FEATURED NEWS:
Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MiRock Superbike Series
Teasley Chasing Two Pro Championships at THE ROCK
courtesy of Rockingham Dragway, photos and edits by Tim Hailey
Jeremey Teasley on Roger Starrette's Kawasaki ZX14
With the HTP Performance Real Street title all but locked up in his 19 year old hands, Jeremey Teasley can turn his attention this week to cutting the 43-point deficit to Orient Express Pro Street points leader Rodney Williford. Teasley’s bid to make Mickey Thompson Tires MIRock Superbike Series history moves this week to Rockingham Dragway, where the Ohio native tries to become the first ever to win championships in the top two MIRock categories in a single season.
Standing between Teasley and a third straight Pro Street victory include Williford, reigning champion Vinnie Demito, multi-time champ Mike Slowe, and Winston-Salem’s Dimey Eddinger.
Jeremey Teasley on Roger Starrette's other Kawasaki ZX14
Despite a 260-point lead over second place Rickey Gadson, Teasley faces a tough Real Street field, and none tougher than his own team boss Coby Adams. He’ll also have to deal with third place Darion “Nanu” Payne, Ashon Dickerson, and possibly NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Chip Ellis, multi-time AMA Prostar champ Ryan Schnitz, Maryland runner-up Eddie Murphy and recent 7 Second Club inductee John Hall.
The the14th running of the Schnitz Summer Sizzler begins Friday, April 20th, with a closed test session at 10 am followed by open testing beginning at 6 pm. Also on the Friday docket will be a Gamblers Race contested on The Rock’s eighth-mile course using a 5.40 second base. The whole of the $50 entry fee will be paid out to the most successful riders.
Competition intensifies on Saturday with professional qualifying at 2, 4, 6 and 8 pm, along with racing in Nitrous Express Pro ET, Schnitz Racing Street ET and House of Speed Crazy 8s. Saturday night’s wildly popular Afterdark Underground program features the top Grudge bikes in the U.S. going head to head ‘til deep into the night. FBR Shop Quick 32 eliminations begin the Sunday program at 9 am with Pro eliminations starting at noon.
Adult admission is $20 per day with two and three day passes available at a discount rate. Children 6-12 are $5 per day when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
If you drag race motorcycles you MUST be at THE ROCK!
Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MiRock Superbike Series
event: Fast by Gast WPGC Bike Fest
when: July 17-18, 2010
where: Maryland International Raceway in Budd’s Creek, MD, USA
Ellis claims Teasley bounty at HUGE Bike Fest
story and photos by Tim Hailey
Rider Chip Ellis and tuner Blake Ritter weren’t intimidated by Jeremy Teasley’s HTP Performance Real Street win streak. The bounty that the Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MiRock Superbike Series levied on Teasley’s head had swelled and Ellis and Ritter planned on taking it back to Indiana with them.
But before the pair could take on Teasley for the win at Maryland International Raceway’s Fast by Gast WPGC Bike Fest—now indisputably the nation’s biggest all-motorcycle drag race—Teasley had some unfinished business to attend to. He still had to win the rain delayed June final over Eddie Murphy. That he did on Saturday, doubling the bounty for anyone that could beat him and his Adams Performance/RS Motorsports Kawasaki ZX14 on Sunday.
Jeremy Teasley on the Real Street ZX14
No combination rose to that challenge better than multi-time AMA Prostar national champ and NHRA national event winner Ellis, his fellow Vance & Hines employee Ritter, and their Suzuki GSX-R1000. Ellis qualified number 1 and made his way to a semifinal made up entirely of riders who’d ridden for Teasley’s team boss Coby Adams at some point in their careers—Ellis himself, Ryan Schnitz, superstar Rickey Gadson, and current pilot Teasley. Ellis advanced in style, nailing a record 7.83 to beat Schnitz. Teasley beat Gadson, then took the tree against Ellis in the final. But setting the record was no fluke for Ellis, and Ritter had the bike firmly in the 7.80’s at this point. Teasley, running a whole new nitrous system installed by owner/tuner Roger Starrette, was stuck in the .90’s and event promoter Jason Miller handed the cash bounty over to Ellis in the MIR winners circle.
Adams is final round tested after many matches with his rider Teasley, but couldn’t get his own ZX14 to hook up on Saturday and was stuck in the B race on Sunday. He opened the day with an 8.0 but fluctuated as the day wore on. His worst light and ET of the day came in the final against fellow builder/tuner heavyweight Del Flores. But Del and his ‘Busa were hovering around 8.40, and Adams had enough to take the B race.
