No class represents the vibe better than Wheeler Machine Pro Ultra 4.60, sponsored by Louisville motorcycle drag racing Godfather Deshawn Wheeler. Twenty five 4.60 bikes were on hand at Gateway, which isn’t bad considering that there was a competing race going on.

Jeff Jones has made a business out of building 4.60 bikes, so it wasn’t surprising that he qualified number one with a dead-on 4.600. But Jeff was .069 on the tree to Mantez Thompson Sr’s .022, then ran 4.63 to Thompson’s 4.61 and was done in round 2.

Thompson carried that victory all the way to the final to meet hard workin’ Les Stimac. This time, Mantez was .009 behind Stimac at the tree, but drove around with a 4.63 to Les’ 4.66.

“Man, that St. Louis heat was getting the best of the team and I, but we trail-blazed through it,” said Mantez. “I really needed that win to keep building on the Wheeler Racing Pro Ultra 4.60 Championship point lead. We just gotta remain humble and keep going rounds!”

Thompson’s most notable round this weekend was the third against Mike Murphy, where Mantez nailed a .007 on Big Mike’s .021. “I pushed him out the back door and forced him to breakout. But I can’t leave out the Wheeler boys. Courtney Wheeler gave me a run for my money in round 1. We both brung it back to the old days when we used to battle it out!”

“I want to thank BrownsFerry Mercantile, 190hookup and Rob Bush for keeping me going fast! Extreme Motorsports’ Ray Mancini for building a great chassis, Robinson Industries’ Bill Robinson for building the baddest transmission in the race game, and FastbyGast and Paul Gast.”

Then Mantez Sr. mentioned a message that Mantez Jr. sent me earlier about the “Horsepower Hustler” beat I made and use on all Eatmyink videos. “I need you to bring that beat back!,” said Junior. “I love that beat!”

Schwartz Law Group Top Gas

Jim Bernier was way off the number in Schwartz Law Group Top Gas qualifying, sitting 14th with an 8.47 in the 8.20 class. But the TG field was feelin’ the Bern on raceday, as Jim sliced his way through the field to meet Dalton Markham in the final.

Dalton was sharp on the tree with an .018, with Bernier shortly behind at .029. Jim was able to drive around with an 8.25 as Dalton’s nitrous bottle was half a track a short of full. “Although we didn’t pull off the win, that’s on me,” said Markham. “I still think we have one of the best Top Gas bikes this year. It’s been in every Man Cup final. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and lock this championship up.

“First and foremost, I have got to thank my wife for supporting me with this crazy hobby. She pitted for me all weekend and sweat her ass off just as much as I did. I also want to thank Hollywood for giving us racers a great place to race. Also gotta give a shout-out to Tim Hailey and Eatmyink. He was out there all weekend long in the heat getting good shots of us racers!

“See everyone at US 60!”

Number one qualifier Josie Brooks (8.201) lost to Bernier in E3.

MTC Engineering Super Comp

Kentucky racer Rylan Rowe battled through the MTC Engineering Super Comp field to meet veteran Florida racer Scott DeLong in the final. DeLong put .023 on Rowe at the tree but slowed to a 9.81 in the 8.90 class when the bike didn’t shift, handing Rylan the win. “I think I had a broken clutch plate or two,” reported DeLong.

“First, I want to thank Man Cup for giving us racers a place to race, and having the live feed for our family that couldn’t make it,” said Rowe.

“My brother (fellow racer Rashad) and I have been fighting with this (Kawasaki ZX14 wheelie bar) bike since late last season, every race a new problem came. I’m glad we’re heading in the right direction with it now!

“It was definitely one of the hottest days I’ve ever raced and the win wasn’t easy. I did have some luck on my side. The bike actually caught fire (!) at the top end after Q2 Saturday. Luckily it was caught early and no major damage. We went from the bike being on fire to the winners circle! Glad to park this bike back in the winners circle!

“Can’t wait for US60 in September—one of my favorite tracks!”

Vanson Leathers Ultra Sportsman

Jordan Weiss was doing a pretty good job running the Vanson Leathers Ultra Sportsman 9.50 index number all day. But when John “Spooky” Markham posted a -.007 redlight against him in the final, Weiss legged it out to see what the Suzuki Hayabusa would do. A 9.34 at 153—not bad!

