story and photos by Tim Hailey (Mark Schwalm photo courtesy of Terrence Belton)
Jeremy Teasley carries the front wheel of his RS Motorsports ZX14
There appears to be no class that Jeremy Teasley can’t win. The young Ohio racer doubled last time out in the Mickey Thompson MIRock Superbike Series, winning DME Real Street and Crazy 8s. This time, at the Fast By Gast Summer Nationals at Maryland International Raceway in Budd’s Creek, Teasley won Real Street again as well as Louis Concrete 4.60, a class neither he nor builder/tuner Cecil Towner of HTP Performance had ever entered before.
The ongoing Real Street battle between Teasley and Johnny “Turbo” Dobrin is epic. Multi-time champ Teasley lost the class last year to Dobrin, who dominated on his smooth Exoticycle turbo ‘Busa. But this year, Roger Starrette—the owner/builder/tuner of Teasley’s nitrous-huffing Kawasaki ZX14—is focused and consistent. Dobrin is working to find more power and new ways to apply it.
Exoticycle’s Johnny “Turbo” Dobrin’s 7.741 was #1 qualifier in DME Real Street
Each round of qualifying was a seesaw battle between these two, with both bikes running mid-.70s pass after pass. Dobrin won the time trials battle with a 7.741, and of course the two met in the final on raceday. With both bikes set on “Kill,” Teasley’s ’14 wheelied off the line and Dobrin’s ‘Busa spun. Both bikes were on and off the throttle down the quarter mile until the winlight came on in Teasley’s lane—by a scant .004 of a second.
Teasley on the HTP Performance Hayabusa Pro Mod won 4.60
Towner decided to enter his two ADRL PXM Hayabusas in MIRock’s 4.60 class, and the savvy Virginian quickly honed in on what it took for the bikes to run the number. Rider Ryan Schnitz rang up a 4.61 in testing Saturday night on one of the ‘Busas, better than #1 qualifier Ronnie Smith’s 4.629. But Schnitz’s bike had nitrous controller problems on raceday and it was Teasley’s turn to run 4.61s and he did, taking his second final of the day over Rockingham winner Kenny Cornell.
Dimey Eddinger’s DME Racing team turned back all comers in hotly contested Orient Express Pro Street, despite serious challenges from three-time champ Rodney Williford and the potent Michigan combination of builder/tuner Ronnie Mitchell and rider Bud Yoder.
Rodney Williford rode No-Joke this weekend and popped off some wild rides, including a 6.98 for #1 in PS
Any doubts that anyone may have had about Williford’s skill and courage were certainly dashed by the display he put on aboard the “No Joke” ‘Busa at MIR. Doing some work on the bike now owned by Starrette, and with his own bike undergoing a rebuild, Williford lapped the notoriously powerful and ill-handling bike to a hairy 6.98 #1 qualifying pass.
Williford raced the bike to the semis, where he faced DME’s Terrence Angela. “I was so nervous racing Rodney, I nearly threw-up!” said Angela, a Pro Street rookie from Aruba. But with tuner Andy Sawyer turning up the boost, Angela held on and delivered with his first 7.0 pass ever to advance to the final.
Joey Gladstone ran a 7.06 against Bud Yoder and “Rizzo”
Joey Gladstone ran a 7.06 against Yoder in the other semi to make it an all-DME Pro Street final round. Battle tested Gladstone nailed an .054 light on Angela, who laid down a 7.03 in hot pursuit. But with both bikes running over 209 mph, Gladstone’s starting line advantage held up and he won despite a slower 7.06.
The all-DME Pro Street winners circle with Angela and Gladstone
Needless to say, MIR’s $10,000 Pro Street “Battle Royale” coming up in October will be an event that no one will ever forget.
Jimmy Shifflett won another Fast by Gast Pro ET final and runner-upped in Trac King/APE Top Sportsman
Hillbilly Hustler Jimmy Shifflett won both Fast by Gast Pro ET races back in April and took up right where he left off, taking the final over Wayne Smith on Saturday night. That made it 23 consecutive round wins for Shifflett at MIR, whose streak finally ended on Sunday. Michael Herman Jr. took the win that day over Wilson Burkhead in the 7th and final round.
Michael Herman Jr.
Mark Schwalm (photo by Terrence Belton)
Shifflett’s streak did carry him all the way to the Trac King/APE Top Sportsman final, where he lost to Mark Schwalm. Curtis Griggs Jr. took the FBR Shop 5.60 final over class sponsor Marion Ford. DJ Lockwood won the Crazy 8s final over Travis Boudreaux.
Curtis Griggs Jr.
DJ Lockwood
Wayne Smith
Saturday night’s Pro ET runner-up Smith was keeping his ‘Busa’s clutch cool despite hot lapping two classes. He took that night’s Brock’s Performance Street ET win over Pro Street racer Tony Ficher. Jimmie Miller took Sunday’s final over Bob Carlson, who won back in April.
