The PennGrade1 American Motorcycle Racing Association (AMRA) opened its Harley-Davidson drag racing season with the Cajun Nitro Nationals at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana on March 20-22. Three racers were on their game enough to double up with wins—a great way to start the season!
Zipper’s Performance Pro Bagger and Thundermax Street Bagger
Crystal Lake, Illinois’ Nick Boey (featured photo above) doubled up on doubling up, repeating his Rockingham McClure Nationals feat of winning both Zipper’s Performance Pro Bagger and Thundermax Street Bagger.
In Pro Bagger, Boey beat Harley drivetrain legend (now living his best life as a Pro Bagger racer) Bert Baker. Boey’s sharp .011 to Bert’s decent.038, put Nick ahead at the start, and he stayed there 8.18 to 8.20 for a great side-by-side, turbo bagger throwdown.
“We picked up where we left off last year with this bike,” said Boey. “Despite having only two bikes (in the field), the competition was still tough. It was the number one and number two bikes going head-to-head in the first race.” Turnout and burnout, Baggers
Four bikes ain’t a huge field, but that Street Bagger number did double the Pros. Boey essentially beat the whole Mutant Motors team. After very close reaction times, Boey outran MM rider Jeff Boudreaux in E1. MM racer Jimmy Maikranz took out teammate David “Paco” Cartwright in the other E1 pairing.
Defending class champion Maikranz is known for giving his teammates the hit at the start, but Boey isn’t his teammate and Jimmy was ruthless. His .048 to Boey’s .090 gave him his best chance for the win. But Boey was able to drive around with a 9.40 at 146 to Jimmy’s 9.83, also at 146.
“As always, we faced tough competition in this class,” said Nick. “Our B2/VTP bike is only getting quicker and more consistent with each pass. My dad, Brian Boey, as well as Chris Goerdt and Marc Fricke with VTP have produced an insane bike I am honored to ride.”
Zipper’s Performance Modified and Top Eliminator 9.30
Cody Hayworth always likes to say that he wins when Eatmyink Motorsport Media is in the house, but the fact is he just wins! Cody picked up two at No Problem, taking Zipper’s Performance Modified and Top Eliminator 9.30.
Modified was an easy one—his was the only entry.
Top Eliminator was almost as easy for Hayworth, as he qualified number one with a 9.31. He beat local hero Billy Doherty in E1, then wily veteran David Doremus in the final. Hayworth started off with an .093 starting line advantage. Doremus then spun badly off the line and Hayworth was able to practically coast to the win.
“I am going to start with thanking the good Lord for watching over me!” said Cody. “I would like to thank my parents for everything they do and a big thanks to AMRA for giving us a place to race with some of the best people in the world.
“We got a double up this weekend, taking home number one qualifier and the win in Modified and Top Eliminator. I want to give a special thanks to Westside V-Twins for putting a little extra cash in the pot for number one qualifier in Top Eliminator.
“We will see everyone at Ohio (cancelled). Keep it twisted!”
Thundermax Street Eliminator 11.50 and S&S Cycle Pro Eliminator 10.90
John “Austin” Powers was the third double winner on this racy weekend in Belle Rose, as he took the Thundermax Street Eliminator 11.50 and S&S Cycle Pro Eliminator 10.90 wins.
Unlike the other two double winners, Powers had to cut through some sizable fields of index racing studs. Qualifying day didn’t fully reveal what raceday would hold for the Dallas racer, as he landed 8th in 10.90 and 19th in 11.50. Jim Clarke qualified number one (10.91) in Pro Eliminator and James Garey (11.501) in Street Eliminator. Clarke and Garey both lost in round 2 of their respective classes.
Powers started off with a big .072 to .164 starting line advantage against Jeremiah Disbrow in the round 5, S&S Cycle Pro Eliminator final round, pushing Disbrow to break out with a 10.85.
The Street Eliminator final was also round 5, but this time the reaction times were .079 for Powers to .081 for opponent John “His Feet Sure Show It” Poett III. What a great race! Likewise, Powers’ 11.59 was also slightly quicker than Poett’s 11.60 for his second win of the day.
“I grew up racing dirt bikes, so motorcycles have always been a part of my life,” said Powers. “Gave up racing on dirt in 2002 due to the pain—LOL.
“Started drag racing this motorcycle since 2009, my dad bought it (V-Rod) new in 2006. They had a race outside of Dallas and he asked me if I wanted to try it. Made it to finals my first time out so the addiction started. He passed away in 2013.
“Since I started drag racing I have accumulated 14 series championships and multiple wins. I travel all over just to bracket race and most of the time against metric bikes. The more seat time you get against great racers just makes you better.
“I try to make the Belle Rose and Bowling Green races for AMRA. Love their series, but a lot of their races are just too far. I mostly do it by myself. My son will go to a couple races a year. Still mostly just me.
