McBride Runs Record Speed, Ends Season With a Victory
by: Jack Korpela

Top Fuel Motorcycle icon Larry "Spiderman" McBride is like a fine wine.  He just keeps getting better with age.

The 49-year-old eight-time AMA/Prostar champion scored his seventh win of the season and recorded a record speed of 246 mph at the National Finals from Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla, November 9-11. 


Although the end result was typical, this event was far from ordinary for The Spiderman.  For the first time all season the team would be fielding more than one entry.  McBride's teammate and 2005 AMA/Prostar Top Fuel champion Jimmy "The Hulk" Brantley decided to enter the category for  the first time since last season's National Finals.               Larry McBride
Brantley had taken a hiatus from racing to concentrate all of his efforts on a multi-million dollar project for his company.

The reunion of McBride and Brantley in Gainesville got off to an inauspicious start when Brantley's motorcycle became stranded in North Carolina two days before the start of the event.

"We put Jimmy's bike and our golf cart inside my smaller trailer and I borrowed a 2008 Ford Super Duty F450 to tow it down behind us," McBride said. "Three hours from our home in Virginia the truck broke down.  Go figure.  A brand new truck? A local dealer told us it would take them quite some time to fix it so we had to hire someone to tow the trailer down for $2,000."

During the event Team Spiderman would also help debut longtime Funny Bike racer Tom Perry's brand new Top Fuel Kawasaki.  Larry and Steve McBride built most of the machine. The bike features a state-of-the-art PMFR chassis.
                                                                                                                                                                                                Jimmy Brantley
                                                                              

"In some ways it's a lot like like mine and in some ways it is a lot different than mine," McBride said of Perry's new ride.  "We built it but they changed a lot of the motor plates on it.  They also changed the crankshaft and the rear axle, so that makes everything react a little differently."

Brantley's bike eventually arrived safely at the famed North Central Florida launch pad in time for opening qualifying, which brought the total number of entries up to five - a category high for 2007. It was the best turnout since the 2006 National Finals when seven motorcycles entered Top Fuel competition.

            Tom Perry


For the eighth consecutive time this season McBride took the pole position.  This time he accomplished the feat with a blast of 5.94 at 234 mph.

       

"The track was awesome," McBride said.  "It was extremely good.  We had a great crowd of people, a great field and a really good track."

Brantley didn't fall far behind as he secured the No. 2 spot with an impressive run of 6.07 at 224 mph.

"Brantley did a great job for not having made a run all year.  He was a little out of practice and the bike was getting a little ahead of him," McBride said.  "Also we had some problems with his bike early on.  It kept smoking the tire and we couldn't figure out why. Still, we were pretty happy with the 6.07 considering all the issues we were facing."

Chris Hand made his first appearance at Gainesville Raceway since his near career ending top end crash in 2005, and qualified in the No. 3 spot with a respectable lap of 6.18 at 224 mph.

Tom Perry qualified in the No. 4 spot with a stunning run of 6.44 during his very first pass on his new machine.

"He had done a few burnouts but that was his first ever pass," McBride said.  "That bike has a lot of potential and so does he."
            Chris Hand

The plan was to try to test Perry's bike before the race but that never happened.  McBride was very impressed at the ex-Funny Bike racer's ability to adapt so quickly.

"We helped him the best we we could at a national event. Things get very busy. We worked with him but we didn't get to spend the amount of time we would have liked to," McBride said.  "Overall they did a very good job. Tom did a really good job riding it and controlling it."

Korry Hogan rounded out the field with an 11.34, making his first appearance at Gainesville since his 190 mph, eighth-mile crash last season, where he was forced to get off the bike when a spark plug broke and grounded through the handlebars.

In opening eliminations McBride put an aggressive tune-up in the bike for his bye run which resulted in him running low elapsed time of the weekend at 5.87 and a record speed of 246 mph. The 246 mph surpassed McBride's     AMA/Prostar record of 245 mph, set in Valdosta, GA, in           Korry Hogan
March of 2006.  However, McBride would be unable to back up the 246 mph within one-percent to make it an official record.

Hogan appeared headed for a sure win when his first round opponent Brantley smoked the tire hard off the line. However Hogan contacted the foam block at the 330 foot mark and was disqualified. Chris Hand also advanced by defeating Tom Perry with a 6.34 to Perry's 19.42.

In the semis Brantley was awarded a bye run and McBride ousted Hand with a 5.94 at 236 mph to Hand's 6.25 at 218 mph.  Brantley's solo pass of 17.89 gave the team an opportunity to further diagnose the bike's problem.

