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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127127
Te!ry Vance (2) ~oes up .against John Mafaro (3) in the Pro Stock Bike final. . . . After losing his number one p late to Dave Schultz in 1987. Suzuki-mounted NHRA National Championship Drag Race Series Vance wins, records set at Gatornationals By John Brasseaux GAI NESVILLE, FL , MAR. 20 Terry Vance started off the firs t race of. h is last season the right way. He garnered h is 24th career National Hot Rod Association win by riding past John Mafaro in the finals of the NH RA Motorcraft Gatornationals. . d h d Vance announce at teen of last year that the1988 season 20 was going to be his last in act ive Pro Stock Bike competition. After losing the Number One plate to Kawasaki rider Dave Schultz at the end of last year, Vance vowed to comeback with a vengeance for '88. He made good on that pledge at the Gatornationals . with b~ack-to-back.7.98s ": one i';l the semi-Finals and the other m the final . However, if the rest of the season can be predicted based on the overall performance of the riders at Gainesville, this year will be different from all others. Although Vance came awa y with the win, two other riders came away. with new NH RA National records. Mafaro turned in a 7.982 second run in the second round to claim the NHRA . mark (Vance's best was a 7.983), and Schultz bumped up the speed record by almost three mph with a boo ming 167.97 mph. (Vance held the previous marks at 7.990, 165.07.) Based on tha t fact, Vance & Hines no longer hold the overwhelming performance advantage that they have enjoyed for some many years. In fact, it was Schultz, not Vance, who ran the quickest Pro Stock Bike time ever on that 167-mph pass. His elapsed time was a 7.94. Add ition -. ally , Suzuki rider Russ Olmstead made the first jaunt into the sevensecond zone at the Gators with a 7.99 in the first round. (Unfortunately, he red-lighted and was bounced out of competition.) Finally, the last qualifier, Earl Timmons recorded an 8.21, which was the quickest number 16 qualifier in NHRA history. Based on that, it is safe to say that the Pro Stock class has generally evened the performance score with Vance. Vanc e was the number one qualifi er with an 8.02 and met fellow Suzuki rider Lance Boyer in the first round. Vance easily handled Boyer's 8.25 with an 8.10. Their meeting was the first for two Katana-fairinged Suzukis, which is one of the hot setups ,for '88. The slick body parts are a composite of carbon fiber and Kevlar for a co mbination of strength an d light weight. Meanwhile, Mafaro simi larlyskinned Suzuki h it a better 8.04 in a first-ro und win over James H yden 's 8.28. Because Sch ul tz qualified in the number five spot, and because he won his first round, he nex t had Vance on his dance card. Sch ultz's Nin ja body-cover mac hine was definitely making the top -end power, based on a 166-m ph speed in qualifying and another in the firs t round, tha t one coupled to an 8.07. At this point of elimina-tions, it was safe to assume Sch ul tz had th e stronger bike. However, Schultz tossed away the ad vantage and handed the win to Vance with a red- light start. He threw o ut 7.94, 167.97 whi le Vance's recorded a slower 8.03, 165.41. Mafaro hit his record 7.98 in his' second-round win over Steve J ohnson. N HRA rules require a onepercent backu p run anytime d uring the weekend for the record to be val id. Mafaro's 8.04 during the first round was more than enough. Mafaro 's speed on the 7.98, which was the first ' tim e the Saddle Broo k, New . Jersey, resident has breache d th e seven-second zone, was 165:89 mph, first time he has been over 164 mp h. Vance ripped off his first of two 7.98s wit h a win in the semi-finals over Mike Keyte,. who ran an 8.05, whi le Mafaro disposed of upstart Paul Gast, 8.00 to Gast's 8.11. Gast's best n um ber was an 8.02 in th e second rou nd, which bettered h is previous best of 8.33 by three-lOths. Since Vance had the q u icker tim e from the semi-final, he took the right lane, which was generally co nceded to be the better la ne. At the green, he j umped to a slight lead an d held it all the way to record a 7.98, 165.01 to 8.09, 155.49 win. Mafaro's time was off as his rear Goodyear sp u n excessively at the start and a crosswind in the lights pushed his bi ke around, so he sh ut-off. H ence th e - speed of 155 mph. T he Gatornationals' win was o ne that Vance and crew chief Byro n Hines really needed . They had wo n on ly one of the eight '87 NHRA bike races - ironically, the Gatornationals - and the team was overdue for a win. However, because the class as a whole has stepped up, Vance will have a tough time of it th is year. So will defen ding CasrrolC'TX Motorcycle Champion Schultz, for th at matter. It definitely will not be a twobike race this year. . •