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/127985
Round 1: Gainesville Raceway AMAIPROSTAR NA TlONAL DRAG RACING SERIES By Matt Polito GAINESVILLE, FL, FEB. 26-28 eorge Bryce not only wants to win, he wants to win big, and he proved that at the AMA/ Prostar Sunshine ationals. Bryce put his Winston rider, Angelle Seeling, in the winner's circle with the all-time Pro Stock elapsed-time mark of 7.203 seconds. AMA/Prostar kicked off its 10th season by resurrecting the MRE Sunshine ationals at Florida's Gainesville Raceway. While the event saw a bevy of records and career-best performances, the Sunshine Nationals also saw its share of rain, as Sunday morning showers delayed eliminations until 1:30 in the afternoon. Bryce took full advantage of Prostar's innovative "mountain motor" rules, putting a 1540cc two-valve Suzuki GS motor in Seeling's Winston bike. On her first lap, she took the pole in the Lectron Pro Stock field with a then- CB world mark of 7.240 seconds at 183 mph. Current number,Qne-plate holder Paul Gast was right behind with a personal-best 7.267, but he rolled the beams and red-lighted in the first round of eliminations. Seeling took a pair of easy wins in the opening rounds before meeting new Star Performance Parts teammate Fred Collis in the semis. Collis, who will run the entire Prostar circuit on a 1500cc four-valve machine, ran as quick as 7.25 and had the speed mark for the class at 187 mph, but he fell off to a 7.35 against Seeling, who made her third Prostar final with a 7.261. On the other side of the ladder, Team 23 rider Antron Brown scored an iclentical 7.261 to advance over Curt Woodward. Brown got the holeshot in the final and put down a strong 7.264, but Seeling simply had too much motor, pounding out the quickestever lap and a new record 7.203/185 to take her first Prostar win since the 1997 World Finals. The Top Fuel title went to Larry "Spiderman" McBride, who won a lopsided final over Tommy Smith on the ex-Elmer Trett "Mountain Magic" fueler. McBride, who ran as quick as 6.263 during the event, turned in a 6.40 in the final, as Smith struggled to a 10.44. Current champion Tony Lang qualified on the pole with a strong 6.144/232 effort but kicked a rod out on his final qualifying attempt and couldn't make the firstround call. Orient Express Funnybike Champion Gary Clark sorted ou t his new turbocharged-on-alcohol Koenig Kawasaki in a hurry, taking the win in only his second race on the bike. Clark, teamed with crew chief Rick Stetson, qualified number one at a stout 6.700/213, followed by Steve Suter at 6.75/204. Clark was nearly flawless in eliminations, with all but one run being in the 6.70s. In the final, he met a resurgent Keith Lynn, who put together his strongest showing in two years. Lynn got off the line first in the final and put up a game 6.89/186, but it was no match (Top) Angelle Seeling took the Lectron Pro Stock win at the AMAlProstar MRE Sunshine Nationals with the quickest run in Pro Stock history. (Left) Kawasaki factory rider Rickey Gadson took out new record holder Michael Phillips for his second straight win in the Kerker 600cc Super Sport class. for Clark, who overcame the holeshot with a 6.76/202 for the win. The Fast By Gast Pro Modified Series saw a battle of champions, with current number-one plate holder Tony Sabino taking on past champion Billy Vose. Vose qualified in the top spot on the Cycle Shop Suzuki at 6.847/199, followed by last season's Pro Rookie of the Year, Dave Lombardi, at 6.879 and Sabino at 6.881. Sabino, who had the low e.t. in every race last season, kept the string alive, hitting a 6.844 in the first round against Franco teammate Tom Miceli. Sabino and Vose had the hot laps of every elimination round, and they met in the final, where Sabino avenged his World Finals loss with a 6. 7-to-6.89 win. In a shocking move, Vo e sold his Suzuki at the completion of the event, taking the bike directly from the scales to the new owner's trailer. Major rule changes in the Superbike class proved to be a little too much to handle, as every team struggled with . the new combinations. In the off-season, AMA/Prostar opened up the rules, allowing progressive nitrous systems, square slicks, two-step rev limiters and lock-up clutches. David Mayo brought his Rockdale Cycles ZX-7R to the pole with the best time of the event, a 8.850/149, followed by class champion Rickey Gadson, who ran a 9.04 at a new speed record of 157 mph on his factory ZX-7R. Both Mayo and Gadson suffered mechanical breakdowns in the emifinals, giving Ben Koch and rookie Greg Adams free rides to the money round. Koch, who sat out most of last year with a broken leg, threw away a chance for a first-ever win after red-lighting away a 9.96 in thefinal, as Adams struggled but took the win with a 13-second timeslip. Adams' trick ZX-7R won "Best Engineered" at the event. The Kerker 600cc Super Sport class has become one of the most exciting classes on the AMA/Prostar tour. The factories stepped up their involvement this season, with new 'ream Green riders Chip Ellis, Chris Williams and Mary Ladwig joining Rickey Gadsonon the Kawasaki team to take on Team Suzuki Sport riders Brock Davidson and Traci Farr. Still, they would have to deal with fierce independents such as Michael Phillips and current champion Keith Dennis on Joe Marasco's ZX-6R. The 10.23 elapsed-time record owned by Dennis was bombed early on as Phillips took the pole with a stunning 10.205/131 on the Cheese Steak Davis ZX-6R, followed by Ellis at 10.211 /130. Phillips further lowered the mark with an unheard-of 10.15 in round one, but he was not allowed to claim the time as a record due to a strong tail wind. The all-Kawasaki semis saw Phillips take out Dennis, 10.26 to 10.32, and Gadson get the best of Ellis, 10.25 to an offpace 10.50. Gadson took the holeshot in the final and scored the win in a nailbiter, his 10.253 turning back Phillips' quicker 10.251 for the win. Sportsman winners include Juan Cintron in the Star Performance Parts Top Gas Series, Mike Konopacki in the APE Super Comp series, Rob Schenz in the RC Components Super Gas Series, and veteran rider Jim Abate, who took his first-ever National:event win with a final-round victory over Chris Runyon in the Pingel Pro ET series. Todd Heiser took the win in Street ET, and MPS owner Dan Rudd brought home the Harley ET trophy. CIII Upcoming Rounds: Round 2 - Commerce, Georgia, March 27-28 Round 3 - Columbus, Ohio, April 24-25