"We figured something out right before the final and that's why he (Brantley) almost kicked my butt," McBride said. "It was a combination of a few things. We made a new barrel valve for Jimmy's bike and the exhaust temperature was getting too high. It was trying to leave with too much horsepower. We changed the clutch also.  We couldn't pinpoint the exact problem but we knew it was a combination of the clutch and the fuel."

The team's adjustment was clearly evident in the final as Brantley soared past McBride during the outset of the race.

"Jimmy was on a hell of a pass in the finals.  I cut a little bit of a light on him and then he drove around me like I was putting on the brakes. I went 3.91 to the eighth and he went 3.78," McBride said.

McBride cut a .160 reaction time, ran a 1.01 sixty-foot time, and clocked a 2.63 330. Brantley cut a .170 light, ran a 1.00 sixty-foot time, and moved past McBride with an impressive 2.57 330.  Brantley's eighth-mile mph was 202 mph compared to McBride's half-track speed of 197 mph.

          
        
It appeared Brantley was headed for a victory and quite possibly a record run in the 5.70-zone. That is until Brantley got out of the groove and was forced to let off the throttle on the top end. McBride got back around and was able to take the win with a 5.91 at 239 mph to Brantley's 6.13 at 175 mph.

"The bike got ahead of him again and he had to shut it off. He did the right thing," McBride said. "We can only wonder how quick it would have been. Think about it. I ended up going 5.91 at 239 mph and he was driving around me."

After the race McBride said Brantley has decided to take his bike off the market for now and dispelled any rumors that machine was headed for Australia after the event.

"It's definitely off the market.  We decided we don't want to sell it right now. Jimmy never really wanted to sell it.  The idea was for him to get rid of the bike so he could focus all of his energy into work, but now he loves racing again," McBride said. "There were some people from Australia that were interested but they never came through with any offer. In fact they never even came to look at it."

So does this mean the Hulk will run the full series in 2008?

"We're not sure yet. We'll just have to play it by ear and see what happens," McBride said.  "We'd love to have him back out here and he wants to come play."

A few days after the event McBride will fly to Las Vegas for the AMA Awards banquet, where he will be crowned with an unprecedented eighth AMA/Prostar Top Fuel championship.

"It's always a real good time  in Vegas. I'm going to take the whole family," McBride said. It really was an awesome season for us.  We had a great time."


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11/12/2007
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McBride Captures Eighth Career Championship with Atco Win

The world's fastest motorcycle drag racer Larry "Spiderman" McBride dominated the competition at the AMA/Prostar U.S. Nationals from Atco, NJ, winning the event and securing an unprecedented eighth Top Fuel championship.

"I'm very proud of No. 8," McBride said.  "It means a lot to me.  It represents a lot of hard work by this team over the years."

      

McBride, who will turn 50 this January, has no plans of retiring anytime soon and aims to pile on even more No. 1 plates in years to come.

"I want to get more than ten. I feel like this one actually should be my tenth," McBride said.  "I had to sit out the 2005 season because I had a stroke and in 1999 I lost the championship by one point to Tony Lang. I love this sport and as long as I continue to have the support of all of my great sponsors I don't see why I won't be able to keep racing for the next 10 years. Ray Price did."

In opening qualifying McBride took the pole with a rapid blast of 5.87, surpassing his Atco track record of 5.98 from last season.

"I've always loved Atco," McBride said.  "The track was great this weekend. It was very nice to be back.  I have a lot of friends there."

After losing his first race of the season a month earlier in Indianapolis, McBride says his team was as eager as ever to get back to the winner's circle.

"In Indy the bike just walked out of the groove and smoked the tire.  I can't really call it a mistake because in nitro racing it's just something that happens.  I've seen Tony Schumacher and Gary Scelzi have the same problem many times," McBride said.  "The loss made our whole team step its game up."

In Sunday's final round McBride was awarded a broke bye when Korry Hogan was unable to repair his motorcycle from damage sustained during his first round victory over Korry Hogan.  McBride sealed the event victory with a crowd-pleasing blast of 5.88.

"I really thought it had a .79 in it" McBride said.  "That's how good the bike was running.  I'm very excited to see what we can do in Gainesville."

Another reason McBride is excited for Gainesville is that, for the first time this season, his teammate and former class champion Jimmy "Hulk" Brantley will be in competition.

"I called him up and told him I'm sick of running this single barrel shotgun.  I want my double barrel back," McBride said. "He's got one bad motorcycle and it will be ready for Gainesville."

McBride sent a special thanks out to his dedicated crew, who worked through transmission problems and kept the bike in prime condition.

