Steve Drake’s emotional victory in the first completed Pro Xtreme Motorcycle Eliminator was more than just an event win. Drake survived one of motorcycle drag racing’s most violent crashes only two seasons ago in Gainesville, Florida, after riding over the bike’s header assembly at speed, shredding the slick and having the tire carcass slap the hapless Ohioan right off the bike at the finish line. To return to riding was a major accomplishment; to win the event was inspirational.
Dennis Radford’s double-duty driving was impressive enough but the Oregon MoPar standout made it to the PN semi-finals, won a round on a holeshot, ran 4.09 bests in both his ’70 AAR ’Cuda and teammate Billy Harper’s Viper and took home the Best Appearing Car award!
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With no prior testing, Steve Kirk’s new Bickel-built Cavalier was a handful during the event and failed to make the X10.5 cut. The 728-inch nitrous-aided ride is the absolute state of the ten-wide art, however, and should be sorted out soon. |
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The gorgeous BAE-powered ‘67 Camaro Nitro Coupe of Mel Eaves held the PX bump at 4.03/183 but its chance against Scruggs’ out-of-shape 4.21/182 in the first was lost to tire shake. |
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With the injector scoop and the rear wheelwells higher than the roof and the bottom of the widshield below knee level, Tommy D‘Aprile‘s new Team Stott AccessAble Mobility Stingray from Vanishing Point Race Cars may be the lowest ever. A 3.96/185 in qualifying was followed by a semi-final PX finish.