The Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MIRock Superbike Series, the world’s largest all motorcycle drag racing series, concluded it’s season this past weekend with the Lee’s Performance Finals at Steve Earwood’s legendary Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina. 416 bikes made the annual November pilgrimage to The Rock for crisp temps, a sticky track, big cook-outs and good times.
Twenty year-old Ohio rider Jeremy Teasley nailed down two HTP Performance Real Street wins on the weekend and celebrated his second championship in the class as well. Teasley took out Johnny “Turbo” Dobrin in the rain-delayed Maryland final on Saturday, then beat Adams Performance/RS Motorsports teammate Mark Billiter on Sunday after qualifying #1 with a record 7.835.
Orient Express Pro Street racer Rodney Williford also scored a win and a championship on the weekend, beating Mike Slowe in the final. Williford locked up the championship early when his #1 qualifier and first round bye put him out of reach of #2 Teasley.
The first House of Speed Crazy 8s championship went to Eddie “Who” Chapman, who like fellow champions Teasley and Williford also won the race. Chapman completed the weekend on a borrowed bike after breaking his own in Friday testing. He beat Street ET winner Mike Herman Jr. for the race win.
Randolph “Boo” Brown won the FBR Shop Quick 32 championship but let the race win slip out of his grasp. That honor went to Mike Rankin, who beat Shayne Proctor in the final.
Jimmy Shifflett won the Motorcycletireoutlet.com 5.60 index class title but gave up the race win to Curtis Griggs Jr. Shifflett also won Sunday’s Nitrous Express Pro ET final over Wally Davis. Shifflett’s trailermate Rankin won Saturday’s final against Mike Shulz.
Herman beat Baybay Yarborough in Sunday’s Schnitz Racing Street ET final. Yarborough’s Georgia roadie Stanley Russell beat Proctor in Saturday’s final.
Keith “Shine” Dennis beat a star-studded field of motorcycle drag racing legends for the first leg of Rickey Gadson’s Stock Wheelbase Challenge. This highly entertaining event featured gobs of trash talking and solo laps run before Rockingham’ knowledgeable, critical audience. After rounds on identically prepared Kawasaki ZX14s, the field was reduced to three finalists for one lap on a ZX10: Dennis, Gadson and local hero Johnny “Airtime” Locklear. The ’10 fit Dennis like a glove and he ran a perfect lap for the win. The series will continue this weekend at the Manufacturer’s Cup in Valdosta with a younger group of riders.
Ninety one grudge bikes showed up to battle mano y mano. The top race of the weekend was won by Teasley on “Leonidas” over Locklear on “The Ho.”
The Mickey Thompson Performance Tires MiRock Superbike Series starts the 2011 season back at The Rock on March 18-20th.
Find out more about the MiRock Superbike Series at http://www.mirockracing.com