The All Harley Drag Racing Association ( AHDRA ) was scheduled to begin its 32nd year of competition during the weekend of April 17 through 19 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. The Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts Gypsy Rendezvous Nationals, presented by Gateway, Dale’s, and Surdyke Harley-Davidson was the first event on the 2009 season calendar. Although I had thoroughly enjoyed the 2008 races, I was not optimistic as I began my four-hour trip across Missouri on Friday morning. During a visit to Blue Springs Harley-Davidson the previous day I was disappointed to learn that Danny Worth’s drag bike was not yet ready, and he would not be competing at Gateway. Also, rain was in the forecast for each day of the weekend. However, I was overdue for a road trip, and I’ve known weather forecasts to be less than accurate, so I headed east.
After checking in at the host hotel, Ramada Fairview Heights, I decided to visit one of the three sponsoring Harley dealerships that were hosting pre-race “Nitro parties.” Gateway H-D was the closest to the hotel, so I went there and devoured a free chilidog while visiting with some of the racing fans who were enjoying the party. The drag strip was my next stop. Media credentials were waiting for me at Race Control in the tower, and I enjoyed meeting AHDRA Media Relations rep. Stephanie Druschel. Friday evening’s “Test and Tune” session was a good time for me to start getting some photos of the racers as they completed their practice runs down the strip. So far, the weather had been rain-free and very comfortable. The smell of nitro and burning rubber and the ear-splitting roar of monster V-twin engines filled the air, and everything was good.
During the night, a broken cloud layer had moved in, and there was a sense of urgency as the first of three scheduled Saturday qualifying sessions began. Rain was still in the forecast, and AHDRA officials were determined to complete as many qualifying passes as possible while the track was dry. There were a few breaks in the action due to the need for track cleanup or because of brief light rain showers. During one such break, I had a quick visit with one of the competitors whose helmet-mounted “Mohawk” matched his hairstyle.
CC: What’s your name, and where are you from?
Dale: I’m Dale Nilles from Denver, Colorado.
CC: What class do you race in?
Dale: I run three bikes in four classes-Super Gas, Screamin’ Eagle Performance, Super Eliminator, and V-Rod Destroyer.
CC: Do you have a favorite?
Dale: Destroyer is my favorite class. It’s heads-up racing using a pro tree. My new Destroyer is running in the 9.5’s.
CC: Will you be competing in all eight AHDRA events this year?
Dale: I’m going to try to get to all of them. I made it to all of last year’s.
CC: I’ve noticed that you and your wife have a unique ritual before each run. (She runs her hand through his helmet Mohawk.)
Dale: Yes, Jan and I recognize each other at the starting line and wish each other good luck.
CC: I wish you good luck, too. Be safe!
There was more sunshine during the day than I expected, but each round of clouds that moved through was thicker and darker than the one before, and the heavy rain moved in about 3:00 p.m. just as the final pro qualifying session was set to begin. Unfortunately, the rain persisted through the remainder of the weekend, and Sunday’s elimination races were washed out. It was disappointing for the racers, many of whom had come from as far away as New Jersey and California. At least they accumulated some points for qualifying. For me, the trip was worthwhile in spite of the rainout. I got to see qualifying runs in 16 classes including 7 pro classes. There were riders of all ages and both genders, and the quickest e.t.’s were around 6.4 seconds with speeds approaching 230 m.p.h. Motorcycle drag racing is an exciting sport, and I encourage everyone to experience the sights (spectacular) and sounds (loud) when AHDRA comes to a drag strip near you.
Remaining races after Gateway:
April 25-26: Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, GA
June 6-7: Summit Motorsports Park, Norwalk, OH
June 20-21: Kansas City Int'l Raceway, Kansas City, MO
August 4-5 (Tue-Wed): Sturgis Dragway, Sturgis, SD
August 8-9: Bristol Dragway, Bristol, TN
August 22-23: Woodburn Dragstrip, Woodburn, OR
October 9-11: Rockingham Dragway, Rockingham, NC
