motorcycle memo's w/Tom McCarthy

Harleys and More Harleys

Photos by: Tom McCarthy

The Harleys are coming, the Harleys are coming! Not exactly a warning of eminent danger due to some form of British invasion, but with the Top Fuel Harley motorcycles commanding the spotlight at the start of the 2017 season, well, it is, as they say, what it is. Top Fuel Harley-Davidson motorcycles have taken the center stage at the start of motorcycle drag racing this season and the fans are loving it.

 

On Friday, February 10, at the 57th Annual NHRA Circle K Winter Nationals, which kicked off this year’s NHRA Mello Yello racing series, ten T/F Harley drag bikes entered the fray, giving a full field from the first race of the season. Low qualifier was Jay Turner with a fine 6.44 elapsed time to lead the pack. On the bump-spot was Andy Beauchemin with a 6.82 and a full six-second qualified field started off 2017, Top Fuel Harley racing in fine form. While two racers had to occupy the DNQ spots, (Dustin Werner and Ron Gledhill) it’s good to see teams willing to fight for their positions on the ladder to race on Sunday. It’s good for the fans and good for the sport.

 

The NHRA announcers had no shortage of things to talk about during qualifying. Dustin Werner during Q-1 on Friday had a motor pop back on him and it blew back through the intake tract. This caused an intake runner to blow open from overpressure and a fragment of the motor pierced the leathers on his right forearm. After bringing his bike to a safe stop, Dustin was observed by the announcers holding his arm and one announcer stated his arm was broken. But such was not the case; his arm was pierced by the motor fragment, but not broken. This required six stitches to close at the local hospital and he was charged $1875.00 for the ambulance ride. It’s not known if his medical bills exceed the cost of his motor damage, but this took Dustin out of the race for the weekend.

 

Sunday’s eventual winner was Jay Turner of Julian, N.C. Jay “the Bull Dog” Turner has held the T/F championship title with the NHRA for two years consecutive and he’s more than ready to defend his title. If he can retain his title in 2017, it will be another fine feather for this man’s cap.

 

Just two weeks later, as the NHRA road show traveled on, the NHRA Mello Yello series brought the Denso Spark Plugs Arizona Nationals to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Arizona. Once again nine Top Fuel Harley-Davidson drag bikes entered the race from as far away as Saskatchewan, AB, for the All Steel Builders team of the Pelrine family racing effort and Edmonton, AB, for Kevin Boyer Racing.

 

Number-one qualifier at the Arizona Nationals was Bob Malloy with an excellent 6.23 and it was exciting for the fans and racers to see the big Harleys digging deep into the six’s this early in the season. Rickey House, Jay Turner, and Bobby Malloy have all been in the 6.20’s so far this year. The bump spot for this race was a 6.76 by Jake Stordeur. It’s interesting to note the diversity of the T/F bikes in the class so far this year. Bobby Malloy’s Boninfante Friction Inc.-sponsored bike is direct drive - no transmission. Mike Pelrine’s bike is supercharged via a belt driven Pro-Charger, Ricky House’s “Shark Attack” bike is a 196 CID monster guzzling 98% nitromethane injected directly into its enormous 5x5” bore/stroke Hawaya racing motor. Clearly the NHRA and its fans are in for an exciting season of Harley Davidson Top Fuel motorcycle drag racing.

 

VOLUME XIX,  NUMBER 3 - March  2017

Rickey House

 

On Sunday, with a very quick field of T/F Harleys ready to rumble, it came down to a final round match-up between Bobby Malloy and Rickey House. Bobby went red with a .178 RT handing off the win to Rickey on the “Shark Attack” bike. The teams provided wheels-up entertainment every round and they now have six races remaining with the NHRA in the Mellow Yellow racing series for 2017.

 

Just a week after the two initial NHRA races concluded, 2014 IHRA Nitro Harley champion Mike Scott of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, announced he has inked a deal with Steve Dorn Concrete and the Dorn Racing T/F bike, prepared and tuned by Mike Romine is coming out of mothballs and going NHRA drag racing. Mike signed the deal with the sponsors and the remaining six NHRA Mello Yello races will be attended by this triumvirate of seasoned veteran Top Fuel Harley racers, beginning with the next race March 31-April 2 in Las Vegas.

 

It will be more than interesting come first week of April when the ADRL Series begins in Rockingham and the T/F Harleys are forced to pick and choose which championship series they will follow. The NHRA Mello Yello Series racing for the first time has T/F Harleys on national television on a Sunday afternoon. Motor Mania will be covering the ADRL Tour series, and it’s all well and good that Motor Mania TV covers the sport; this is highly valued by all, but it’s tough to compare internet TV coverage vs Fox Sports, mainstream television. Motor Mania IS rock solid viewing, seen by all, world-wide. But to see the great Top Fuel motorcycles on regular TV, on a Sunday afternoon, that’s a sponsor in waiting’s dream. Which Top Fuel Harley teams are ready, willing and able to capitalize on this remains to be seen, but opportunity is knocking loud and clear.