Coby Adams
Although Teasley saw his Real Street streak broken, two Orient Express Pro Street wins on the weekend helped ease the pain. After leaving the tree within .001 of each other, Teasley and his nitrous huffing Kawasaki ZX14 ran 7.31 to pull ahead of number 2 plateholder Rodney Williford for the rain delayed June race win. Rodney’s turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa was on a top end charge but ran out of racetrack.
Jeremy Teasley on the Pro Street ZX14
Sunday’s race saw plenty of Pro Street upsets, with number 1 qualifier Bud Yoder breaking in the water box before his round 2 match with Sean “Skinny” Walsh. Sean carried that break all the way to his first Pro Street final against Teasley, and stepped up by taking the tree and running his quickest lap of the weekend. But that wasn’t enough to keep Teasley from his second Pro Street win of the event.
Jeremy Teasley
Steve Smithers drove all the way from Kansas and was determined not to go home empty handed. He beat Ehren Litten in the Pro Street B final after a full, four round raceday.
Steve Smithers
Pro Comp eighth mile racing for nitrous Pro Mods, turbo Funnybikes and Outlaw Pro Street bikes made its MiRock debut, and Maryland native Ronnie Procopio took all the spoils. Procopio qualified number 1 on his nitrous Pro Mod Suzuki and met up with Canadian Terry Schweigert on a similar combination in the final. Schweigert failed to make the long trip pay off, cutting a poor light, backsliding slightly on ET, and handing Procopio the homecoming win.
Ronnie Procopio
Robert “Crossroads” Johnson worked his way through a 52 bike House of Speed Crazy 8’s field to meet Dr. Rick Bunting in the final. Bunting ran .009 off the index, but gave up too much to Johnson’s .012 light at the tree and Johnson took the win.
Robert Johnson
After subduing a 134 bike Fast By Gast Pro ET field, Shawn Smith beat Kip Green in Saturday’s final. Rodney “They Call Me Mister” Tibbs and his gorgeous old school Kaw 900 took Sunday’s win when Jimmie Miller redlit. Rickey Butler Jr. won the FBR Shop Quick 32 final when Jay Windsor redlit by a scant .001.
Rickey Butler Jr
Derek Christensen and Brandon Bachmeier bested 133 riders to reach the final in Saturday’s Schnitz Racing Street ET race, and Christensen bested Bachmeier in the final. Dale Hamilton and Glenn Gass fought their way through an even bigger field on Sunday, with Hamilton taking the win.
In all, 7000 watched the Maryland action, which along with the 450+ race entries each day included 47 stunt and show bikes, 13 bikini contestants, live music, and a large vendor display, all at Maryland International Raceway’s fabulous facility.
Rickey Gadson and WPGC radio personality Big Tigger
The Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MiRock Superbike Series races next August 21-22 at the Schnitz Racing Summer Sizzler at Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, North Carolina, USA
Find out more about the MiRock Superbike Series at http://www.mirockracing.com
AMA Dragbike
event: AMA Dragbike Portable Shade Nationals
when: June 12-13, 2010
where: Montgomery Motorsports Park, Montgomery, Alabama, USA
Kovacevich Cool in the Heat
story and video by Tim Hailey
Orient Express Pro Street bikes showed up to a blistering hot Montgomery Motorsports Park for AMA Dragbike’s timely named Portable Shade Nationals. The track seriously lacked rubber on its bumpy back half, and the 600 horsepower turbo Pro Street bikes struggled for air and grip. George Gooch ran a 7.70 to lead Friday testing for a class that’s preparing for a 6 second club.
AMA Dragbike starter Jason Wurtzel laid down a good front half for qualifying, but the class struggled to match Gooch’s .70. Then Atlanta winner Jeremy Teasley, riding a unique, nitrous-huffing Kawasaki ZX14, ran a nitrous record 7.27 at 193 mph. Teasley closed out the round a full half second ahead of number 2 Gooch, a Houston racer used to hot tracks.
After three rounds, Teasley still held an unheard of 3/10ths over number 2 Bud Yoder. But raceday delivered a cruel blow to Teasley, whose bike failed to shift against Ken Edwards in round 1 of eliminations. Edwards lost to Orient Express’ John Flood in round 2. Gooch lost to Orient’s Mike “Kavos” Kovacevich, Yoder to points leader Taylor Wood, and champ Mike Slowe to Orient’s Rob Budgell Jr.
Flood got out to a lead over Kavos in the semi, but launched one of his signature wheelies and gave up the stripe. Wood beat Budgell in the other semi to set up the final with Kavos. Mike was set on kill, taking the tree and running a 7.57 to Wood’s 7.65 for an Orient Express team win!