Jimmie Miller
Lil’ Daddy vs. Nanu on RG3….MORE GRUDGE PHOTOS
Grudge races spilled over from Saturday night’s Afterdark Undergound into Sunday, with Lil’ Daddy taking two on Slim’s no-name 1000 over Derek Henderson’s RG3—once with Darion “Nanu” Payne in the saddle and then Teasley on the rerun. Redskins fans are hoping for a better start to the season from their quarterback…
….and Teasley on RG3 vs. Lil’ Daddy….same result either way MORE GRUDGE PHOTOS
But the quickest team of the weekend? That was the MIR staff, who with the cooperation of all the racers pushed the event to completion as storms bore down on the southeastern Maryland facility. The skies opened up just after the last final.
The stars of the Mickey Thompson MIRock Superbike Series return to action at Rockingham Dragway on June 28-30 for the Adams Performance Sportsman Summer Sizzler.
EARLIER: Hot Summer Action at MIR
No Pro Street bike has been more consistent than #3 qualifier Tony Ficher’s supercharged ‘Busa
With many heavy hitters at Grudgement Day in Valdosta, Ryan Schnitz got in some track time on Mandingo
DME team boss Dimey Eddinger climbed on board Jason Dunigan’s bike and sent it skyward
Pro Streeter Joey Gladstone, a former state wrestling champ, shows his gymnastic skills on the MIR tower
All-time MIRock champ Ronnie Procopio making test runs on his ADRL PXM Suzuki
Yeah it’s warm, but a steady breeze is keeping heads cool at the Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MIRock Superbike Series‘ Fast by Gast Summer Nationals at Maryland International Raceway. DME Racing’s Joey Gladstone leads Orient Express Pro Street qualifying with a 7.15.
Orient Express Pro Street Q2
Orient Express Pro Street Q1
DME Real Street Q2
DME Real Street Q1
Bayonets Attached for MIRock War at MIR
Joey Gladstone and the MPH-busting DME Hayabusa. MORE PRO STREET PHOTOS
The stars of the Mickey Thompson MIRock Superbike Series return to action May 31-June 2 for the Fast By Gast Summer Nationals at Maryland International Raceway in Budd’s Creek, MD. And with the $10,000 Pro Street “Battle Royale” coming up in October, the weather for this event might be the last best chance teams have to prepare for that big autumn payday.
And so the spotlight will be on MIRock’s marquee class—Orient Express Pro Street. Three-time champ Rodney Williford and DME Racing’s Joey Gladstone are the usual favorites, but upstart rider Doug Gall won the Rockingham opener and another race at a different series and is poised to spoil either or both Williford and Gladstone’s march to the championship.
Gladstone eclipsed the MPH record last time out at MIR, and he and Team DME are hellbent on putting a 214 or more on the scoreboard. And it’s no secret that Williford will roll the dice hard in an effort to post the world’s first 6.80 street tire pass. So as these two trade blows, might carnage result? Spun tires, wheelies, or scattered aluminum could open the door for everybody else in the field, with steady Gall lurking to take advantage.
Jeremy Tealsey ran just short of DME Real Street’s first 200 mph pass on his way to the win in April
Likewise, the ongoing battle in DME Real Street between multi-time champ Jeremy Teasley and his nitrous-huffing, RS Motorsports Kawasaki ZX14 vs. Johnny “Turbo” Dobrin, who dominated 2012 with his smooth Exoticycle turbo ‘Busa. Teasley and the ’14 seemed destined for a Real Street MPH record, nearly hitting 200 with a 199.73 last time out at MIR. You can bet that owner/builder/tuner Roger Starrette will throw as much nitrous as possible into Teasley’s ’14 and glare from the starting line to make sure that Jeremy’s using it early and often.
Dobrin has surely not sat on his hands since that last race and will be dialing up the turbo boost and tweaking the chassis to put power to pavement.
Jimmy Shifflett stared down all competitors to win both Pro ET races in April
Teasley races in many, many classes at each event, and doubled up at MIR last time out with a Crazy 8s trophy to sit alongside his one from Real Street. Jimmy Shifflett also doubled up, winning both Fast by Gast Pro ET races. Now you can bet that watching these two guys win two classes set their competitors into a near rage, and they will be out for revenge this time around. FBR Shop 5.60, Louis Concrete 4.60, Trac King/APE Top Sportsman and Brock’s Performance Street ET racers will all be out for blood when the lights come down.
Don’t miss the Afterdark Undergound action like Danny Cox on this HTP Performance grudge Hayabusa
And when the sun goes down, Saturday night’s will feature the hottest outlaw bikes on the planet, including Eddie Kane, Ric Flair, HTP Performance’s Cobra Commander and others.
You will not be able to live with yourself if you miss this pivotal event of the 2013 season!
Find out more about the Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MIRock Superbike Series
Find out more about Maryland International Raceway