“This one means a little more than most,” said Weiss. “I built this bike for my wife, but I wanted to make sure everything was right before turning it over to her. I figured we’d spend some time chasing bugs, but instead it’s made three finals in two weekends. It just shows what can happen when a lot of late nights and hard work finally come together. I’m grateful for everyone who’s helped along the way, and I can’t wait to see what my wife does once she’s the one behind the bars.

“I also want to say thank you to Hard Times Parts and Service, Liguori Drag Racing, Xtreme Motorsports, Kirts Motorsports, FuelTech, and DB Automotive Lighting for their support, and a special thanks to Jonah Allen for always being willing to help when I need it. None of this would be possible without the people who have supported me along the way.”

Weiss beat number one qualifier Dave Young (9.505) in round 3.

Hard Times Parts & Service Pro ET

The Bond family has been racing longer than I’ve been covering racing, and it was great to see Brevin take the Hard Times Parts & Service Pro ET win on their Kawasaki dragbike. Once he reached the seventh and final round, it got easy for Brevin when opponent Gordon Fangmeyer redlit by -.005.

“I think we’re all still riding the high from that win,” Bond said a couple days later. “It’s been a long, long time since we’ve put a bike in the winner’s circle.

“I actually felt way more confident in our 4.60 bike this weekend than the bracket bike, because that bike prints off 4.60s without even opening the laptop” The bike printed what would have been a winning 4.63 in round one of that class against Terrance Washington, had Brevin not printed a .108 at the top of the timeslip. “We’ve been chasing an issue with that bike’s reaction times. In qualifying, I went, I believe, .009 on it, and I let go of the button before I even saw the tree drop. No matter what you do, it’s always almost a .100 reaction time. As you saw first round, that’s not gonna cut it in 4.60. Once we figure that out, I think we have a good chance of putting both bikes in the winner’s circle.

“The ET bike had never even seen a quarter mile until this weekend with this combination. I’d never even gotten a hit at the tree with the delay box at night. Dad was on the Firestorm after every pass, making changes and trying to get it to stretch its legs through the quarter mile. We were running out of gear at the 1,000-foot mark every time.

“Finally, on the last time run, he ran and got a gear from Beau Drexler. The rear gear change got it done, and we were just going to run with it for Sunday E1. You know my dad is a heads-up Pro Stocker at heart, so we had to make sure he wasn’t on the laptop trying to make it run its personal best every pass (LOL). The bike stayed consistent, and in the early rounds I think I did too on the tree. Later in the day, though, I just about blew it, especially in the final.

“I’ll take a win any way I can get it. When I saw him redlight in the finals, I didn’t even make a full run because we had hurt the motor during time runs. We were revving the engine so high trying to make it through the full quarter mile over and over that it finally caught up with us. Each round it smoked more and more, but the ol’ Kawasaki came home in one piece, thankfully.

“It was hot and miserable, but totally worth it. If this was the last win I ever got, I’d be OK with that because I got to do it with my dad on the starting line beside me. He’s taught me everything I know since I started racing juniors 22 years ago, and he’s missed maybe only two races the entire time. Since his liver cancer and transplant, he’s been trying to get back on the bike for years. He did make a couple of runs a few years back, but then he stepped down again and let me ride his bikes until he felt he was ready to get back on. He had Marion Ford build the chassis for the 4.60 bike I’m riding now back in 2020, and he still hasn’t been on it. I’m hoping one day he gets to take it down the track at least once.

“I also have to give a special shout-out to my mom. She’s been there through every high and every low for over two decades of racing. Whether it’s loading up, making sure everyone’s taken care of, cheering from the starting line, or simply being the glue that holds our race family together, none of this would be possible without her. She doesn’t always get the spotlight, but she’s just as much a part of every win as anyone else on my team.

“I also have to shout-out Bond Motorsports, Longevity Health and Wellness, my sisters Brittanie and Brandie, my girlfriend Charity, my daughter and number one cheerleader Brynlee, Jack, Henry, Eva, Kaydon, and Halle—who come with us to the races to watch and help; Hollywood himself and Man Cup. Most importantly, thank you to Mom and Dad. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without them. See you in Kentucky.”

