A.H.D.R.A. Midwest Nitro Nationals-Tulsa Raceway Park-Tulsa, Oklahoma

The All Harley Drag Racing Association (A.H.D.R.A.) had scheduled three rounds of qualifying for all classes on Saturday with the elimination runs of the Midwest Nitro Nationals on tap for Sunday. I arrived at the track just as the pro classes were beginning their first qualifying round. The riders had to fight a stiff left crosswind from the north but still posted some impressive e.t.’s. A list of the top qualifiers by class follows:

Top Fuel-Douglas Horne-6.426 sec.-230.84 m.p.h.
Pro Fuel-Douglas Horne-6.615 sec.-215.20 m.p.h.
Pro Gas-Lee Hitz-8.856 sec.-150.23 m.p.h.
Pro Drag-Scott Truett-7.330 sec.-175.16 m.p.h.
Pro Modified-Bruce Croneberger III-8.493 sec.-150.16 m.p.h.
Street Pro-Bruce Croneberger III-8.878 sec.-150.45 m.p.h.
Draggin’ Bagger-Jeff Stevens-11.878 sec.-114.03 m.p.h.
V-Rod Destroyer-Nick Gonatas, Jr.-8.912 sec.-148.25 m.p.h.
V-Rod-Jim Sweet-9.351 sec.-142.29 m.p.h.
Hot Street-Bruce Croneber III-9.685 sec.-135.86 m.p.h.
Super Gas-Dale “Mohawk Man” Nilles-9.704 sec.-112.36 m.p.h.
Super Sport-Larry Fore-10.235 sec.-130.59 m.p.h.
Super Eliminator-Kevin Gauntt-10.907 sec.-118.81 m.p.h.
Scremin’ Eagle Performance-Nick Milks-11.514 sec.-107.59 m.p.h.

Between runs, I enjoyed visiting with other photographers who were working the event including Brian O. Williams of Raw Edge Photo who was shooting for A.H.D.R.A. and Joe Skaggs of RidePics.Net. During a break between rounds, I stopped by the Harley Owners Group hospitality booth and picked up an event pin from Dan Mattias, a H.O.G. Regional Manager from New York. While touring the pit area, I visited with David Larson, the rider of Pro Drag bike number 25 sponsored by Topeka Harley-Davidson. Drag racing is definitely a fan-friendly sport, and visitors to the pit area are treated to a close-up look at some monster machines and an opportunity to talk with the racers who come from all over North America.

After a relaxing night at the event’s host hotel, Best Western Tulsa Airport, located only a few minutes from the strip, I was ready to head back for more drag racing action on Sunday. I was disappointed to observe that the wind, now howling from the south, was much stronger than it had been during qualifying. I made the assumption (later confirmed at the riders’ meeting) that the nitro bikes would be limited to 1/8-mile runs for the elimination rounds. I arrived at the speedway early enough to wander through the pits again and had a good visit with racer Walt Sipp who competes in both drag racing and road racing. Before the riders’ meeting I had an opportunity to visit with A.H.D.R.A.’s Tim James.

CC: Tim, what are your duties with A.H.D.R.A.?
Tim: I do the tech inspections and work the starting line.

CC: This is the first time for an A.H.D.R.A. event at Tulsa, right?
Tim: Correct.

CC: During yesterday’s qualifying runs, the announcer was very complimentary of the track and crew here.
Tim: Track prep was excellent yesterday. We had no complaints. We had some record runs. It’s a superb track with a nice long run-out area. That makes for safer competition, and safety is paramount. These machines keep getting badder and faster, and shutting them down is just as critical and, from a safety standpoint, even more critical than getting them started. We like nice long shutdown areas with gravel traps and catch nets. Some of the tracks just don’t own enough property to expand and keep up with what the bikes are doing.

CC: Speaking of shutting down, I notice that a number of the pro class bikes now have parachutes. Is that something new?
Tim: The last couple of years more bikes are adding ‘chutes. It caught on in Europe where many of the strips just don’t have enough shutdown area. They needed to supplement their braking and get stopped sooner, so a lot of the R&D that went into parachutes was done in Europe. They are becoming more and more popular here with more bikes adding them at each race.

CC: Are they used the same way as on the drag cars, popping them at the finish line or sooner if they get into trouble?
Tim: Yes. The theory is the same. It’s a much smaller ‘chute. You don’t want the back end lifting up, and you want the bike to stay straight. They can help if a bike is drifting to one side.

