Summer Time Swing: Hot Times Ahead

Words and photos by Tom McCarthy

When Top Fuel motorcycle drag racer Sam Wills makes a statement about T/F bike racing, people should pay attention.

As we roll into the summer months of motorcycle drag racing, the hot times lay ahead and the racing gets tougher. Prime track time for motorcycles gets harder to come by as the track temps start to sore and that’s a difficult thing to judge when there is only one tire underneath a racer to hook up. This while racers leathers start to match the track temps and the racers, just like the track racing surface, can fade quickly. Drinking more water and less of anything else is a wise choice for the next three months.

In June, the MANCUP sanction is headed to Rockingham on June 11-12, the IDBL will be racing at MIR on June 24-26, the NHDRO will be at St. Louis June 3-5, IHRA’s Nitro Harley’s will rumble on June 17-19 at Budds Creek, and the NHRA T/F Harley’s will be at New England Dragway, Epping, NH, for a big Mello Yello race on June 3-5. Not a weekend will go by this summer without someone having two-wheel action somewhere.

In the MANCUP racing action, it’s exciting to see Sam Wills and his Nitro Conspiracy team out front in Top Fuel. Sam has not had a number-one T/F plate on his bike since Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States. He’s only bested the Spiderman in one race out of a five-race series, but it’s been a long time since Larry McBride’s team has played catch up. This is great motivation for Larry and his team too; beware the Spiderman!