Motorcycles and news

Drag Racing: Vancil Earns Second AHDRA Victory AT Gateway May 10, 2006

From the starting line at Gateway International Raceway just outside the St. Louis city limits, riders can see the famous Arch, the ‘Gateway to the West.’ They can also see the St. Louis skyline and feel the humidity of the nearby river that divides Illinois and Missouri. To say the least, there are plenty of distractions to be found for the riders when it comes to making a pass down the Gateway surface.

You wouldn’t know it by the performance turned in Sunday by the Top Fuel class of the Screamin’ Eagle AHDRA Championship Series. Doug Vancil earned his second victory of the season, using a quicker reaction time at the start to trump Mike Romine’s quickest pass of the weekend in the final round of competition.

Vancil rode his Vance & Hines Nitro Harley-Davidson to a 6.404-second pass at 208.14 mph to top Romine’s quicker-but-losing 6.392 at 220.26 at the Gypsy Rendezvous Nationals Presented by Drag Specialties the fourth event of the Screamin’ Eagle championship season. The race was decided by the .080 reaction time turned in by Vancil versus Romine’s .101.

Vancil qualified in the No. 1 spot for eliminations as well, using a 6.429 pass. Romine rode his Salt Lake City-sponsored Harley into the No. 3 spot in qualifying with a 6.494, behind Tak Shigematsu’s 6.455.

Erik Ryder took the win in the Destroyer category, ending a two-race winning streak for Tripp Nobles. Ryder beat Don Stratton Jr. in the final round with a 9.237 pass at 140.49, beating the 9.319 at 137.53 by Stratton. Ryder was the No. 1 qualifier of the event as well, turning in a 9.224.

Greg Best earned the victory in the SEP category Sunday. Best turned in an 11.502 to top Dan Norlin’s 11.443.

Bon Pannell wowed his hometown crowd, taking the victory in the ET category. He got the win at the starting line after a red-light foul by opponent Jon Binns, and went on to make an 11.709 pass.

The next AHDRA event is the Stone Mountain Harley-Davidson Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga., May 27-28.