Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MIRock Superbike Series
event: Fast by Gast Summer Nationals
when: May 30-June 1, 2014
where: Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek, MD, USA
story and photos by Tim Hailey
Joey Gladstone boils the DME ‘Busa’s hide before slinging it down the track at 220 mph
The great expectation when the Mickey Thompson MIROCK Superbike Series hit Maryland International Raceway for the Fast by Gast Summer Nationals on May 30-June 1, was the world’s first 6.80something street tire pass. And when Orient Express Pro Street champion Joey Gladstone unloaded the DME Racing turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa with a 6.90 at a jaw-dropping 218 mph on Friday, railbirds kind of discounted the 218 and focused on the 6.90. In a class where the MPH record stood at 213….well, maybe that 218 was a timing anomaly…
“Oh, 220 will be the next milestone after the 6.80,” nodded the railbirds. “Maybe we’ll see that sometime next year. But this weekend is all about 6.80s.”
And so when Gladstone ran a new ET record 6.903 at 220.02 mph in Sunday’s round 1 of eliminations, it was a truly stunning moment—surely the most dramatic since Ryan Schnitz rode the HTP Performance nitrous ‘Busa straight to a 6.90 on the world’s first 6 second street tire pass a few years ago—also at MIR. Check that box, 220 is done, although not for the record. The 220 backed up a 215.51 that will stand.
Jeremy Teasley jumped off of the HTP turbo bike and onto John Drake’s “No Fear” and went to the top of the PST sheets with a 6.907, then faced Richard Gadson on the HTP bike in round 1 of eliminations.
Number 1 qualifier Jeremy Teasley also ran a 6.90 on John Drake’s “No Fear” bike, built and tuned by 3X champ Rodney Williford. Teasley’s bike gets the 6.90 job done early in the quarter mile with a remarkable 1.15 60 foot time, crossing the line some 20 mph slower than the DME bike. Most importantly, both bikes were on opposite sides of the ladder and sure to meet in the final.
But just as sure as 220 might come along in 2015, and just as sure as Teasley or Gladstone would run a 6.80, a funny thing happened. Both bikes were OUT in round 2. Williford is notorious for dialing in a wild-wheelieing tune-up, and boy did he deliver a show-stopper for Teasley to ride. Jeremy kept the ‘Busa unicycle on the throttle as much as he could but came up short against Darion “Nanu” Payne. Gladstone’s day ended less spectacularly, as air in the clutch line pulled the DME bike through the beams for a foul start against Rendolf Torbed. When Gladstone’s teammate Terence Angela also lost in round 2, this race was busted wide open.
Who would have guessed? Danny Cox vs. Doug Gall in the Pro Street final
Who would have picked a semifinal with Payne, NHDRO champion Doug Gall and HTP’s Torbed and Danny Cox? The final boiled down to Gall and 14th place qualifier Cox, who took the tree on his nitrous bike and fully expected Gall (who ran 7.00 at 209 in the semi) to reel him in on the big end. But instead, Gall’s motor reeled itself out and Cox held on for his first Pro Street win ever and the end of a long dry spell for HTP. An underdog rider who’s worked hard and shed weight to get himself in this position, a nitrous bike in a class that has seen turbos and superchargers get all the press, and a once-dominant team that has struggled through growing pains—this win had it all.
Teasley also qualified #1 in DME Real Street and made it stick in the final over Rickey Gadson
Teasley also qualified number 1 in DME Racing Real Street (7.76 at 195 mph) on the sinister black RS Motorsports Kawasaki ZX14, and this time he made it stick. Teasley faced off against legendary Rickey Gadson in a nitrous vs. turbo, all-Kawasaki final. Jeremy took the tree and was never headed all the way to the stripe.
