Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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DRAG RACING AMAIPROSTAR DRAG RACING SERIES :~ndianapolis Raceway Park ever wi n in th e S uz uki -do min a te d Fast by Cast Pro Mod ified class. Vant ine quali fied his PCW entry fifth at 7.05 second s, we ll beh ind Ton y Sabino's polegra bbing 6.921, bu t Vantine levera ged a combination of lu ck, su perior reaction tim es and cons is te n t el apsed times to take the win while the front-runn ers fell by th e wayside. In an ultra-close final. Va ntine got by the MRE bike o f Rick Perry, 7.176 to a losin g 7.179, Wh ile Pau l C ast has held a clear performance advantage throughout the season in the big-m oto r Lectron Pro Stock cla ss, he need ed a holeshot to take his th ird win of the season. C ast qualified h is 1570cc, four- valve Su zuki in the number -on e spot with a 7,52/177 , holding more than a tenth o f a second ad vantage on the res t of the l6-bike field . Cast loo ked like.a shoo-in for his third win of the yea r, recordi ng ano ther 7.52 in the second rou nd of eliminations, but he faced some serious competition fro m upsta rt Pa t Wi se . Th e wi n ner o f By Mall Polito INDIANAPOLIS, N , AUG. 15-17 ndia n a p olis is co nsidered th e 32 mecca of American motor sports ; it is bes t known for the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR 's Brickya rd 400. It is also a mainstay of drag racing, with the U.S . Na tio na ls held at In d ianap ol is Racew ay Pa rk on Labor Day weekend bein g one of the biggest eve nts on the N H RA Winston D r a g Ra cing Series sched ule. For th e fifth ye ar in a ro w, AMA 1Prostar also held its Pingel Thunder Na tio nals at IRP, and it was one of th e mo st anticipated stops on the to ur, as new performance records and hist orical happenings were almos t gu aranteed. For th e second yea r in a row, ra in affected th e sch eduling. Wh ile a major pa rt of eli m inatio ns go t completed o n Sunday, the late-round finishe rs had to return on Monday to settle things up. The second roun d of Pro eliminations, run just before the 10 p.m. noise curfew on Sunday, was one of the most exciting in Prostar history, with numerous record runs; personal bests and razor-close finishes. It was truly Indy Magic. Tony Lan g practically has a lock on his se co nd stra igh t Top Fuel championship, as he took his third win of the four-race Top Fuel schedule. In th e historic second round of eliminations, Lang laid down the second-quickest time ever: 6.080 seconds at 224 mph. Lang returned on Monday to take the win over number-one qualifier Chris Hand, running a 6.28 while Hand red -lighted. appea ra nces. Velasco, on hi s Sick Dog Raci ng ZX-6R, too k out the Suzu ki of Steve Knecurn in the final, 10.53 to 10.65. Other Sportsman action saw numbero ne plate hold er T on y Mullen take his first Star Performa nce Parts Top Cas series win of the season, getting by Ron Lega ult in the final. Former champion Bru ce Sauer also scored his first win of the season, beating Joe Lovej oy in the fina l of th e APE Super Comp seri es . Doug Emge took his first-e ver RC Components Su per Cas titl e, o ver William Boyd. Boyd , who made it to two finals, lost for the second tim e when he wa s be aten in the mo ney ro und of the Pingel Pr o ET seri es by Jerry Hurley. And Terr y Moore took home the Street ET Trophy, over James Gehle. Th e Ind y event was also th e site of the annua l Cycle World Quickest Streetbike Shootout. Run head s-up, with no wheelie bars allowed, the event drew 49 bikes fo r three classes. Former 600cc SuperSport Cha mpio n Keit h De n nis held court in th e Unlimited class, turnin g a new record for the event at 8.294 . seconds