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/128233
NHR A Powerad e D r a g R a c in g S eri e s R o u n d 1 1 : In d ia n a p ol is R a cew a y P a r k Reggie Showers c laimed his first career Pro Stock Bike title at NHRA's biggest event, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Showers won the ra ce and th e K&N Filters Pro Stock Bike Klash specia lty event, bri ng ing his total for th e weeke nd to over $35,000 . Reggie Showers' first career win is already his biggest S TO RY A N D P HOT O S B y K E VI N M cK E N N A INDIANAPOUS, IN, SEPT. 5-7 ot lon g after hi s fin al round victory at the NH RA Mac Too ls U.S. Na t io na ls, Regg ie Sh ower s rem oved one of th e pr osthet ic lower lim bs he's w o rn si nc e h i s e a r l y t e e n s , hel d i t h i gh i n th e a i r a n d p rou d l y exc laim ed, "T his is th e leg th at k ick ed ass t oda y ." Indeed , Showers , wh o lost both of his legs below the k nee when he was electrocuted wh ile pla yi ng in a ra ilroad ya rd as a t een a g er , sto le the show at NHRA' s fl agship event, wi n n in g not o nly the U.S. N ation als Pro Stock Bike title, but al so th e K &N F ilters Pro Bike K las h sp ecialty event. For winning both races, the first two wins of his caree r, Showers earne d a $ 10, 0 00 bon us from NH RA, b rin gin g h i s to ta I for t he w e e k t o r o u g h l y $35,000 . Showers ' in s pirat i onal life sto ry ha s made him a fan favorit e on th e NHRA tour , b u t success h a s often bee n hard t o co m e by . A fte r strug - 50 S EP T EM B ER 24 , 2003' ey e gling to rem ain co m pet iti ve in his fi st five season s, Showers' fortu nes t ook a tu rn for th e bett er thi s ye ar whe n he e n li s te d St a r Ra ci ng boss G e o r g e Br yc e as his eng ine buil der and cr ew chief. Bryce is one of th e sp ort 's mo st su c c e ssf ul t eam o w ne r s, a nd h e ' s d on e so me of h i s b est w o rk at the U. S. Nationa ls. A fter winni ng the ra ce as a rid er in 198 3 , Bry c e w on six m ore Indy titl es as a crew chief , three w it h th e late John My ers , tw o with Ang ell e Savo ie , and o n e wi th Jim B ern ard . La st Janua ry , wh en Bry c e and Savoie sp lit up th eir championship -winning tea m , it didn 't take long fo r Showers to pick up the pho ne. " T h i s yea r ha s b e e n su ch an inc re dible j ou rn ey for m e," Showers sai d. "I never wo uld have though t th at Geo rge B r y c e wou l d be part of my team, but th e sta rs li ned up just right , a nd h e' s the main rea son wh y I' m here now . The m an is a ge nius, and he' s tau gh t me so m uch a bo ut th e im port an c e of tea m work t his y ear. Th e Pro St o ck Bike c l a s s is t he tough est it 's ever been thi s year, and for m e to co me out and win, and w in t he biggest r a c e of th e y ea r , i t ' s _ s I e n e Show e rs got off the sta rting line f irs t ag ai nst fi nal round op ponent Sha w n Ga nn and held on for the win de sp it e a slo wer el ap sed time. At t he fi nish li ne, Showers' 7 .26 hel d off Gann's 7 .23 by a thousandth of a second. almo st t o o g o od to b e tru e . I st il l don' t u nder st a nd what I've don e. It might not sink in for a while. " Showers, whose spo nsor, Pros the ti c Design , In c . , man ufactu red a spec ial s et of ligh t weight carbon fiber limbs th at ena ble him to ride a 190 - mph Pro Stock B ik e , did n o t dom ina te at Ind y , bu t he rem ain ed rem ark abl y consiste nt throu gh out the eve n t , w h ic h was pos tpo ned f o r a week du e to rain . Afte r qualifyin g e i g h t h in t h e 16 -b ik e f iel d wi th a 7 .2 1, Sh ow er s o pe ne d e li mina t i o ns wi th a 7 .23 against Ma t eo T o o l s' C r aig T reble and a 7 .26 w in over low q ual ifier Savoie's U.S. Army Suzu k i. Red- lig ht sta rts have been a p ro ble m fo r Pro Stock Bik e racers si nce NHRA m ade th e swi tc h to hi gh intensity LED Ch rist m as tr ee lights earlier thi s year, but th e pr obl em ha s nev er been as bad as it wa s at In dy , where 10 o f 15 e li m i n atio n round s w e r e d ec id ed b y f oul s ta r ts . Pr e -ra c e favo rite s Treble, Fred Co llis, A ntron Brown , and the tw o Screa min' Eag le