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00 00 0') ...... Terry Vance (near lane and in set) beat Russ Nyberg in t he NHRA Quaker State NorthStar Nationals. despite turning a higher E.T. and slower speed. NHRA Castrol GTX National Championship Drag Race Series: Round 6 . . Vance victorious at Brainerd By John Brasseau BRAINERD, MN , AUG. 18-21 Going into the Quaker State NorthStar Nationals, Terry Vance needed a win more th an he h as ever needed a win this ~season. H e ' was trailing Dave Sch u ltz in th e Castrol GTX Championship points chase and, with only three Nati I H t Rod As . . rona 0 ~oaatI.on races left on the tour In which 20 to garner Castrol GTX points, time was running out. This is Vance's last season on the footpegs of a Pro Stock drag bik e and the rider who has won more than any other motorcycle drag racer wanted it to end with the Number One plate. At the end of the NorthStar's race, it was a very relieved Vance & Hines team who celebrated the win that put them into the points lead. Just as importantly, Vance's third win of the season over Russ Nyberg gave him that intangible measure of rnomentum going into th e 34th Annual NHRA U.S. National s at Indy over th e Labor Day weekend. " I reall y feel good about that win, " said Vanc e aft erwards. "The bike worked well this weekend and .tha~'s what we net:d~ We.needed this wm before Indy If I m gomg to stop Dave (Schu ltz)." Schultz, the current Castrol GTX champ, had th e opposite fortune in eliminations. He red-lighted in the first round with an .000 reaction time - meanin g he left before the "Christmas tree" was activated. Schultz had a 478-point lead before the NorthStar Nationals. After Vance won in the final, that lead was gone. Vance now is ahead of Schultz by 218 points. The weekend was not entirely trouble-free for Vance. During the first qualifying run, his Suzuki's transmission broke near th e end of the run, slowing Vance's Suzuki to an 8.20-second clocking. Crew chief Byron Hines and crewman Rick Ward installed another shifting unit in the Kosman chassis. The bik e stepped up to an 8.17 in Saturday's session. According to Vance, the run would have been better had it not been for the 20-mph head wind. Meanwhile, Schultz was esta blishing his Eagle l-backed Kawasaki Ninja as the favorite for eliminations. He held down the top spot at 8.09 /160.48, which was the low elapsed time and top speed for the Pro Stock bikes. Vance's 8.17 positioned him in the number four spot. In the first round, Vance had an easy time of it against Paul Ray after Ray shut off early, recording a 9.66/ 106.47. Vance slowed to an 8.27/ 158.39 after his bike veered toward the guard wall, forcing him to back off the throttle for an instant. In the next round, Vance equaled his qualifying time with an 8.18/ 160.17 to defeat Lance Boyer, who gave it a good effort with an 8.31/ 159.57. "That was a very good run," Vance quipped after the race. " The bike has more in it and I think you 'll see a better time in the next round." Sure enough, in the semi-final, Vance recorded an 8.17/161.31. He needed every bit of that time to defeat Bob Carpenter, who was not far behind at 8.28/157.09. What made the race all the more close at the finish was the advantage Carpenter got off the starting line. Carpenter cut a .402 reaction time (.400 is a perfect reaction time) , and almost held off Vance until just before the finish where Vance nipped him by a wheel. Vance was now in his third NHRA final round of the . 1988 Season, but he was not the performance leader. That honor was held by Nyberg. The 22-year-old Kawasaki rider, winner of the NHRA Summernationals one month before, was cutting a wide path through eliminations on his side of the ladder. In his first round, Nyberg, who had qualified one place behind Vance with an 8.18, had a wild ride when his bike made a move for the centerline of the track (crossing the centerline results in immediate disqualification). Nyberg applied some serious body English to right the bike, scrapping the headers on the track in the process. Even with those histrionics, he beat opponent C.]. Smith's 8.54/152.07 with an 8.34/157.86. He replaced that tire with a borrowed one for the next round and recorded the 10w·E.T. of elm in inations with an 8.12/161.26 to defeat John Mafaro, who shut off to an 8.40/143.03. In the semi-finals, Nyberg trailered the racer who loaned him the tire , Keith Gray, with an 8.16/161.40. Gray ran an 8.30/156.30. For the final, Nyberg had the stronger bike, based on hIS 8.12 and 8.16, and therefore had a slim edge. But Vance, being the seasoned veteran, could not be counted out, After the pair had staged, the amber lights flashed and Vance and the Suzuki jumped out to the lead via a .478 light. Nyberg, who admitted that he made a horrible error, cut a very late .697 light. Vance was not home yet. Just past the 60-foot mark, his bike shook the rear tire , forcing him to roll back on the throttle for a moment. Nyberg closed the gap between he and Vance at that point, but it was not enou~h to win. Vance crossed the fin ish Im e first at 8.26/ 159.34, followed by Nyberg's better 8.18/160.65. Although it looks to bea Vance/ Schultz battle at the U.S. Nationals, rising riders like Nyberg can easily knock out either one during eliminations. But the sixth NHRA race of the Castrol GTX Series will be remembered as Vance's day. • free