to claim the n umber-on e qualify ing spot o n Joe Marasco's ni trousassisted MSP 1452cc Suzuki CSXR. Denn is got the win with a fin al-round victo ry over th e turbocharged Kawasaki ZX- 11 o f Erin Schmidt, 8.37/168 to 8.64/168. James Lauer won th e Modifie d class, qua lifying number one a t 8.610 an d running an 8.80 in the final as Cary Wardosky red -ligh ted. Eric Allen (Above) Tony Lang won the Top Fuel class and came ever so close to breaking the late Elmer Trett' s elaps ed time record during the Pingel Thunder Motorcycle Nati onals at Indiana polis Raceway Par k. (Right) David Vantine ran a 7.1761179.49 en route to victory In the Fast by Gas t Pro Modllled class llnal. C ary Clark is well on his way to taking a second s tra ig h t title in th e Pro ranks as well , Cl ar k wo n th e O r ie n t Express Funnybike Showdown, taki ng his th ird victory of the season in domi nating fash ion . Clark, on hi s Rick Stetson -t u ne d, i njecte d-a lco h ol t urb o Kawasaki , qu alified in the number-one spot at 6.84 seconds and made history in eliminations, reco rd ing all-time m arks of 6.749 and 6.754 seconds. Clark beat the number-two man in points, Tom Perry, in th e fina l, with a 6.88 at a coasting 169 mph. Perry, who had been running consistentl y low 7.05, slowed to a 7.18 in the final. Funnybike rider Steve Rice recorded a historic footnote as he became the first rid er to bring a modem powerplant into the six-second barrier. Rice brought his Kawasaki alcohol turbo ZX-ll to Indy and reco rded a 6.985/195 in qualifying. He later posted top speed of the meet for the class, with a 198 mph pass. It was Kawasaki' s day a t Ind y a s Dave Vantine piloted a Kawi to its first- the 1996 AMA /Prostar Dixie Nati on als, "Yise im p roved throughout the day on hi s 1575cc HMP Suz uki. He save d h is best for last , hitting a 7.591, bu t Cast turned a .02 8-second holeshot into a win, even while running a slower 7593, The fierce battle between Rickey Cadso n a nd defend ing ch ampion Buddy Forbus in the Kawasaki 750cc Pro Superbike class co ntinu ed at Indy. Gad so n and Forbus qualified in the top tw o slo ts, but because of the odd nine-bike field, th ey faced each other in the semifinals, where Gadson won a close (9.69-9.70) decision. Fqrbus was still up on points, however, as he established two eigh thmile records during the event. Cadson and his Muzzy ZX-7R grabbed the points lead with a final round win over 'Ben Koch . Gad son recorded the best time of the event for the class in the final, r unning a 9.660/138, while Koch ran a 9.97. Ern ie Velas co is the new star in the Met zeler 600cc SuperSport class, taking his third win in four straight final-round to ok th e Stock trophy, getting by Phil Stoll, 9.31-9.68. '" Indianapolis Raceway Park Indiana polis, Indiana Res ults : August 18, 1997 (Round 4 of 7) TOP FUEL: 1. Tony Lang (Suz ); 2. Chris Hand (MCU). .FNYIBK: 1. C.tory CWk (K.:row); 2. Tom Perry (Suz ). PRO MOD: 1. David Vantine (K.:row); 2. Rid. P~ (Suz) PRO 511(: 1. Paul Cast (Suz); 2. Patrid Wi_ (Sul'.). PRO SlB K: 1. Ridy Gadson (Kaw); 2. Brrn Koch (](aw) TOP GAS: 1. Tony Mullen (Kaw); 2. Ron Legaul t (Soz) StCOMP: 1. Bruce Sa ue r (Ka w ); 2. Joe Lov ejoy (Ka w). SlCAS, 1. Doug Emg. (Suz ~ 2. WlIIWn Boyd (Suz) 600 SlSPT: 1. Ernie Velasco (K.:row); 2. Steve Kn..acum (Suz ). PRO ET: 1. Jerry Hurl-ry (Sul'.); 2. Willi am Boyd (Suz ) ST IT: 1. TnT)' Moon: (Suz ); 2. JaI1Jt'!lO C.rhJ,p (K.w). Cyew World Shootout ST UIL: 1. Keoit h Dennis (Suz); 2. Erin Sch midt (](aw) Sf MOD: 1. J.unes Lauer (Suz); 2. Gary Wardosky ISuz) ~T STK: I. Eric:Allen (Suz); 2. phil Stoll (Suz). Upcoming Rounds: Round 5 - Atco, New Jersey, September 5-7 • Round 6 - Columbus, Ohio, OCtober 4-5