Teasley’s stock wheelbase ’14R gave up the 60 to Clay Davies but took the Crazy 8s stripe
But Teasley wasn’t through winning. He rushed out of the Real Street winners circle photo ‘cause he was still active in Street ET and Cycle Connection Crazy 8s on his beautiful ZX14R streetbike. He didn’t make the finals in Street, but he did in the 38-bike Crazy 8s field. He beat Clay Davies in a double breakout race, both bikes crossing the line at an equal pace of 153 mph. Makes one wonder what might have been if Pro Street had indeed boiled down to a Teasley/Gladstone final. Number 1 qualifier Domonic Anderson lost in round 2.
Cameron Shelton was mean green in 4.60
Louis Concrete 4.60 is not just the world’s quickest, 2-wheeled index class, it’s also MIROCK’s fastest growing. Number 1 qualifier Cameron Shelton beat April race winner Darryl Hollins in the final, after Hollins advanced out a controversial round 2 rerun with number 1 qualifier Richard Gadson.
Michael Rankin back in the 5.60 winners circle
FBR Shop 5.60 whittled down to Michael Rankin on a streetbike vs. Ben Knight on Marion Ford’s defending champion dragbike. Both bikes ran identical 5.622s, with Rankin taking the tree but Knight giving up the stripe at only 101.54 mph. Number 1 qualifier Bryan Minor lost in round 2.
Dave Clinedinst butchered the Trac King Clutches Top Sportsman field
Trac King Clutches Top Sportsman takes the quickest 32 bikes out of the 137 bike Pro ET field, and at the end of the day it was Dave Clinedinst who prevailed. Not that he didn’t try to lose, mind you, giving up the tree with a .176 to David Ashton’s .050. But Ashton broke out by .021 on his 7.88 dial-in.
Brian Canoles won Fast by Gast Pro ET….
…as did Alan Fields
Brian Canoles and Alan Fields were Fast by Gast Pro ET winners, taking their trophies over Turon Davis and Melvin Armel respectively. Anthony Buckson won Friday’s Gamblers race.
Anthony Buckson
Steven Murray won Saturday’s Brock’s Performance Street ET on a weekend when it paid green to ride green
Bob Carlson won too, though his bike isn’t actually green
Saturday night’s Brock’s Performance Street ET win went to Steven Murray over a frustrated Tony Ficher, who’s waiting for the latest version of the DAS supercharged Pro Street ‘Busa to roll out of Eric Paquette’s shop. Sunday’s race went to Connecticut HVAC man Bob Carlson, who froze Calvin Walton at the tree in the final.
Cox’s successful weekend included a grudge win on HTP’s Cobra Kai….
…which prompted this celebration by Country…..”Drive-By!”
Saturday night’s 3-hour long Afterdark Undergound brought out the latenight crowds for freewheeling action, but the big race of the day went down early with Pro Street winner Cox scoring on HTP’s Cobra Kai. Kingpin, Cocaine and Mandingo also made laps out of the HTP trailer but found no takers—that means you In2Deep.
Lavar “Lil’ Charlie” DeLee lapped on HTP’s Cocaine
The world’s largest motorcycle drag racing series returns to the Miller family’s sticky quarter mile in Budds Creek on July 25-27 for the biggest event of the year, the WPGC Bike Fest.
Fast by Gast Summer Nationals results
EARLIER: And just like that, it’s a darkhorse race in PST
Joey Gladstone and Jeremy Teasley are on the sidelines, but not Rendolf Torbed!
Who in their right mind would have picked this Pro Street semifinal field?
EARLIER: 220 mph on a street tire?!
If all goes according to Hoyle, we are heading for Gladstone vs Jeremy Teasley final, with both bikes running 6.90s but getting to the finishline in entirely different styles
While waiting on Eric Paquette to finish the new DAS supercharged bike, Tony Ficher took his bracket bike to the Street ET final
EARLIER: Teasley #1 in PST & RST at MIR!