"I've got the best crew in the world," McBride said.  "These guys are so die-hard and they do such a great job getting the bike ready."


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McBride Finishes Runner-up in Indy

Seven-time AMA/Prostar Top Fuel champion Larry "Spiderman" McBride kept his streak of consecutive final round appearances alive and finished runner-up at the Pingel Thunder Nationals from Indianapolis, Ind.

McBride qualified on the pole with a blast of 6.22 at 223 mph.

In the final McBride suffered his first defeat of the year with a 6.39 to the 6.30 of Korry Hogan.


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Unblemished McBride Wins Career First Columbus


Seven-time Top Fuel motorcycle champion Larry "Spiderman" McBride maintained his unbeaten season with his fifth consecutive victory of the season, and first ever at National Trail Raceway, during the AMA/Prostar Cyclefest from Columbus, Ohio.

With three races left to go this season in Indy, Atco, and Gainesville, McBride is hoping to complete the ever-elusive perfect season like he did back in 2003.

        
"I'm sure going to try," McBride said. "I don't feel any extra added pressure though. After 29 years of racing you know what's going to happen.  The only thing you can do is be consistent and make them beat you. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

McBride's last round loss occurred in September of last season when he was upset by Dave Beck in Atco.  

Heading into the Cyclefest McBride's only other appearance at National Trail Raceway came in 1997 when he finished runner-up to Tony Lang in the finals of the now defunct NHRA Pontiac Excitement Nationals.

Due to what officials concluded to be an unsafe stopping area for a Top Fuel Motorcycle the Cyclefest was contested on the eighth-mile - a decision McBride fully applauded.

"I am the one that was pulling for it," McBride said.  "We always want to race quarter-mile but the stopping area was just too bad."  

'When we run the eighth the set-up is basically the same," McBride said.  "The nice thing about it, is that it is easy on the engine."


In his first eight-mile event since September of 2003 McBride rose to the top of the qualifying list with an impressive 3.95 at 195 mph during his first run on Saturday. 

"It was a good smooth pass," McBride said.  The hard part was adapting to the difficult weather conditions. It was very hot and we had a 140-degree track. With  4,200 feet of corrected altitude we had to step the power up but we also had to be careful because the track was so slick.  One benefit is that we didn't have much humidly. The track is a little better when there's no moisture on the ground."

In the final McBride defeated rival Korry Hogan with a run of 4.03 to Hogan's 4.19.  McBride was quick off the line with an .094 light and 1.02 sixty-foot time.

"I used to be even better than that on the tree," laughed the 49-year-old McBride. "Korry is young and usually he gets me at the line. I just left hard and I never saw him after that. I give Hogan's team a lot of credit. Those boys are doing really well and they got good power."

McBride's quest for a perfect season will now move to the tour's next stop, the Pingel Thunder Nationals, August 4-5, from Indianapolis, Ind.

'The new organization is great," McBride said of AMA/Prostar's new ownership.  "They are implementing some gradual changes that are for the better and they are working hard through some tough times with fuel." 


7/11/2007
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McBride Keeps Perfect Season Intact with Memphis Win

Following the AMA/Prostar Memphis Blues Nationals, seven-time Top Fuel Champion Larry "Spiderman" McBride finds himself in familiar territory - atop the point standings with an unblemished record.

McBride qualified on the pole with a 6.14 on what proved to be a hot and challenging Memphis drag strip.  In perhaps the greatest Top Fuel final of the season McBride held off rival Korry Hogan with a blast of 6.05 to Hogan's 6.14.

       

Maintaining a perfect season isn't anything new to the Spiderman.  McBride has utterly dominated his AMA/Prostar counterparts for the last decade.  Yet despite his tremendous success, going undefeated for an entire season in Top Fuel has proven to be a very difficult task. McBride's only complete perfect season occurred in 2003.  He nearly duplicated the feat the next year but eventually lost to Tommy Sloan in the final of the last race of the season, snapping a two-year 17-race unbeaten streak.  Can McBride capture the elusive perfect season once again in 2007?


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McBride Doubles At Hometown Race

Larry 'Spiderman" McBride took home a pair of event victories in front of dozens of friends and family members at the AMA/Prostar Lucas Oil Spring Nationals/ MTC Elmer Trett Nationals from Petersburg, Va, April 28-29.

It wasn't the first time McBride pulled off the rare Top Fuel double-win.  Most recently he accomplished the feat in Memphis last season and St. Louis in 2004.  McBride says winning two races in a single weekend is always memorable and this one was the greatest yet.