 

And while we are on the subject of opportunities for motorcycle drag racing to get out there and be seen by a new audience, Tyler Crossnoe heads up the Outlaw Street Car Reunion race, and on March 23-26 Tyler’s OSCR IV will welcome Pro Street motorcycles into his big Drag Radial type race. The 6-second, 200-mph no-bars street-type bikes will be out there with Pro Mods, Crow Mods and the fastest-quickest street cars in the world. Thousands of drag racing spectators, many new to motorcycle drag racing, will see the spectacle of these great motorcycles.

 

It will be interesting to see if this can help the spectator and bike count for the Man Cup motorcycle drag racing series when it comes to Memphis in June at the same venue. Some cross promotion by the two sanctions can only help one another here. NHRA announcer heavy weight Brian Lohnes will be one of the announcers for the event and he’s a big fan of the Top Fuel Harley motorcycles. This can only bode well for the motorcycle drag racing community.

 

The first weekend in April, the T/F Harleys will be in Las Vegas at The Strip and the following weekend the Man Cup motorcycle drag racing series will begin with the season opener at SGMP. New to the Man Cup series in 2017 will be ten-time European T/F champion Ian King who has come to the USA to see if he can defeat the Spiderman and claim the first USA T/F bike title since Brian Johnson did it in 1986.

 

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The Harleys are coming, the Harleys are coming! Not exactly a warning of eminent danger due to some form of British invasion, but with the Top Fuel Harley motorcycles commanding the spotlight at the start of the 2017 season, well, it is, as they say, what it is. Top Fuel Harley-Davidson motorcycles have taken the center stage at the start of motorcycle drag racing this season and the fans are loving it.

 

On Friday, February 10, at the 57th Annual NHRA Circle K Winter Nationals, which kicked off this year’s NHRA Mello Yello racing series, ten T/F Harley drag bikes entered the fray, giving a full field from the first race of the season. Low qualifier was Jay Turner with a fine 6.44 elapsed time to lead the pack. On the bump-spot was Andy Beauchemin with a 6.82 and a full six-second qualified field started off 2017, Top Fuel Harley racing in fine form. While two racers had to occupy the DNQ spots, (Dustin Werner and Ron Gledhill) it’s good to see teams willing to fight for their positions on the ladder to race on Sunday. It’s good for the fans and good for the sport.

 

The NHRA announcers had no shortage of things to talk about during qualifying. Dustin Werner during Q-1 on Friday had a motor pop back on him and it blew back through the intake tract. This caused an intake runner to blow open from overpressure and a fragment of the motor pierced the leathers on his right forearm. After bringing his bike to a safe stop, Dustin was observed by the announcers holding his arm and one announcer stated his arm was broken. But such was not the case; his arm was pierced by the motor fragment, but not broken. This required six stitches to close at the local hospital and he was charged $1875.00 for the ambulance ride. It’s not known if his medical bills exceed the cost of his motor damage, but this took Dustin out of the race for the weekend.

 

Sunday’s eventual winner was Jay Turner of Julian, N.C. Jay “the Bull Dog” Turner has held the T/F championship title with the NHRA for two years consecutive and he’s more than ready to defend his title. If he can retain his title in 2017, it will be another fine feather for this man’s cap.

 

Just two weeks later, as the NHRA road show traveled on, the NHRA Mello Yello series brought the Denso Spark Plugs Arizona Nationals to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Arizona. Once again nine Top Fuel Harley-Davidson drag bikes entered the race from as far away as Saskatchewan, AB, for the All Steel Builders team of the Pelrine family racing effort and Edmonton, AB, for Kevin Boyer Racing.

 

Number-one qualifier at the Arizona Nationals was Bob Malloy with an excellent 6.23 and it was exciting for the fans and racers to see the big Harleys digging deep into the six’s this early in the season. Rickey House, Jay Turner, and Bobby Malloy have all been in the 6.20’s so far this year. The bump spot for this race was a 6.76 by Jake Stordeur. It’s interesting to note the diversity of the T/F bikes in the class so far this year. Bobby Malloy’s Boninfante Friction Inc.-sponsored bike is direct drive - no transmission. Mike Pelrine’s bike is supercharged via a belt driven Pro-Charger, Ricky House’s “Shark Attack” bike is a 196 CID monster guzzling 98% nitromethane injected directly into its enormous 5x5” bore/stroke Hawaya racing motor. Clearly the NHRA and its fans are in for an exciting season of Harley Davidson Top Fuel motorcycle drag racing.

 

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