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/127255
DRAG RACE Dragbike! USA National Championship_Se_ri_es_:R_ou_n_d_1 m ~ _ Bob Sp ina (near lane) defeat ed Sonn y Micha lowski to win th e Superfuel P ushrod class, then clai med th e overall win when the top Funnybikes broke before the final. Spina hot in Miami By Tom L o u g hlin, J r. MIAMI. FL, MAR. 3-4 ia m i Hollywood Speedway thundered to life when the opening round of the 14th Annual Dragbike! USA Nationals rolled into town, which was highlighted by the return visit of Bob Spina's first sevensecond, single-engined Harley-Davidson fueIer. Spina met and defeated Floridian Sonny Michalowski 's Harley on the final Superfuel Pushrod run with a stout 8.07/148.02 compared to Michalowski's close 8. 19/146.10. Dragbike! USA has a unique Superfina l system in which the winner of the Har ley-Davidson Superfuel Pushrod class faces the winner of the O H C/ Funnybike class to determ ine the overall cha mpionship in the event. H owever, at this year's event, six of the eight q uarter finalists in the OHC/ Funnybike class blew engines and fai led to make the round. With six of the eight funnies sitting in the pits broken, the race for the OHC/Funnybike title was left to a contest between the Kawasaki of Lero y SmithlTom Slick and rider Mike Wettstein, and the Suzuki ridden by Fred Hall. But as the two riders staged for their M 2 race, the Wettstein/Slick entry fried an ignition and could not compete. So when the green light £lashed, it was Hall all alone as he roared down the strip. But, he too, would fall to the mechanical gremlin, as he blew his engine before crossing the stripes. Both Hall and Wettstein were unable to report for the Superfinal against Spina's Harley. In the Pro Drag Nitro class, Dale Nungesser rocketed his Nungesser Engineering/Truett and Osborn Cycle-backed Harley-Davidson to the win, wh ile Scott Truett topped the Pro Drag Gas division. The index classes, heads-up racing determined by the minimum allowable elapsed time for competitors, provided close competition. In Mega Eliminator (8.20 in dex) Jay Eber hardt, on a Baily Body and Paint-backed Kawasaki overcame a quick gate job by Vernon Fuertado, aboard a Franco's-Sachs Racebikes /King Motorcycle-sponsored Suzuki, with an 8.72/123.62 conquest of Fuertado. Ultra Eliminator (8.60 index) action came down to a showdown between Herman Davis's John McGath-built Suzuki, and the 1981 Suzuki of M&J Performance Center/Florida Gasbacked Tony Girardi. With a possible perfect light of .400, Girardi came close wi th a .421 launch, while Davis ' .524 would need a significant ET advantage at the finish line to win. He had it, though he ran too quickly with an 8.56 on the 8.6 minimum, giving the 8.69/ 136.77 clocking by Girardi the win. The popular Pro Gas category (9.20 seconds minimum) boiled down to the sem i finals between M&J Performance's J oe Trembicki, who defeated the number one qualifier Larry Fisher on his 1981 Suzuki, and ninth qualifier Steve Muller on a 1973 Kawasaki. In therace£orall the marbles, Muller jumped the quickest by executing a super fast reaction time of .414 seconds and ran a near-perfect 9.206/130.81 to push Trembicki's number six qualified 1982 Suzuki to a subminimum disqualification of 9.03/147.54. Trernbicki had his throttle grip twisted off and was disqualified. In the Supergas (9.90 index) Tom Klemme's Suzuki topped Hen Henckel's Kawa sa ki of Durham Racing machine in the first semi final, while Duane West, riding a 1987 FJI200, ended Gary Landon's day in the second semi final. Klemme and West lined up for the Supergas fina l, and it was Klemme who kept his winning streak alive with an even better launch than Muller's Pro Gas win. Klemme had a quick reaction time of .41 ~ compared to West' s .516. Both riders ra n under the minimum of 9.90, wi th Klemme's best score of 9.874/130.05 topping West's 9.77/ 132.74. In Competition Eliminator Harley-Davidson versus the imports it came to the finals with number one Mike Durham on his TCS PerformancelTowle Electric/Suncoast/CastrollTsubaki-backed 1075cc ZI Kawasaki, facing the Fast Lane Cycle/Chris Rasile-sponsored Sportser O /FueIer of Durham. Durham had topped the D/ Fuel Honda of AI Papitto in round one and soloed into the final with the semi bye run. The Rasile Harley had topped the AAA/G Suzuki of Mike Tornwall in round one, -a nd the G / Gas 10000c Suzuki of Mark Hollingsworth in the semi. In the main, Dur ham 's Harley left first but scored only a .699 on the gate job meter, while the Kawasaki clicked a low .506. Rasile ran 11.30 on his 11 .30 Nationa l record at 112.50 mph, with Durham winning wit h a subrecord 9.44/135.95 on the 9.80 record. New to Dragbikel USA is the Junior Gas, which was wo n by Joe Branch on his 1985 New York Motorcyclesponsored Suzuki 1150. In the two ET Bracket divisions Pro ET and Sportsman ET - veteran Jim Smi th, riding a 1977 KZIOOO Kawasaki topped the Pro ET final with -a 9.942/117.90 on his 9.90 dia l-in, while John Faliciglia red-lighted. - The Sportsman ET Bracket was won by Sonny Thomp over Suzukimounted J.D. Kittredge. 01