         
"To do it in front of all my family and friends made it very special," McBride said. "It was awesome. I give a lot of credit to my brother and the entire crew for making the bike run so consistent."

             
On Saturday night McBride earned his first victory of the weekend by defeating Korry Hogan in an under-the-lights final from the rain-postponed MTC Elmer Trett Nationals in early April.  Hogan got out of the groove and was forced to shut off as McBride soared by with a blast of 6.11 at 236 mph.
 
       


"The best way for me to describe what it's like to race Top Fuel at night is to tell you to get on your motorcycle or drive your car down the interstate and close your eyes," McBride said. "It's a pretty scary deal at 236 mph.  You're not totally blind but boy, you're not far from it."

Earlier in the day McBride qualified on the pole for the Virginia race with a crowd pleasing 5.88 - a number that would stand as low elapsed time of the weekend.

"The bike just loves this track. To go 5.88 right out of the trailer is pretty amazing," said McBride, who set the world record at Virginia Motorsports Park with a 5.80 last season. "It could have actually been better.  It laid down a bit on top end."

In the Lucas Oil Nationals final on Sunday evening McBride was again pitted against second-year rider and former Funny Bike standout Hogan.  Priror to the showdown McBride and his team came to Hogan's rescue and loaned him a point box and helped fire up his motorcycle.

"We wanted to help the out.  Korry is a great guy and a great addition to this class," McBride said.  "Plus we wanted to give the fans a side-by-side show in the final.  We didn't want to win on a bye."

McBride garnered his second victory of the weekend with a 6.06 at 235 mph.  The pass immediately brought the McBride cheering section to its feet.

"It was an unforgettable weekend," McBride said.  "Races like this are the reason we continue to do this."

Next up for McBride will be the AMA/Prostar Schnitz Memphis Blues Nationals from Memphis Motorsports Park, June 8-9.



4/30/2007
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McBride Victorious at AMA/Prostar Opener

Larry "Spiderman" McBride added yet another win to his impressive resume at the AMA/Prostar Bikeweek Nationals.  Here, McBride gives us some insight into the season-opening race and brings us up-to-date on Jimmy Brantley.

Larry "Spiderman" McBride, seven-time AMA/Prostar Top Fuel champion, began the 2007 race season the same way he ended 2006 - with an event victory.  However, the Bikeweek Nationals win from Valdosta, Ga, on March 4th, was one of the more difficult victories for the Spiderman, who was on-and-off the throttle five times before catching nitro-Harley pilot Ray Cason in the final with a 6.74 to Cason's 6.99.

"It was a supercharged bike versus an injected bike, so I knew that if we didn't make any major mistakes we would be in good shape," McBride said.  "Then right past the 100-foot mark we blew the tire off it, and I had to pedal it five different times to get it to hook up so we could run him down. I passed him right after the 1000 foot mark."

The excitement of the side-by-side showdown brought the crowd to its feet.  McBride said he felt the same excitement while wrestling the 1000-plus horsepower machine.

"I think the fans really enjoyed it," McBride said. "It was a fun run for me, but of course it wouldn't have been as fun if we didn't get the win."

For the first time in over two seasons McBride was without his teammate and 2005 Top Fuel champion Jimmy "Hulk" Brantley.  McBride reports Hulk won't be able to compete in 2007.

"Jimmy got really busy with work and he's not going to be able to step aside," McBride said.  "We are going to miss having him this year, but I think he will certainly be back in the future."

Valdosta marked the first AMA/Prostar race under new ownership, Hammer Motorsports, who purchased the organization over the winter.

"I'm very excited about the new ownership," McBride said.  "I think they will bring a new level of enthusiasm that will carry Prostar to the next step. It was a tremendous weekend."

For McBride the season-opening weekend wasn't entirely without some hardship.  The champ battled a strong crosswind throughout the weekend and encountered transmission problems in opening qualifying.

"On the first run we shook the tire really bad and tore the sprag (low) gear out of the transmission," McBride said. 

McBride came back later in the day and dazzled the crowd with his first full pass of the new year at 6.01, 229 mph

"We made that run with a pretty strong 10-15 mph cross wind," McBride said.  It was really the first run of 2007.  That's not too bad off the trailer."

In the opening round McBride defeated the Harley Davidson of Sonny Michalowski with a 6.24 to Michalowski's 8.99.

"It was on another 6.0 lap but I decided to shut it off," McBride said.  "There was still a pretty good crosswind and I saw that we had a good enough lead so I shut off the throttle 5.8 seconds into the run."

Next up for McBride will be the MTC Elmer Trett Nationals from Atlanta, Ga, March 31-April 1.