PRO EXTREME MOTORCYCLE
Steve Drake earned the first official ADRL Pro Extreme Motorcycle number-one start with a 4.380 qualifying pass, then advanced to win the event with an even quicker 4.373 in the final round.
Steve Drake raced from the number-one starting slot to win the final over Coodee Thomas in the ADRL’s inaugural Pro Extreme Motorcycle race. The class actually made its debut at Montgomery a month earlier, but foul weather precluded eliminations there.
Drake took the top spot with a 4.380-seconds effort at 163.14 mph. His final-round opponent started second after a 4.384 qualifying pass, followed by Jack Young, Richard
Holder and Scott Gray. With 16 bikes on the grounds everyone was assured a starting spot and Terry Wynn closed the list with a troubled 5.425-seconds pass aboard his ’05 Hyabusa.
Wynn improved to a very good 4.400 in the opening round, but it was no match for the 4.387 by Drake. Next up for the Xenia, OH, rider was Ashley Owens before he ousted Holder with a holeshot win in the semis. Thomas made it past Charlie Prophit in round one, Nikie Corley in round two, and had a free pass in the semis when Louie Grist couldn’t make the run. During that solo pass, Thomas went 4.372 at 162.55 mph to set the official ADRL Pro Extreme Motorcycle E.T. record.
Unfortunately for Thomas, that big lead in the Pro Extreme Motorcycle final came as a result of a .020 redlight, automatically handing the win to Drake.
In the final, however, Thomas and his ’03 Suzuki left .020 too soon, handing the win to Drake, who just missed taking the record back with a 4.373 run at 165.09 mph. It was Drake’s first major event win in nearly 10 years, he said.
