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/128009
Drag Race Round 6: Indianapolis Raceway Park AMAIPROSTAR DRAG RACING SERIES By Matt Po lito INDIANAPOLIS, IN AUG. 13-15 , etting a new drag bike to perfonn u p to its potential usu ally takes a cou p le of races . Th is is . especially tru e in a class like Pro Mod ified . With so p his tica te d p ro gressive nit rous syst ems a nd 400-hp engines, it ta kes a few tes t sessions to get everythin g in order. Brooklyn's Tommy Miceli thr ew the conv entio nal w isd om ou t th e w indow when he brough t a bra nd- new, untested m ach in e to th e AMA / Pros ta r Pinge l Thunder Na tionals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, ye t h e took the w in in th e highl y co mpetitive Fas t by Gast Pro Modified series. Miceli, one of the mo st talented riders on the circuit, competed on tw o different bikes this season while he wai ted fo r delive ry of h is new experi mental Koenig Engineering chassis. The new machine, built and co-owned bv Joe Franco of Franco's Perfo rma nce, had its first lap down the track in the first quali fying session at Indy. Miceli ended u p fifth, at 7.04 seconds, 185 mph, in a field G Ind y, claiming the cha m pionship in the Qui ck est Streetb ike Sh oo to ut with a ru nn er-up finish . Mi celi , ri di ng Phil Go ne sh ' s GS1150, was less tha n o ne rou nd behin d Chris Willia ms going in to the event, and earn ed the championship w he n Will iams burned Danny Cable' s GS to the gro und in round three. Jam es "Du ck" Laue r qualified number one in the field, at 8.28 seconds, but Keith Dennis was the star of the show, se tt ing a new ela psed -ti me re co rd of 8.140 seconds on Joe Marasco' s GSXR, and tak ing out Miceli in the final, 8.17 to 8.48. Ind y saw four-time and reign ing Top Fuel champion Tony Lang score h is first win of the Season with a fina l-round victory over Da n Butt ers. Lang q ualified the MTC fueler on the po le with a 6.42second elapsed time at 224 mph but had trouble getting the bike down the track in eliminations, running two early-shutoff tire-smokers in the opening rou nds. Lang put it all toge ther in the final, setting low e.t. of the eve nt at 6.358/225 to take the win over Butters, who put up a career-best 6.563/199 on his Raceworks entry. (Above) Tommy Miceli brought his new Franco's PerformancelKoenig Engineering Suzuki to the Pro Modified winner's circle with a 6.83 elapsed time In the final round during the Pingel Thunder Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. (Left) Four-lime Top Fuel Champion Tony Lang took his first win of the se ason, getting by first-time finalist Dan Butters in the final. (Below) Keith Dennis set a new Streetblke Shootout record of 8.140 seconds on his way to the -class win. ~ G; ~ '" c. '" en 40 led by Franco teammat e a nd number o ne- p late hold er Ton y Sabi no, wi th a 6.98/ 189. oting that he "need ed to learn wh at the engine wanted," Miceli proved to be a quick learn er, making p ro gressively quicker laps as eliminations progr essed . He turned in a 6.93 to ge t by the Ori en t Exp res s Ka wasaki of Dave Van tin e in the semifinals to make his first-eve r Pro Modified fina l. On the other side of the ladder, number-three qu alifier Dave Lombardi was looking for his second straight win and mad e the final with a stri ng of 6.9-second passes . Lombardi go t the holesh ot in the final, but Miceli mad e up the dif ference qui ckly and pulled awa y for the w in with the lo w e .t , fo r th e cla ss, a 6.83/1 94 to Lombardi's 6.95/ 187. "Jim Koenig gave us a gre at chassis, the Schnitz electronics wo rked perfectly and Joe Fra nco is the best engi ne bui lder a nd tuner in thi s class," sa id Miceli in the win ner's circle. "I'm surrou nded by the best , so I can' t go slow." Miceli had a d ouble wi n of so rts at Thr ee-time Ori en t Express Funnybike champion Gary Clark was back in form at Ind y, ta king his fir s t w in si nce th e opening race in February a nd rese ttin g th e ela ps ed - tim e record to a s izzli ng 6.629 a t 203 mph . Cla rk q uali fie d his alcohol-tu rbo HM P Kawasa ki on the pole at 6.66 seconds, ahead of the 6.70 passes record ed by Steve Suter and Bryan Bennett. The record run came in round two of elimi nations, and Bennett recorded a personal-best 6.68 in the same round . The two faced up in the fina ls where Clark took the w in with a 6.74/1 97. Benn e tt never left the line as his bike slipped into neutral in the staging beam s. Th e Lectro n P ro St ock Se ri es saw Fre d Co llis tak e th e Star Per formance Parts Suzuki to the winner's circle for the seco nd straight even t. Collis scored the number -on e qualifying po sition for the fifth straight time, lead ing the field at Ind y with a 7.26/ 182, fo llowed by d e fend in g ch a mp ion Pa u l Ca st , th e Tea m 23 en try o f A ntron Brown a nd Sunoco Suzu ki of Dave Schultz, all with 7.3-second time slips .