Teasley came back around and busted a 7.76 out of the RS Motorsports nitrous ZX14 to take over #1 in DME Real Street
REAL STREET LADDER AND RESULTS
Ellis Pierce qualified #1 in Louis Concrete 4.60 with a 4.634
EARLIER
Joey Gladstone leads surprising DME teammate Ehren Litten and equally surprising Doug Witt after 2 rounds at MIR
Another awesome DME Real Street field here at MIR, with Johnny “Turbo” Dobrin leading Jeremy Teasley and Super Dave Stewart
EARLIER: MIR poised for another Record Setting MIROCK event
er’body knows that Pro Street bikes—like Jamie Lopes on Wigsplitter—hook at MIR
A month after Maryland International Raceway hosted it’s biggest Mickey Thompson MIROCK Superbike Series season opener ever, the world’s largest motorcycle drag racing series comes right back to it’s premier house of speed in Budds Creek, MD for the Fast by Gast Summer Nationals on May 30-June 1.
No track anywhere is better prepped for high horsepower bikes on the quarter mile than MIR, but even Jason Miller’s hard working staff may not be able to prep a 6.80 track in the heat of July. So this late May-early June race may be the best chance Orient Express Pro Street bikes have to run the world’s first 6.80something street tire pass until October. Champion Joey Gladstone and the whole DME Racing team, 3X champ Rodney Williford, and the HTP Performance stable of Suzuki Hayabusas will all be shooting for the mark along with a full field of others. The race for the next milestone, and this best chance before the summer to reach it, could even draw Midwestern stars like Frankie Stotz, Bud Yoder, and Detroit’s Ronnie Mitchell Racing—all looking to subdue DME’s stranglehold on the class.
RG1 is due for a DME Real Street win, don’t you think?
DME Racing Real Street is poised for it’s hottest season of competition ever, with Johnny “Turbo” Dobrin and Jeremy Teasley sharing wins so far this year. But that doesn’t tell half the story, as Eddie “Who?” Chapman, “Super Dave” Stewart, Roger Starrette, David Merks, Sherrell Blake, Rickey Gadson, Anibal Merced and others are all within a hair’s breath of the winners circle. Nitrous, turbos, Suzukis, Kawasakis—Real Street has it all.
Darryl Hollins took the 4.60 win in April
The world’s quickest, 2-wheeled index class—Louis Concrete 4.60—will be assaulting the eighth mile with riders Darryl Hollins, Terry Tompkins, Kenny Cornnell and others squeezing all they can out of their nitrous, turbo and even nitro bikes, while still keeping it on the number in the fastest growing MIROCK class.
Michael Ostrowski won 5.60 in April
FBR Shop 5.60 throttles it back just a bit, opening the door for fast streetbikers like Robert Parker, Jeremy Teasley and Shayne Proctor to face off against the purpose-built drgabikes of Marion Ford, Michael Ostrowski, Jimmy “Hillbilly Hustler” Shifflett and more.
MIROCK’s blazing hot streetbike index class, Cycle Connection Crazy 8s, always boils down to the sport’s most skilled hand-clutch jockeys— Ron Arnold, Richard Gadson, Cameron Teasley, Jordan McDougald, Ben Knight and others.
Boo Brown took ’em to school last time out in Trac King Clutches Top Sportsman
Trac King Clutches Top Sportsman features bracket racing’s most aggressive riders and bikes, with guys like Boo Brown, Chris Clontz, and Brian Canoles, and the ladies Kelly Clontz, Julie Lucas and more.
Fast by Gast Pro ET and Brock’s Performance Street ET fields will swell with the nation’s largest bike counts fighting round after round for what are recognized as the world’s most coveted and hard-earned motorcycle bracket racing trophies.
Eddie Cane!! Relatively stable, even
Saturday night’s 3-hour long Afterdark Undergound will send stretched, sub-7 second monsters like Kingpin, Eddie Cane, Cobra Commander, Mandingo and more launching their front wheels skyward as rail-thin riders feather the throttle and keep the fires lit to the Big Money finish.
It’s a week after Memorial Day and you have nothing more patriotic to do than exercise your hard-fought-for right to race and watch the world’s best at MIR. Be there!
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