“Belle Rose race was a lot of fun. About an eight hour drive for me coming from the Dallas area. Was also an adventure. Was able to get two out of three class wins.
“Loaded up and headed back home. About 3am, just past Shreveport, my transmission in my truck went out, so left me stranded. Rented a U-haul to pull my trailer in the morning and was able to get ahead of a great friend to drive 2 hours to me with a flatbed truck to get me the rest of the way home that Monday night. Long trip but always have fun.
“I average about 25 races a year in multiple events. Even race no-box classes against cars when I have the opportunity. I race two different points series—VTRA in Texas and PMRA in Oklahoma. Great people.
“58 years old and still going strong. Drag racing is my hobby and a passion for racing motorcycles.”
Baker Drivetrain Eliminator
Kentucky racer Bryce Creek sliced through six rounds of tough Baker Drivetrain Eliminator competition to take that win. Bryce and final round opponent Joe Reece were only separated by only .05 on their dial-ins, but a wide margin in their reaction times.
In truth, neither seemed anxious to start the race, but Creek’s .158 was hours quicker than Reece’s .324—a reaction time that could be the cubic inche displacement of a small block V8. From there, Reece predictably broke out and Bryce took the win.
“Shadetree Racing started the year off right with a win in E-Class, and a third place, semifinal finish in SE 11.50,” said Creek. “I went out first round of SP 10.30 against Cody Hayworth with a lousy light and too slow of an ET, and in PE 10.90 we just couldn’t run the number first round.
“E-class was a battle from start to finish, but my bike Ruby was doing Ruby stuff running consistent numbers all weekend as usual. I will say I did greatly enjoy dropping the Hammer on ‘Jason Aljeans’ Austin Hammerhead Hughes taking him out second round of E and SE. Other than that, I just cut .001-.060 lights every round of eliminations, giving most of my competition three looks back and a chop at the line. A lot of sandwich making at the tree this weekend.
“I look forward to a great year of racing with my fellow friends and racing family. Special thanks to my wife Athena Creek for putting up with my expensive hobby, travel costs, and time away from home; My brother Chad Trayner and my Shadetree Racing & Choppers family for all the continued support.
“Shoutout to our 2026 season sponsors: Man O’War Harley-Davidson of Lexington, KY, Metal Supermarkets of Lexington, 317 Cycles out of Indianapolis, IN, and ALL PRO Contractors out of Indianapolis.
“Congratulations to all the winners. See you in the lanes in (cancelled) Ohio—Don’t Be Late”
Axtell Hot Street
Creek wasn’t the only Shadetree Racing rider to win at No Problem, as Chad Trayner scored Axtell Hot Street honors. It was an easy one for Chad, who was the only entrant. “Guess everyone heard I was moving up to Hot Street and stayed home,” laughed Trayner.
Pro Outlaw
Lake Charles H-D dealer Billy Doherty also won a one entrant class—Pro Outlaw—but had more to say than Trayner. “Our first race this season was at No Problems Raceway—one of the best tracks in the country and local for me,” said Doherty. “This is the closest race that my mom can watch me at. I unfortunately I had no competition to race against.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that when you go to races, you have no clue who is going to show up or how many competitors you will have at every race. No matter if you have a close race or one that’s over a thousand miles away from home. Sometimes you spend thousands of dollars going to race and have nobody to race or very few.
“Some of your competitors may not feel it’s financially not beneficial for them to spend that much money to go race so far away. But it’s the nature of the sport that is racing.”
BK Electric Super Pro 10.30
Chad Caplinger’s BK Electric Super Pro 10.30 win is the comeback story of the year. Caplinger had a brain aneurysm last year and is lucky to be alive.
And maybe lucky to win after final round opponent Robert Mallory nailed Chad to the tree .080 to .251. But Mallory’s bike floundered and Caplinger took the win.
“I hadn’t been on track since June of last year,” said Chad. “I was sidelined by unexpected health issues and we were unsure if I would get back on the bike. But after several months of therapy and lots of rest, I started thinking about giving it another shot.
“So we loaded up and made the 1000 mile trek from Ohio to Louisiana, and boy am I glad we did. The bike unloaded fast and I felt very comfortable. Everything just went right for us.
“It was our first event win with the AMRA and doing it on the heels of last year’s hurdles just makes it that much more special.”
Huffman Performance Super Gas 9.90
Iowa’s Tom Krava took a slight .157 to .164 advantage at the tree against Jimmy Smith in the Huffman Performance Super Gas 9.90 final, but broke out and handed Smith the win.
“Started the season off on a high note with a win in Super Gas,” said Smith. “Having my son Casey help tune the motor over the phone and sending pictures of the Wego to help me win this one. Ready for the next race to try and stay on top of the points.”
Next race for the AMRA Harley drags is on June 26-28 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.
story and photos by Tim Hailey
You must be logged in to post a comment.