AMA Dragbike announces that they will not compete the Pro Stock class for the remainder of the season. The decision affects the next race on the schedule, the Pingel Thunder Nationals at Indy.
“This was a difficult decision because we feel the class holds an important place in the sport,” said AMA Dragbike president Scott Valetti. “The rising cost of racing in the class led to a lack of participation which led to this decision. It simply makes no sense to continue running the class when racers are choosing not to run it.”
Valetti noted that there were no Pro Stock entries at the last AMA Dragbike, the Summer Nationals at Bristol, Tennessee. The prior two events, Atlanta and Memphis, had 3 and 2 entries respectively. Valetti also noted that the NHRA has seen a marked decrease in racer participation at their events.
“We knew from last year that participation would be light,” continued Valetti. “We supported the class as best we could. We put them on every race on the schedule and kept the purse structure in place. We did what we could for the best interest of the class.”
The decision is timely, as the Pingel Thunder Nationals will see the debut of the new Factory Extreme class, which is being billed as Pro Stock for modern bikes. The class, which features modern sportbikes outfitted with slicks and wheelie bars, will be run as an exhibition at the final four events of the season with the intention of running it as a full championship eliminator in 2009.
“Factory Extreme will be what Pro Stock was years ago,” continued Valetti. “Which is production motorcycles outfitted for drag racing. It is our vision that Factory Extreme will become the new modern Pro Stock and bring the class back to its roots. We have had a lot of interest from race teams and OEM regarding Factory Extreme. We feel the time is right for the transition.”