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/127133
The Pro Stock v ictory at the Spring Nationals went to Suzuki-mounted George Bryce of Georgia. He defeated Terry Vance. " Steve Tracy qualified seventh in the Funnybike class at Rockingham 's Spring Nationals, then came back to beat Charles Israel in t he f ina l. Steve Drake was the number one qualifier in the Pro Comp division in Rockingham, but he fe ll to Tony Lang in the final . Rookie Tony Lang of Michigan shocked Pro Comp competitors at Rockingham when he qua lified sixth fastest then won the f inal. IDBA National Championship Drag Race Series: Rounds 1-2 ' Kizer, Tracy top Iron Man, 'Spring Nationals By Nina Henderson ROCKINGHAM, NC , APR. 16-17 In dian a 's Steve T racy powered h is'Advan ced Plating Suzuki to victory in th e Funnybike class at this w ee ke nd' s IDBA Spring Na tionals, the second rou n d of the 1988 series. Tracy clocked in with 7 38 d 181 81 h a . -seco.n, . " mp run o~ R o ck i n g h a m s qu arter mile. , . 32 Suzuki-mounted T ex an Te rry Kizer topped the Fu nny bi ke class a t th e Iron Man Nati on als , th e o pening ro und of the series, held in Birmingham, Alabam a , Mar ch 25-27. Kizer powered home to victory with a 4.52/1 64.24. H e al so set a .new Nati on al record .for th e eigh th mil e wh en he turned In a 4.48-second ru n earlier in th e competiti on. ' T he Spring Na tiona ls at Rockirigh am Internati on al Dragway, held befo re th e largest crowd ever to attend an IDBA ina ugural event, was a real disappointment for some of the most famous names in motorcycle drag racing and the Funnybike class was no exception. Nationa l Champio n Kizer was unable to qualify his new Orient Express Frarn-Autolite Suzuki, so he brought out the bike he rod e to last year's title and rode it during th e last tw o rounds o f qualifying. The co mpe tition was so tough, however, Kizer was forced to to settle for the first alternate slo t behind the eight qual ifiers. Former cha mp Bobb y Baker of South Carolina becarn e zhe fastest Fu nnybi ke quali fier when he posted a 7.342/187. 11 aboard h is Kawasaki. Suzu ki-mounted Ch arles Israel of Geo rgia was the number two qualifier with a 7.4/ 174.41. Baker was bumped from competition by number-seven q ualif ier T racy in th e seco nd round. Tracy bested Baker 7.37/181.81 to 7.47/ 182.92. T racy th en met fellow Suzuki pilot Israel in th e fin al , wh ere Israel cu t a better green and fini shed with a 7.426/181.45 , but was o utru n by Tracy who won the race with a 7.383/ 181.81. World record holderT.J. Hofmeister of Illinois, wh o posted a run of more th an 200 mph last sea so n aboard hi s Suzuki , had trouble a ll weeken d. He qual ified fifth fast est an d lost to Baker in the first round. Pro Comp competition was topsyturvy. 100. Co n nec tic ut's J im Cooper, the h ighest-ranking Pro Com p competitor to ride in Rockingham, co uld only ma nage to earn a first al ternate slot. Number one qualifier Steve Drake of Ohio ended the day as the runner-up, and the win went to number six. qualifier Tony Lang, a virtually unheard of rookie from Michigan. Drake entered th e final with a 7.74 qualifying pass and competitio n runs as quick as 7.79. Lang used his bright blue, 1983 GSllOO Suzuki to turn th e tim ers at 7.99 and 7.98 in competition. As th ey lined up for all the marbl es. favored to win Drake laid down a fast 7.92/170.45. but he red-lighted, givi ng the win to Lang, wh o finished with a 7.96/163.04. Number o ne qual ifier in th e Pro Stock division was Florida's " Cowchip' : Charli e Gressm en, who clocked his Suzuki in with an 8.19second run. Georgia 's George Bryce was second fastest with an 8.22/ 160.14, Suzuki-mounted Californian Terry Vance qualified third fastest with an 8.2211159.29, and Ohio's Wayne Ross, on a Suzuki, rounded out the top four with an 8.23/158.45. All four top qual ifiers beat their com petitio n in th e early rounds, but the theoretical ladder didn 't pan out. Gr essman 'acciden ta ll y violated th e no-burn-across-the-line rule in the sem i, and Bryce o usted Ross 8.21 to 8.33 to set up .a showdo wn in th e final between Bryce a nd Vance. In the previous six tim es he had pulled to th e line against Vance , Bryce had lost every tim e. But Bryce