CC: I noticed that some of the riders here were making licensing runs yesterday. How does that work?
Tim: Sportsman riders up through and including Super Gas, our fastest sportsman class with a 9.70 index, just need to have runs witnessed by A.H.D.R.A. officials who can then sign them off and give them their licenses. In the pro ranks, you first have to demonstrate a controlled startup, burnout, and launch. Then you shut down for that pass. Next, you make a 330-foot pass, then 1/8-mile. Then we turn them loose to do a full ¼-mile. All of the passes must be witnessed by an A.H.D.R.A. official. Ultimately to qualify for a license, a rider must make a ¼-mile pass at a sanctioned event within 1.5 seconds of the number one qualifier at that event. The license application has to be signed by two licensed riders at least equal to the class you are licensing for and by A.H.D.R.A. officials. The license is then issued.

CC: Tim, thanks for the info. I appreciate the visit.

After the riders’ meeting and the opening ceremony during which all of the top qualifiers were introduced, it was time for racing. It didn’t take long for the action to heat up—literally. During one of the earliest Top Fuel elimination passes, rider Tony Ruggiero experienced a nitro explosion during launch. Fortunately, he was able to get the bike shut down in a hurry and wasn’t injured. The competition was fierce, and victory margins were often a few hundredths of a second. Sometimes mere thousandths of a second at the finish line determined who advanced to the next round and who was done for the day. Riders were challenged not only by their opponents but by the strong wind that moved several riders perilously close to the north wall.

At day's end, the final elimination rounds were concluded with the following results:

Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel
5 TF Douglas Horne-.39-4.172-181.54
over 11 TF Chuck Jones-.34-5.297-98.03

Rush Pro Fuel
4 PF Douglas Horne-.081-4.364-173.01
over 25 PF Mitch Brown-.069-4.559-166.01

Rush Pro Gas
114 PG Lee Hitz-.147-8.943-148.72
over 221 PG Walt Sipp-.051-13.816-80.51

Hawaya Racing Pro Drag
1060 PD Scott Truett-.098-4.667-153.98
over 1 PD Rocky Jackson-.136-4.648-150.05

Pro Modified
22 MOD Bruce Croneberger III-.045-8.595-147.68
over 1 MOD Bruce Chandler-.034-8.632-150.75

Right Quick Street Pro
47 STP Bruce Croneberger III-.121-9.360-148.72
over 2 STP Jim Sweet-.598-x-x

Scremin’ EagleDraggin’ Bagger
11 DB Jeff Stevens only entry-.551-11.777-113.11

Scremin’ Eagle V-Rod Destroyer
2 VRD Nick Gonatas Jr.-.073-8.985-145.69.
over 3 VRD Brian Macalister-.049-9.086-143.29

Scremin’ Eagle V-Rod
4 VR Robert Pettit-.097-9.379-132.69
over 1 VR Jim Sweet-.169-9.586-126.73

Purvis Motor Sports Hot Street
1 HS Brad Croneberger-.123-9.913-132.69
over 288 HS Kevin Gauntt-.148-10.392-126.73

Bison Racing/Vreeland’s Harley-Davidson Super Gas
2 SG Donnie Huffman-.115-9.806-112.69
over 5 SG Eddie Golson-.017-9.935-131.84

Super Sport
2 SS Donnie Huffman-.062-10.558-111.69
over 321 SS Randy Miller-.238-10.494-125.29

Rush Super Eliminator
3 SE Kevin Winters-.073-10.900-112.55
over 195 SE Bill Rowe-.124-10.884-113.11

Scremin’ Eagle Performance SEP
3 SEP Brad Croneberger-.092-11.509-107.02
over 7 SEP Eddie Golson-.103-11.504-113.14

Syn 3 ET
4 ET Donnie Huffman-.146-11.230-103.21
over 1 ET Bob Drapp-.045-9.967-128.91

Here is the remaining A.H.D.R.A. event schedule for 2011:

April 30-May 1 Carolina Spring Nitro Nationals
Presented by Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association
Rockingham Dragway
Rockingham, NC

May 21-22 Liberty Nitro Nationals
Presented by Vreeland's Harley-Davidson
Numidia Dragway
Numidia, PA

June 4-5 Ohio Bike Week Nationals
Presented by The Northern Ohio Harley-Davidson Dealers
Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park
Norwalk, OH

June 25-26 Northeast Nitro Nationals
Atco Raceway
Atco, NJ

August 6-7 Thunder in the Valley Nationals
Bristol Dragway
Bristol, TN

August 10-11
Wednesday & Thursday Race at the Rally
Sturgis Dragway
Sturgis, SD
(non-points event)

August 27-28 Northwest Nitro Nationals
Woodburn Dragstrip
Woodburn, OR

September 17-18 Cajun Nitro Nationals
No Problem Raceway
Belle Rose, LA

October 8-9 Jim McClure Nitro Nationals
Rockingham Dragway
Rockingham, NC

All-Harley racing always provides exciting entertainment for race fans. When an A.H.D.R.A. event comes to a drag strip near you, don’t miss it.

Article and photos by Stripe

Special thanks to Craig Tharpe, the A.H.D.R.A. staff, and the crew at Tulsa Raceway Park.