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AMA/Prostar US Nationals Photo
Highlights Vol. 2
Atco Raceway, NJ
September 29-30
Larry "Spiderman" McBride's wife Kathie is always the one to help her fearless
husband suit-up prior to a run.
Pro Street veteran Phil Stoll qualified in the No. 2 spot with a 7.66 at 193 mph
on his beautiful Suzuki Hayabusa. Unfortunately for Stoll he encountered mechanical problems in the
semifinals and was defeated by Curtis McDougald, who ran 7.94 to Stoll's 10.06.
The McBride brothers are able to communicate better than ever with the team's
new NASCAR-style helmet-to-headset radio system.
No. 4 qualifier Masa Yokota (left) of Japan scored a first round upset in Pro
Stock over former NHRA US Nationals champ Reggie Showers (right).
Would the real Kenny Schwartz please stand up?
John Schwartz of the Fast by Gast stable assembled an amazingly consistent
performance to take the win in Top Gas. Schwartz's five lights during the day
were .015, .002, .000, .006, and .003. He defeated Andy Gumpert, Rick
Bunting, Mike Konopacki, fellow FBG racer Joe Rey, and red-hot Ronnie Procopio
in the final.
Paul Gast said Schwartz's near-perfect cluster of reaction times is perhaps the
most amazing thing he has ever seen during his many years the dragstrip.
"It's never been done before. Even Jeg Coughlin and all those guys have
never seen numbers like this before," Gast said. "I'll guarantee you this is the
best in the history of racing. He was like clockwork all day long. What a
gratifying win."
Longtime Team Spiderman crewman Roland Stuart, a former NHRA US Nationals Top
Fuel Motorcycle champion in his own right, checks the air pressure in McBride's
gigantic Mickey Thompson slick prior to McBride's run.
"I've got the best crew in the world," McBride said. "I couldn't do it
without these guys. They are the best."
Stuart's son, Chuck, has also become a critical part of the team. Together
the Stuarts perform nearly all of the maintenance on the bike, while Steve
McBride makes the tuning calls.
Hometown hero Rickey Gadson dominated the Super Street competition on his
Monster Energy Kawasaki ZX-14. He qualified on the pole with a stellar
8.04, recorded low elapsed-time during the first three rounds, and beat Victor
Gotay in the final on a holeshot, with both riders running identical 8.075.
With the guidance of his father dragbike rookie Joey Gladstone rode his 94
Suzuki Katana 600cc street bike to an impressive semifinal finish in Street ET
at his very first Prostar race. Gladstone shifted by foot and was able to
run in the mid-11s all-day-long.
"I'm very stoked. I've never done anything like this before, so to make it
this far is pretty amazing," Gladstone said. "I hope to make it to a lot
more races next year."
Galdstone's father was even more excited.
"He's been coming to the races with me and rooting me on for years," the elder
Gladstone said. "Now it's my turn."
Top Gas, Pro ET Box, Pro ET No-Box, Outlaw Pro Street, Pro Mod - versatile
Ronnie Procopio continues to go rounds and win races no matter what event he's
at or what class he's competing in. Procopio finished runner-up in Top Gas
to the deadly-consistent John Schwartz.
Chad Otts could only watch as his competition left the line in the semifinals of
Sunday's Pro ET. Otts' 1979 Kawasaki was unable to make the run.
There was a great turnout in Pro Mod, with 14 entries showing up to battle for
the bonus cash up for grabs courtesy of McKinney Motorsports. In round No.
1 "Evil" Bill Vose ran 6.81 to defeat a wounded Ashley Owens.
Eventual Funny Bike winner Yves Giard's most pivotal upset of the day occurred
in the opening round when he defeated No. 2 qualifier Keith Lynn on a holeshot
with a .111 light and 6.70 to Lynn's .143 and 6.67.
"I
am contractor and, in majority, I do renovation in schools, hospitals and animal
hospitals. My work on my bike is done as a hobby but it begins to take all my
time. Many parts like the frame and the three speed transmission are home made,"
Giard said. "The win at Atco encourages me to go to Gainesville, 1400 miles from
my home in Canada. I would like to thank my wife Chantal, my father Gilles with
his friend Therese, my friends pit crew Gerard Boucher and Ginette Boucher for
their help to win at Atco. And special tanks to every body who give me a few
tips."
Classic Japanese street bikes always seem to surface for the AMA/Prostar US
Nationals. Here's an old-school Kawasaki LTD with a few upgrades.
AMA/Prostar's all-time sportsman event victory leader Mike "Pac-Man" Konopacki
added yet another win to his impressive resume with a Pro ET final round victory
over Dennis Green on Sunday.
No one could remove the continuous smile from Jack Young's face after he
outlasted his foes in Pro Mod to score the win and bonus purse money.
When the helmets are on and the motorcycles come to life fearless Top Fuel
riders Larry "Spiderman" McBride and Korry Hogan are bitter rivals. Any other
time the two are the best of buddies and share a tremendous amount of mutual
respect for one another.
"Larry is a legend. He is the best ever," Hogan said. "When we beat
him in Indy I knew we just accomplished something huge."
McBride returned the flattering remarks.
"If you told me I couldn't race tomorrow, the guy I want on my motorcycle is
Korry Hogan," McBride said. "He's got all the tools you need to succeed in
this sport. He's a great guy, a very fast learner, he's tall, strong and
good-looking."
Hogan was unable to make it back for the final after damaging his motorcycle in
his round No. 1 win over Chris Hand, but Hogan says his team's future is indeed
bright.
"We have so many great guys on this team," Hogan said. "We just continue
to make so much progress each time we get the bike down the track. We've
been 6.0s in testing and based on the front-half numbers we saw in Atco, we know
we have to power run in the fives. I'm excited."
John Gilchrist rode his very cool 72 Kawasaki H2 750 triple two-stroke to a
runner-up finish in the Super Eliminator category.
Two future stars of motorcycle drag racing, Joey Gladstone of Townsend, DE
(left) and "lil" Nick Mazeika, of Woodbury, NJ. (right) Both individuals have
found success in the sport before their 20th birthday.
Defending Pro Stock champion Dean Frantz has run a limited scheduled in 2007,
only making it to Valdosta, Richmond, and Atco. However when he shows up
he usually proves he still has one of the quickest motorcycles in the class.
He ran a 7.14 in qualifying, second only to Paul Gast.
Frantz gives the thumbs up in the lanes alongside Geoff Godfrey's Zebra Suzuki.
Godfrey has enjoyed his most successful season yet and leaves Atco ranked No. 2
in the point series.
One of the stand-out custom Hayabusa's in the bike show. Notice the cool running
lights and spider-web theme paint job in even the most unnoticeable places.
Related Content
AMA/Prostar US Nationals Photo Highlights Vol. 1
McBride
Locks Up Championship No. 8 with Atco win
2006
AMA/Prostar US Nationals Results
All photo galleries
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10/17/2007 |