VooDoo Customs Street ET

Gateway homegirl Janie Palm is a deadly bracket racer on any track, but that voo doo that she do is extra spicy at home and resulted in the VooDoo Customs Street ET win. She faced young Xavier Lemons in the final, where he .029 caught him napping through a .272. He broke out with a 9.16 on his 9.20 dial-in, while Janie ran a 9.33 on her 9.29.

“First off, a huge thank you to Broderick Jackson for bringing the Manufacturers Cup back to World Wide Technology Raceway! What a weekend! The competition was stacked with some of the best racers around, and the Midwest heat definitely made us earn every pass down the track.

“I’ve been on an incredible run lately. Over my last nine races, I’ve made it to eight finals, and this Street ET victory is my sixth win this year. There’s nothing quite like taking home the win at my home track. This is where I race all season long in both the bracket and heads-up series, so winning the Manufacturers Cup here, against such a talented field of competitors, makes this one extra special.

“None of this happens without an amazing team behind me. Huge thanks to Charles Willis Sr. for keeping my bike dialed in and race-ready every single round. Your hard work and dedication make all the difference. The WAR READY crew is the best support system I could ask for, sticking through all the late nights and miserably hot weekends! Thank you to everyone who supports this journey, especially my incredible sponsors: Willis Racing, Dragbike.com, Schnitz Racing, Vanson Leathers, DME Racing, and WAR READY Racing. We’re carrying this momentum into the next one. See you at the track!”

Advanced Sleeve V-Twin ET

Floridian Larry Berger raced his beautiful 2016 Harley Vrod Muscle to the Advanced Sleeve V-Twin ET win. Kevin Jones went way -.125 red on his Buell in the final, making it easy on Berger.

“The bike is very consistent with the MTC Engineering lock-up clutch and MSR auto-shift module,” said Berger. “60 foot times within 1/1ooth every pass. Bike runs ET’s within two to three hundredths regardless of weather conditions. Little to no maintenance between rounds. Air, cool and fuel and go. Reaction times too are fairly consistent in the .000’s to .020’s.

“I want to thank Scott Delong, Jeremy Davis, Tony Viera, Paul Apel and Scott Fitgerald.”

Robinson Industries Pro Comp

No one had it easier at Gateway than Robinson Industries Pro Comp racer Rob Giard, who was the only entrant. In fact, when the race started earlier than scheduled, I failed to get a pick of Giard on his classic Funnybike, so I’ve used an old one here.

“We had a good run Friday night with some fuel and turbo changes,” said Giard, who’s credited with a 4.40/173 eighth mile lap. “But Saturday and Sunday, the heat killed us trying to test more tuning changes.

“The bike’s chassis is 80% Puppet, and the rest is our creation (from the) seat forward. The engine is a Puma Prototype 85 mm stroke bottom end with a Fast By Gast 85.75 mm cylinder assembly, that makes it 1966cc. Elmer Tretts 90’s era Top Fuel ART clutch redone at our shop for turbo use. After years of trans breakage, the three speed is replaced with a two speed, no sprag trans. Now we can turn up the power! Cylinder Fire supplied by an MSD automobile style ignition system along with an old school Funnybike BHP Fuel system.

“After years of playing with a weak trans breaking every time we leaned on it, we have a trans that will take Alky Funnycar power. The two speed is a learning curve for clutch management, but every race it’s getting closer. The power is there just need to put it down.

“Oh well, on to Kentucky. No broke parts is the important note!”

Burromax Battle

The wildly popular Burromax electric minibikes were on hand to actually race each other, with wheelie bars and everything. I’m not sure if there were results kept for the “class,” but good fun was had by all.

Grudge

There were some grudge bikes on hand, making passes during test n’ tune.

Flyin’ Ryan Oehler

Flyin’ Ryan Oehler doesn’t just race NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle, he’s a full fledged drag racing entrepreneur. In addition to hosting the best deal in NHRA pit hospitality, Ryn also operates great rider rental opportunities. Accomplished racer Malcolm Phillips and PSM newcomer Bill Anderson were both on hand testing at Gateway. Malcolm is scheduled to race one of the Buells at the U.S. Nationals.

The Gateway Scene