AMA Dragbike Calls it Quits

AMA Dragbike announced on Thursday, June 24th, 2010 that they are immediately ceasing the operations. According to the AMA Dragbike site, "Effectively immediately, Hammer Motorsports DBA AMA Dragbike Series, will cease operations indefinitely."

The emailed announcement from AMADragbike.com:

Effectively immediately, AMA Dragbike will cease operations indefinitely.

Regretfully, today’s economic climate, rising costs and decreasing revenue makes it fiscally irresponsible to continue doing business. The final details are being worked out at this time.

"Motorcycle Drag Racing has been a passion for both of us for many years and we have given all of ourselves to this sport," said Brandi Neithamer, Vice President of AMA Dragbike. "We knew this year would be very difficult given the economic conditions but we never anticipated it would go downhill so quickly. Scott and I have a tough road ahead of us to close the business, and we hope to receive the support of the community during this difficult time."

"If there are any parties interested in starting another sanction that will carry on the professional level and values of AMA Dragbike, please feel free to contact us," she continued. "We will do everything in our power to help you succeed."

AMA Dragbike would like to thank all the racers, sponsors and fans that have helped support the organization (formerly AMA Prostar) over the last 21 years. We have always strived to hold safe, fair and exciting racing events, and we appreciate all that have helped us achieve that goal.

Best wishes to all in our racing community,

Scott Valetti
Brandi Neithamer

AMA Dragbike

The AMADragbike.com site also notes:

"The AMA will be issuing their own statement regarding the future of the AMA Dragbike Series,” Neithamer continued. “If there are any parties interested in discussing our operation of the series, please feel free to contact us. We will do everything in our power to help you succeed."

For more information, check the announcement at amadragbike.com

PSM Qualifying at Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals

Karen Stoffer took the top qualifier spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida on Saturday. Stoffer put her Geico Suzuki at the top of the field during the second qualifying round. Friday's second round qualifying had been postponed due to rain. Newly crowned PSM champ, Hector Arana, qualified his Lucas Oil Buell in the fourth spot during the third round of qualifying on Saturday.

ESPN2 NHRA Broadcast
3/14 Qualifying 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET / (7:00 AM - 9:00 AM PT)
03/14/2010 Eliminations 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET / (3:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT)
03/17/2010 Repeat Eliminations 3:00 AM - 5:00 AM ET/ (12:00 AM - 2:00 AM PT Airing on 3/16/2010)

Hector Arana Tops Qualifying for Las Vegas Nationals

Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Hector Arana put his Lucas Oil Buell in the top qualifying position for this weekend's NHRA Lucas Oil Las Vegas Nationals. Arana ran a 6.979 second elapsed time at a 192.03 MPH during the second round of qualifying on Friday. Grabbing the number one qualifying spot pads Arana's 28 point lead over Eddie Krawiec. Arana will face Mike Berry on his MB Machining / LAT Racing Oil Buell in the first round of Sunday's eliminations.

Andrew Hines qualified second for Sunday's race, running his Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines V-Rod to a 6.990 second E.T. at 192.25 MPH. Hines is currently fifth in championship points and will run against Freddie Camarena on his Embee/Clay Smith Cams Suzuki.

Eliminations will broadcast on November 1st, from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM ET, 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM PT on ESPN2 and again from 2:00 AM - 4:00 AM ET on November 13th / 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM PT on November 12th.

Mid-South Nationals Rain Delayed – Memphis

The eliminations for the 22nd annual O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, TN have been delayed by rain. The race is now scheduled for Monday. Races are scheduled to resume at 10:30 A.M. Eastern Time.

The eliminations broadcast is scheduled to be shown Monday night from 7:00-10:00 P.M. Eastern Time on ESPN2.

Krawiec PSM Top Qualifier at the NHRA Fall Nationals

Eddie Krawiec came out of qualifying on top in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class at this weekends O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals in Ennis, Texas.

This weekends scheduled TV coverage:
Sunday 9/27 Qualifying 12:15 AM - 2:15 AM ET on ESPN2
Sunday 09/27 Repeat Qualifying 1:00:00 PM - 3:00:00 PM ET on ESPN2
Sunday 09/27 Eliminations 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM ET on ESPN2
Friday 10/02 Repeat Eliminations 1:30 AM - 3:30 AM ET on ESPN2

Sunday's First Round Match-ups with qualifying times and speeds.

First Round Pairings for the NHRA Carolina Nationals

First round pairings for the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina September 20, 2009.

