first Brit to come across the pond and win an American T/F bike championship since Brian Johnson did so in 1984 with the IDBA.

Dennis Bradley, who saw his new Top Fuel bike make runs at the ManCup World Finals was pleased with the shake downs as a first outing and he’s ready for a full season of racing in 2017. Mitch Brown, the machining wizard behind the MONSTAR heads will be the driver for Dennis Bradley. “I’m real happy with the way he handled the bike,” commented Dennis by phone. “We are really looking forward to 2017 with Mitch driving for us.”

It is also knowN that the Don Ford, Terry Kizer bike is now 99% complete and during the winter months there will be nitro thunder in Texas where the bike resides. Testing begins in early 2017 and the team is slated to report to SGMP for the season opening race April 7-9 with the ManCup sanction.