Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126664
(Above left) Terry Vance smokes the t.ire on his new Kawasaki Pro Stocker. prior to a run, (Above right) Runner-up was Randy Mason on the oldest bike in the field. (Below) Tuner Byron Hines (left) was top qualifier. but lost to business partner Vance in the first round, NHRA Winston World Finals Vance tops GCII field in debut Kawasaki ride By Skip Johnson IRVINE, CA, ocr. 15-16 NMRA Pro Stock Champ Terry Vance surprised the largest gathering of Pro Stock competitors ever assembled at a west-coast NMRA/NHRA event with a narrow victory over Kawasaki-mounted Randy Mason at the NHRA World Finals held at Orange County International Raceway. The 14 surprise was not the win, as Vance has numerous Pro Stock and Top Fuel titles to his credit and is always in contention, but this win came on a brand-new, impeccably prepared 1983 KZIOOO Superbike Replica-based Kawasaki. The first time the machine saw the strip was Monday before the event! The new machine's performance was not the only surprise at this year's final west coast NMRA event, Vance's long-time tuner and business partner Bryon Hines picked upa new set of leathers from Bates, this year's NMRA Sponsor of the Year, took Vance's championship-winning 1982 Suzuki out on his first-ever professional Pro Stock pass and promptly put down the quickest run of the event at 8.566 seconds with a speed of 150,25 miles an hour. Another surprise came from dragrace legend Russ Collins, sponing a new Honda V-65 Magna Pro Stock machine, While the machine's performance was off this event's very competitive pace with a 9.40/144 mph, Collins was optimistic and looks forward to developing the machine and the related performance products. Collins said, "I'm nOt as concerned about having the fastest Pro Stocker, JUSt the fastest V-4. There are plenty of V-4 owners out there that want to go faster, not necessarily fastest, and by racing I can develop the products they want - besides, riding Pro Stockers is fun!" Coming into this event, Suzukimounted Bob Carpenter had a slim (by l MRA standards) season point lead over one of the olde tracers in Pro tock competition, Kawasaki-mounted Randy Mason. Qualifying A r cord-selling 22 ma hines tried to make the eight-bike field. All qualifying took place on Saturday in twO sessions sandwiched between hundreds of the nation's tOp, aulO drag racing tars. In the first session, Mason moved into second sPOt behind Hines with an impressive 8.586/1 52.02 mph clocking. Southern Californian Rick Gero, owner of Advanced Machine, rode a customer's bike to third qualifying spot with a 8.760/150.25. Gero's 1983 GSIIOOES, sponing a·1260cc engine, is owned by Easterner Steve Giordano (not related to Super Modified record holder Frank Giordano), who runs a bakery in ew Jersey when he's not drag racing. Gero was DRAG BI KE! Associa tion's Pro Stock Champ in 1981 and ended up fifth in the MRA Pro Comp standings in 1982, while taking some time off to have his son, Philip. He plans to build his own new Suzuki for the 1984 season. The rest of the qualifiers included point leader Carpenter, southern California's Marc Walker, aboard a 1980 Kawasaki, Lee Hayes, riding a 1981 Suzuki OUt of Los Angeles, Johnny Kirkwood, also out of L.A.. on a 1979 Kawasaki, and Terry Henry rounded Out the field on his 1975 Kawasaki, selling the bump SpOt at a very competitive 9.010. Noticeably absent from qualifying was Vance, who had a mis ommunication regarding which position turned the fuel on with his new machine's fuel valve. Vance tried in . vain to make a pass with the fuel off. It was ironic thecurremchamp Vance was not in the field due to confusion beginning with his tuner, and his head-tuner-turned-competitor was the number one qualifier! There were plemy o( unfounded rumors running through the pits, including one that Vance and Hines Racing would become Hines and Vance Racing! In the second and final round of qualifying, Vance got his aCt together, and even with shifting troubles, moved into the fifth qualifying position with an 8.845/147.78. Carpemer improved his time to 8.799 seconds, but not his position behind Hines, Mason and Gero. Vance's fifth best time moved Walker to sixth, Kirkwood stayed in seventh with a better time and speed of 8.856/147.05 and Hayes rounded out the field with a better time and peed of 8.859/ J49.50. Finals Because of their respective qualifying positions, Hines had to face his teammate Vance in the first round. Vance was unhappy they had to race each other so soon, but was generally very happy to have Hines racing. "He's killing them guys," aid Vance of his "new" teammate. "Here's a guy that's been going to races for 10 years; you know, he could have been kicking their bUllS all along!" Hines said he was racing for the fun of it but had some reservations about his ability to compete with the Pros. "I'm an 8.80 (second) rider on an 8,30 machine," he said. After their burnouts, Vance's years of experience gave him one o( the event's quickest reaction times and the greatest disparity between a racing pair, .474 to .715. Vance's winning time was an 8.6411151.00 to Hines' quicker elapsed time of 8.598 seconds. When Hines saw his allempt to catch Vance was (utile, he shut off, posting a 146.57-mph run. After the race, another surprise was waiting in the pits at the Vance and Hines camp. A Kentucky gemleman by the name o( Butch Spencer stopped by and bought their 1982 Suzuki on the spot and rolled it off to his truck. Apparemly Spencer called Vance about a month ago looking for a competitive Pro Stock machine to add to his racing stable. A price was negotiated (or the Suzuki, which was rumored to Pc $15,000. Spencer said the figure was not that much and Vance said it was more. Neither would say how much, more or less. Spencer told Vance he needed to see the bike run and Vance invited him to today's World Finals where Hines' string of 8.50s convinced him to buy! Spencer wem on to say, "We JUSt plan to race only, we're not in the motorcycle business ... I was a Yamaha dealer years ago, but it's too harda way to make a living. We have twO Pro Stockers now, an older GS model and a Katana. Our rider will probably be our currem rider, Gary Waters and we will run NMRA, AMA,