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/128174
I AMAIProStar U.S. Drag Racing Championships Round 6: Atco Raceway (Left) Two-time Pro Stock Champion Fred Collis climbed aboard Paul Gast's Hayabusa and took his first win since his win at Atco In 2000. (Below) Atco Is Rickey Gadson's house, and the factory Kawasaki rider had something for the hometown fans, qualifying on the pole in Streetblke Shootout and taking his second win of the year. AMAIProStar gets down to business at Atco. STORY AND PHOTOS BY MATT POLITO Area, NJ, SEPT. 7·8 he AMAjProStar u.s. Drag Racing Championship tour made its annual pilgrimage to the granddaddy of them all, the Orient Express US Motorcycle Nationals at Atco, New Jersey. Top Fuel bikes returned to Atco for the first time in three years, but due to racer concerns, all professional classes were run to the eighth mile. With only two Top Fuel bikes making the trip to New Jersey, the nitro show was more of a match race than typical eliminations. Larry "Spider· man" McBride qualified ahead of Chris Hand and took the win in the one-round race with a 4.01 at 190 mph as Hand, who qualified with a 4.19/182, shut the bike off early. Although only four bikes showed up for the Orient Express Funnybike Showdown, the competition was spirited. Marc Oliver took his first-ever number-one qualifying position with a 4.42 at 159 mph and looked to be on his way to a first-ever win when he ran low e.t. of the meet, 4.35, in the first round against Perry Hollie. Oliver again had low e.t. in the final, but his win was stolen by Chip Ellis, riding the Team Kawasaki turbo lX-II owned by Steve Rice. Ellis got the holeshot against Oliver in the final and stayed in front to take the win, 4.474 to Oliver's quicker 4.471. Ellis turned in the top speed of the event at 168 mph in the final. T 56 OCTOBER 2,2002' cue I (Left) Ryan Schnitz is a bionic man in 600 SuperSport. Schnitz has an unblemished record in 2002, with every record, number· one qualifying position, and event win. At the previous event of the season at Indianapolis, Charlie Farrar took a Kawasaki to the Pro Mod winner's circle for the first time in five years. Farrar made it two in a row at Atco, bringing the C&W machine to a final-round victory. While Farrar won Indy coming from the second alternate spot, he won Atco the old-fashioned way· from the pole. Farrar qualified number one with a 4.39 at 160 in the last session to edge out Mirnmo Marciano, who held second at 4.42/161. Farrar took out Steve Smithers in an all-Kawasaki semifinal, 4.39 to 4.84, as Steve Drake got by Marciano on a holeshot to make his first final of the year. After nearly identical reaction times in the final, Farrar pulled away for his second straight win with a 4.41 to Drake's 4.54. The recent Pro Stock tug-of-war between Paul Gast and Joe Koenig continued at Atco. The two met in the final, not as riders but as team owne n e _ s ers. Due to a recent illness, Gast was forced to sit out the Atco event and hired two-time ProStar Pro Stock Champion Fred Collis to man the Fast by Gast Hayabusa. Koenig, who won the Indy event, carne with new teammate Geno Scali on the seat of the Trim-Tex number-two bike. Scali took the number-one qualifying position with a 5.54 at 156 mph. Collis was right behind at 4.57/155. Scali got by reigning champion Todd Doege on a holeshot in the semifinal as Doege set a new eighth-mile speed record at 157.98. Collis had a bye in the semifi na I, but set a new e. t. record at 4.524 in his round-two match with Dean Frantz. Collis took his first win since Atco 2000 and did it by a holeshot, his 4.55 turning back Scali's 4.53. The Mickey Thompson Streetbike Shootout war between Kent Stotz and Rickey Gadson stayed hot at Atco. The pair are responsible for all the shootout event titles this season, with defending champion Stotz holding the points lead. But Atco is Rickey Gadson's house, and the Kawasaki factory rider always finds a way to win at his home track. Gadson looked sharp early on, leading qualifying on his Muzzy turbo lX-12R with a 5.22 at 144 mph as Stotz struggled, qualifying fifth at 5.51. Stotz picked up in eliminations, running a 5.17 against Johnnie Locklear, but Gadson had his number, hitting a new e.t. record at 5.146 in the semifinals against impressive local rider Mike Siowe. In the final, Stotz got the holeshot on the Hahn turbo Honda, but didn't get the run he was looking for. Gadson took the win at 5.16 with a new speed record of 152.31 mph, as Stotz settled for runner-up with a 5.46. Suzuki Formula Superbike was more of the same story it has been all year; Jim Carroll, on the Team Kawasaki lX-12R, took the pole for the sixth time this season, set the e.t. record at 5.004, and took the win to remain undefeated. Carroll took the top qualifying spot at 5.02/140, followed by Ryan Schnitz on the Muzzy ZX-12R and Del Flores on the Worldwide BearingsjYoyodyne Hayabusa. Carroll was deep just off the four-second zone in eliminations, taking out Flores in the semifinals as Schnitz had a semifinal bye to face Carroll in the final for the fourth straight event. Schnitz got the holeshot, but Carroll blasted a 5.004 at 139 to take the win over Schnitz's 5.24.