Qualifying Results:
Top Fuel
Steve Dorn-6.345, 213.10
Joe Sternotti-6.359, 227.31
Bob Malloy-6.394, 212.66
Phil Schmidt-6.487, 218.02
John Breckenridge-6.658, 209.01
Julian Seaman-7.271, 197.62
Mark Conner-7.627, 127.40
Griz Robinson-7.888, 132.49
Mike Romine-7.939, 153.21
Pro Fuel
Rick Moore-6.775, 179.83
Tommy Sloan-6.840, 186.20
Russ Sowers-6.904, 176.70
Will Simplot-6.990, 180.84
Jim Fagan-7.096, 170.77
Chris Streeter-7.724, 152.68
Pro Stock
Mark Venia-8.065, 160.56
Shawn Reno-8.080, 157.59
KW Seneca-8.368, 151.07
John Hollenbeck-11.314, 141.97
Pro Drag
Kersten Heling-7.650, 167.41
Scott Truett-7.775, 163.18
Rickey House-7.833, 165.60
Chuck Jones-7.840, 164.51
Pro Gas
Jay Wagner-7.790, 163.04
Wes Jordan-9.121, 145.80
Pro Mod
Bruce Chandler- 8.891, 146.42
Shane Pendergrast-8.945, 144.98
Bob Goodwin-9.026, 144.64
Henry Stanton-9.059, 147.50
Morry Straubel-9.071, 151.41
Donnie Huffman-9.082, 145.03
Steve Sandborn-9.203, 137.79
Joey Thomson-9.653, 141.61
Billy Joe Bowman-24.973, 25.48
Street Pro
Danny Arnold-9.052, 150.63
Austin Cheek-9.129, 148.58
Russ Johnson-9.955, 143.98
Charley Douglass-9.294, 145.50
Destroyer
Nick Gonatas Jr-9.337, 140.56
Wanda Poff-9.387, 140.27
Jim Sweet-9.403, 139.72
Jeff Stevens-9.412, 141.06
Robert Pettit-9.531, 138.57
Dan Lesnock-9.562, 136.18
Billy Shoemaker-9.584, 135.16
Dale Nilles-9.593, 137.46
Brian Macalister-9.756, 135.29
V Rod
Robert Pettit-9.519, 143.89
Jim Sweet-9.548, 145.19
Larry Edmondson Jr-9.655, 137.25
Daniel Lesnock-9.828, 135.84
Rich Vreeland-10.216, 126.23
Larry Fore-10.566, 131.18
Hot Street
Bruce Cronberger-9.632, 135.47
Jim McMillan-10.126, 134.24
Dan Norlin-10.237, 129.88
Vance Houdyshell-10.526, 127.93
Sam Lowery-11.302, 118.48
S&S 124 Challenge
Mike Roberts-9.233, 143.12
Mike Motto-9.500, 141.97
Chris Sansevere-9.719, 137.65
Super Gas
Dan Lesnock-9.702, 123.55
Jeff Stevens-9.706, 133.08
Bob Drapp-9.723, 134.62
Edward Golson-9.724, 129.17
Chris Seper-9.742, 135.36
Brian Macalister-9.750, 134.10
Kevin Carrow-9.831, 132.50
Wanda Poff-9.844, 107.72
Chris Sansevere-9.851, 135.59
John Shotts-9.853, 129.59
Rich Vreeland-9.877, 140.18
Jim Gall-9.968, 128.57
Joe Lieske-10.016, 102.81
Mike Motto-14.391, 56.93
Alex Barmettler-9.686, 116.03
Dick Fish-9.685, 134.77
Dale Nilles-9.676, 124.64
Super Sport
Donnie Huffman- 10.307 10.307 124.68
Bob Drapp- 10.31 10.310 103.13
Danny Boyer- 10.313 10.313 126.08
Rich Vreeland- 10.317 10.317 122.77
Eddie Golson- 10.322 10.322 92.53
David Israel- 10.341 10.341 123.46
G.W. Bass- 10.346 10.346 127.94
Michael Hauser- 10.36 10.360 120.26
Larry Maynhart- 10.381 10.381 123.46
Shawn Duch- 10.388 10.388 113.21
Joey Thomson- 10.402 10.402 125.69
Nate Carnahan- 10.434 10.434 129.38
Sam Lowery Jr- 10.458 10.458 124.35
Dean Druschel- 10.459 10.459 114.80
Gary Degrange- 10.472 10.574 119.61
Mark Colburn- 10.503 10.503 113.03
Chris Seper- 10.506 10.506 100.28
Vance Houdyshell-10.709 10.709 105.03
Chris Hoppe- 10.231 10.231 114.24
Super Elim
Reggie MacKay-10.905, 121.51
Nate Carnahan-10.923, 119.34
Roberta Seaman-10.977, 105.44
Nick Gonatas Jr-10.977, 100.55
Brad Croneberger-10.991, 125.86
Larry Maynhart-11.009, 116.55
Gary Douglass-11.027, 106.99
Kevin Winters-11.052, 113.35
Donnie Huffman-11.079, 118.69
Dale Nilles-11.092, 118.84
Jay Wagner-11.093, 117.01
Larry Fore-11.113, 112.69
Brad Emery-11.138, 111.92
Kevin Gauntt-11.207, 118.58
Danny Boyer-11.290, 116.67
Joey Thomson-11.304, 112.83
Andy Horn-11.368, 104.43
Dean Druschel-11.388, 82.46
Robert McConnell-11.448, 116.55
Christopher Perea-11.476, 115.87
Chris Hoppe-16.343, 45.64
John Price-10.808, 116.80
Richard Martin-10.579, 107.32
SEP
Greg Best-11.500, 95.91
Edward Golson-11.501, 107.59
Kevin Winters-11.509, 107.58
Robert McConnell-11.523, 114.45
Danny Boyer-11.554, 113.99
Andrew Bowman-11.561, 92.54
Kevin Gauntt-11.565, 94.34
Twang Lunning-11.597, 98.85
Brad Cronbeberger-11.604, 117.57
Nate Carnahan-11.627, 111.19
Dan Norlin-11.691, 116.12
David Dennick-11.777, 91.90
Christopher Perea-11.777, 98.81
Reggie MacKay-11.828, 93.29
Nick Gonatas Jr-11.913, 79.86
Shawn Mize-12.022, 102.63
Donnie Huffman- 11.499, 106.70
Special thanks to Stephanie Druschel, AHDRA, Dragstrip Manager Rich Schaefer, and the staff of Gateway International Raceway.
Article and photos by Stripe
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 and Larry Fore in Super Elim','640', '480'))
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