First Round Pairings with Qualifying Time & Speed

Krawiec Wins Toyo Tires Nationals at Reading

Eddie Krawiec, racing on his Screamin Eagle/Vance & Hines V-ROD, defeated Michael Phillips’ MPR & Damn Sport Suzuki in the final round to win the Toyo Tires Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, PA. Phillips final round appearance was hampered when he shut down early. Michael Phillips damaged his in engine in the semi-final round against Bailey Whitaker, and borrowed Steve Johnson’s engine to race in the final.

Krawiec also cemented his 3rd place spot in the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle points standings. Krawiec will face off against 6th place Craig Treble in the Pro Bike Battle September 5th at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.

Krawiec secured the top spot in the Countdown to One during a race weekend that NHRA thought would never end. Race qualifying ended prematurely on Friday due to rain. On Saturday, qualifying resumed, only to be stopped for water seepage at the far end of the track. The Safety Safari and track worked clean and dry the track so that qualifying could continue. Saturday’s qualifying sessions ended early as the rain began to fall during the third round of PSM qualifying. Sunday’s final eliminations were plagued with major delays due to the water seepage issue again. Maple Grove Raceway issued a formal apology to fans and racers for the delays due to water seepage, as well as announcing plans to repair the track to prevent a recurrence.

Krawiec Tops Field at Sonoma, Sullivan Makes the Show

Eddie Krawiec topped the field in qualifying for the 22nd annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, CA. Karwiec ran his Screamin Eagle/Vance & Hines V-ROD to a blistering 6.915 second E.T. at 192.99 MPH pass during the final qualifying session on Saturday. Krawiec was followed closely by second place qualifier Matt Smith on his Nitrofish Suzuki running a 6.919 second E.T. at 192.58 MPH.

Rookie Douglas Horne qualified fourth on his Horne Racing Buell with a 6.970 E.T at 194.13 MPH. Another rookie making a big splash this year is Katie Sullivan on her Gann Custom / Sullivan Racing Suzuki. Following up her excellent performance at the Route 66 Nationals last month, Sullivan qualified fourteenth with a 7.093 second E.T. at 185.97 MPH. At just 18 years of age, Ms. Sullivan holds the record for being the youngest lady drag bike racer to qualify in PSM for an NHRA Full Throttle Racing event. NHRA has yet to create a driver profile page for Katie, but you can check out Katie Sullivan’s Myspace page for more information about this up and coming rider.

TV Schedule for the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals from Sonoma
Saturday July 25 - Qualifying 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM EST on ESPN2
Saturday July 25 - Repeat Qualifying 11:00 PM - 12:00 PM EST on ESPN2
Sunday July 26 - Eliminations 9:30 PM - 12:30 AM EST on ESPN2
Wednesday July 29 - Repeat Eliminations 3:00 AM - 5:00 AM EST on ESPN2

Qualifying Results
Rider - Sponsor / Bike - ET - Speed
Eddie Krawiec - Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines / HD V-ROD - 6.915 192.99
Matt Smith - Nitrofish / Suzuki - 6.919 192.58
Andrew Hines - Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines / HD V-ROD - 6.931 193.65
Karen Stoffer - Geico / Suzuki - 6.960 191.67
Douglas Horne - Horne Racing / Buell - 6.970 194.13
Hector Arana - Lucas Oil / Buell - 7.002 190.35
Craig Treble - Team Scream / Suzuki - 7.006 191.57
Matt Guidera - Rocklin Motorsports / Buell - 7.010 186.85
Shawn Gann - Rum Bum Racing / Buell - 7.012 190.70
Jim Underdahl - Suzuki Extended Protection / Suzuki - 7.052 189.52
David Hope - VRoom Racing / Buell - 7.056 186.92
Steve Johnson - Steve Johnson Racing Wyotech / Suzuki - 7.057 191.87
Michael Phillips - MPR & Damn Sport / Suzuki - 7.066 188.99
Katie Sullivan - Gann Custom - Sullivan Racing / Suzuki - 7.093 185.97
Bailey Whitaker - Rum Bum Racing / Buell - 7.110 183.64
Junior Pippin - Stone Mountain & Granite Mountain HD / Buell - 7.117 185.05

DNQ
Mike Berry - MB Machining - LAT Racing Oil / Buell - 7.137 182.33
Ryan Schnitz - Team Muzzy / Kawasaki - 7.200 183.42
Rhett Lougheed - Rhett Lougheed / Suzuki - 7.228 185.05
Ken Van Buren - AGP Turbo / Suzuki - 7.573 177.21
James Surber - South County Cycles Racing / Buell - 7.621 165.36

Timing data courtesy of NHRA