IN
THE
WIND
P36
Turner Wins NHRA Houston Top Fuel
Harley-Davidson
T
he Mopar Express Lane
NHRA SpringNationals
sprung into action at Houston
Raceway Park in Baytown,
Texas, April 12-14. Racers were
greeted with ideal racing condi-
tions. In the eight-bike Top Fuel
Harley-Davidson field, there was
a familiar face at the top of the
charts when all was said and
done Sunday afternoon.
Jay Turner won for the 10th time
in the NHRA Top Fuel Harley Se-
ries when he rode to a final-round
victory over Mike Scott. Turner
was the low qualifier with a 6.18
elapsed time at over 235 mph,
one of the quickest and fastest
runs in the history of the class.
Throughout the day, Turner
had a fight on his hands in the
three elimination rounds. He first
had to defeat Billy Jackson and
then Rickey House. He then
finally met Scott in the final.
Neither rider had a stellar run
in the final. Both had their issues.
Scott, who had the starting line
advantage, started drifting out
of the groove and finally clicked
it off. Turner clicked it off early,
but he held on for the win. Scott
had a slight speed advantage
with a 164.55 mph run to Turner's
163.63 mph blast, but even with
a slower reaction time, Turner's
6.792 ET edged out Scott's
7.027 for the victory.
After three of 10 rounds, Turner
is beginning to make noise in the
championship. He's currently
fourth in points, chasing leader
Beau Lane, who was defeated by
Turner in E2. In that race, Lane
was nearly perfect off the lights
with a 0.001 RT in his showdown
with Turner, but Turner chased
him down, putting Turner in the
final. Lane currently has 290
points, followed by Doug Vancil
with 240. (Scott knocked Vancil
out in E1.)
Ricky House is third in the
championship with 186, followed
by Turner with 176.
Scott eliminated House in
E2. CN
Jay Turner won
the NHRA Top Fuel
Harley-Davidson
showdown at Houston
Raceway Park.
