DRAG RACING
.:iI
AMAIPROSTAR DRAG
RACING SERIES
COMMERCE, GA, MAR. 27-29
MA/Prostar motorcycle drag
racing kicked off its 1998 season
~
with the Nalley Superdrags presen'ted by Drag Specialties at Atlanta
Dragway in Commerce,_Georgia.
The event marked the first foray of
event-promotion powerhouse PACE
Motor Sports into the straight-line sport..
An equally compelling attendee was
Rob Muzzy, who was on hand to oversee Muzzy's Kawasaki rider Rickey
Gadson compete in. the 750cc Pro Superbike and 600cc SuperSport class. Muzzy
noted that the last drag race he attended
in which he had a bike entered was in
1962.
Three-time champion Tony Lang set
the pace in Top Fuel qualifying, taking
the number-one spot with a time of
6.461 secpnds at 226 mph, but he suffered a nare red-light foul in the first
round of eliminations, marking his first
loss since 1996. The final saw veteran
Chris Hand take his first-ever win with
a 6.96/201, as his opponent Larry
McBride overpowered the track and
smoked the tire to a 8.57/151.
Defending Funnybike champion
Gary c:Jark stunned the competition
with his first qualifying lap of the weekend. Off the trailer, Clark recorded a
6.649/192 on his Koenig Kawasaki - the
quickest Funnybike time in history - to
lead the pack by almost three-ten ths of a
second. In a rematch of last year's final,
Clark got by the MRE Suzuki of Tom
Perry, 6.828/191 to Perry's game
6.911/195.
The Fast by Gast Pro Modified series
saw the quickest field in history, with
the bump spot of 7.259 seconds being
recorded. by Fred Hall. Tony Sabino, riding the Franco's Performance Suzuki,
held the number-one spot at 6.924 sec-
Round 1: Atlanta Dragway
onds, and Nathan Murray became the
sixth member of the Fast by Gast SixSecond Club, recording a 6.964 to qualify third.
Sabino went out in the first round
when his bike stalled just as he staged,
leaving the door open for n'umber-two
(Above) Veteran Top Fuel rider Chris Hand scored his first-ever AMAIProstar event win
after runner-up Larry McBride hazed the tires during the Nalley Superdrags at Atlanta
Dragway.
(Below left) John Myers (near lane) scored the Pro Stock win after Dave Schultz (far lane)
red-lighted. The victory was Myers' first in AMAIProstar competition since October 1996.
(Below right) Veteran road race and dirt track tuner Rob Muzzy (far right) was on hand as
his rider, Rickey Gadson (center), scored the win in the 750cc Pro Superbike class.
NA-.-IONAL
CIIAMPI(~N