Be sure and watch the video for all the action and interviews.
for more information about Orient Express go to http://www.orientexpress.com
Mickey Thompson MiRock Superbike Series
event: Fast by Gast Summer Showdown
when: June 5-6, 2010
where: Maryland International Raceway, Budd’s Creek, MD, USA
Rain Cools Hot Maryland Action
story and photos by Tim Hailey
It’s only fitting that the skies above Budd’s Creek burst open at the very start of Maryland International Raceway’s famous bikini contest. No sooner than the first contestant reached the end of the runway did the rains start pelting down sideways, drenching the track, pits, crowd, and ending Mickey Thompson MiRock Superbike Series racing for the day. Sportsman purses were split, and all pro classes will finish up back at MIR during July’s blockbuster WPGC Bike Fest.
This event was the first to offer the Target Teasley bounty, leveled on the head of runaway HTP Performance Real Street leader Jeremy Teasley and the Adams Performance Kawasaki ZX14’s tuned and owned by Roger Starrette, and it was nearly the last. Qualifying just behind number 1 Rickey Gadson on the other Adams/RS Motorsports ZX14, Teasley struggled with clutch issues and dodged scant near-misses every round.
D-Tech Racing’s Ashon Dickerson took the tree against Teasley in round 1, then caught a break when Teasley wheelied. With his Suzuki Hayabusa in the shop, Dickerson was just out to collect points on his bracket bike, though, and couldn’t run a competitive number. An easy Teasley win over Boo Brown in round 2 set up a semifinal battle with Darion “Nanu” Payne on the Mace Motorsports GSXR1000. Teasley took a slight .007 lead at the tree and a .002 ET advantage to squeak into the final with Ed Murphy, who beat newest 7-second club member John Hall in the other semi. That race will run in July
.
Unstoppable Teasley will also race in the Orient Express Pro Street final when racing resumes, facing number 1 qualifier Rodney Williford, who will have lane choice. Teasley and his Adams Performance/RS Motorsports nitrous ZX14 beat Ehren Litten, Dimey Eddinger and Curtis McDougald on his way to the final, while Williford’s path (including the bye) was littered with Keith Thompson and May race winner Mike Slowe.
But we’re not done with Teasley yet. Although House of Speed Crazy 8s will not finish up in July, Teasley was still alive in the semis on his AMA Dragbike Supersport spec ZX14, along with Rickey Gadson, Clay Davies and Eddie “Who” Chapman.
Teasley’s Supersport ’14 got a real workout in Maryland, as the highly adaptable teen took the big bike to the Schnitz Racing Street ET win over Mike Herman Jr. Saturday night. George Shriver beat Michael Ostrowski in Fast by Gast Pro ET. FBR Shop Quick 32 stopped just short of running the semis, with Fearsome Andy Baumbach, Boo Brown, Leslie Thomas and Chris Clontz still alive.
And Afterdark Underground grudge racing? Oh yeah, Teasley took home some paper there too on HTP Troy’s “The Saint” Hayabusa.
AMA Dragbike
Slowe Taking Charge in Orient Express Pro Street
story and video by Tim Hailey
Perennial Orient Express Pro Street champ Mike Slowe has started winning on his new ride, and the rest of the class is in deep trouble. Slowe and PTR Racing builder/tuner Anthony Navarro have the class’s smallest bike hooked up and blazing. In a field dominated by Suzuki Hayabusas and the occasional Kawasaki ZX14, their GSX-R1000 has finally found it’s footing.
It was just a little over a month ago at the AMA Dragbike race in Atlanta that Slowe lost a round with a bad light against eventual race winner Jeremy Teasley. In the past, Slowe would likely have driven his ‘Busa around Teasley, but he didn’t have the bike to do it in Atlanta. Then Slowe and the GSX-R won the MiRock Superbike Series race at Maryland. The win was great, but didn’t guarantee consistency.Two weeks later, Slowe was again in the winners circle, this time at AMA Dragbike’s Spring Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. Any break Slowe’s competitors had with him on an unproven mount is now over. Notoriously slow at the tree, Mike even had good lights all day with nothing over .090. He took the final over quasi PTR teammate Darren Burnett. Burnett also runner-upped in Saturday’s Dunigan Pro Street Shootout, that time to number one qualifier Bud Yoder.
Pro Street started eliminations with a statistical anomaly said to be impossible—a dead heat. Even though they display fewer numbers, dragstrip timing systems measure to the millionth of a second. But a millionth wasn’t a small enough margin to determine a winner between Steve Smithers and Mike Claycomb. A rerun was, though, with Smithers taking the round while Claycomb wheelied.