As it’s been said many times; unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
Often referred to as the “fastest rising star in Top Fuel Motorcycle racing” by Cycledrag, Dave Vantine, 62, of Hamilton, N.Y. put together a remarkable run of success in about a decade of high-speed, high-stakes nitro motorcycle racing. He rapidly became one of the quickest and fastest men in the world with a best elapsed-time of 5.711 and a top speed of 257 mph on his legendary Pollard-built “Yellow Bullet.” Vantine ranks fifth on the world’s all-time quickest Top Fuel Motorcycle list.
Unfortunately for fans and followers of Vantine and the Top Fuel category we learned Vantine’s journey into Top Fuel Motorcycle that began around 2013 has seemingly come to an abrupt end with the sale of both of his nitro bikes. This includes his “Yellow Bullet” and a brand new state-of-the-art build from Larry “Spiderman” McBride’s Cycle Specialist.
Vantine says it was ultimately concerns with his successful Vantine Imagining business, specializing in photography at Universities involving fraternities and sororities, that caused him to step back.
“Covid and the social distancing that came along with the pandemic took a big bite. I’ve been legging it out to get to where we are and the business is getting better, just not fast enough to support a Fuel program,” Vantine said. “As much as it hurts to let go of the bikes, to race a Fuel program is not wise right now. It was not really my choice but when you get the bean counters in front of you and they state their case, it’s hard to argue.”
What was hard to comprehend for the steadfast racer was the notion of taking a step back from drag racing, something Vantine has been doing for nearly 40 years. A true enthusiast of the sport, Vantine has raced everything from a Yamaha FJ1200 street bike to a nitrous-oxide Pro Mod since he began competing on the strip in 1987.
“When they said take a break I thought I’ve never taken a break,” Vantine said. “I couldn’t wrap my head around sitting out and what would happen with my progression with a year off, so I said I guess the time is right to sell.”
Vantine is optimistic his business will return to what it was pre-pandemic, but says it will take his time and focus to get it back on track.
Vantine’s departure is huge blow to the category. Team Vantine and the Yellow Bullet were widely considered the most consistent, reliable and legitimate race partner and contender to McBride, who has dominated a class starved for participation since the retirement of Tony “The Tiger” Lang about 25 years ago.
In fact it was Vantine who served as McBride’s match racer partner for what would be a four-year run at Maryland International Raceway’s XDA, then IDBL and formerly MIROCK. It was at this track that McBride and Vantine combined to run the sport’s first five-second side-by-side pass in 2014. Without Vantine it wouldn’t have been possible. Clearly Vantine leaves a void not only for his friends, fans and followers but for his fellow racers who need competition.
Vantine says it is his competitive spirt that drove cost up through the roof.
“I can run 6.0s till the cows go home on a motor. If I want to go 5.70s, something is going to break,” Vantine explained. “If you want to be in the game, it’s going to cost you. I was always trying to be competitive with the McBrides and that’s tough sledding.”
Vantine takes the optimistic approach to his departure, pointing out the upside of opportunity for new owners Gerry Hunt of Canada and Richard Deys of New York.
Hunt takes ownership of the “Yellow Bullet” and Deys has purchased Vantine’s fresh build, a copy of McBride’s that has only been to the drag strip a few times.
Both men come with experience as Hunt is a current XDA Pro Extreme racer and Deys has experience with Nitro Harleys.
“The class needs new blood and I looked at this way, I could either keep the bikes or give them to people who could become participants in the class,” Vantine said.
Vantine says both bikes were sold at hefty discounts. At one point Vantine was down to $115,000 for the Yellow Bullet when he unsuccessfully tried to sell back in 2019. Vantine’s new motorcycle was valued at about $250,000 by McBride.
Vantine did not want to disclose what the bikes were sold for but did say, “they were sold at a very reasonable price and I’m ok with it.”
The Vantine Imaging front man credits now-fellow former Top Fuel Motorcycle racer Sam Wills for providing the referral to Hunt.
Liquidating his top-of-the-line race rig that he recently purchased from the Elite Team of NHRA fame is the next priority for Vantine.
Vantine’s exit comes after arguably the greatest season of his career where he captured a Wally in NHRA’s first official Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle race, contested last May at Chicago’s Route 66 Raceway.
As far as our suggestion of switching to another more affordable class like 4.60, Vantine says after riding a nitro bike it’s hard to adjust to anything less.
Although that sentiment and the massive liquidation seems to close the door on drag racing, Vantine says he is not ready to say he’s totally retired from the sport.
“I don’t know that it’s retirement. I’d like to still stay in the game by coaching. It seems both these new riders are open to procedural help. I told them I am here for them,” Vantine said. “Also, they both gave me offers to ride in anytime I want, so I’m not ready to say retirement yet. But I think now it’s more beneficial for me to be a coach than to get on their bike.”
Vantine says expect both Hunt and Deys to go through at least one full learning year before they could enter an NHRA race. The only fear with the NHRA program is how long will it really last with declining participation and the racers tasked with raising the purse through their own sponsors? It’s what led to the demise of the short-lived NHRA Top Fuel Harley class.
Speaking of NHRA, Vantine isn’t totally shutting the door on racing a Mission Foods national event again either, but not in the class most would assume.
“Nitro is a funny thing. Once you ride a Fuel Bike you are kind of hooked. Would I get in a Funny Car or Dragster, maybe? If the phone rang I might,” Vantine said.
Here’s hoping the phone rings for this talented, fearless nitro pilot. Please join us in congratulating Vantine on a remarkable run of success in 12 years racing a Top Fuel Motorcycle. He leaves an indelible legacy on the class that will be hard to match.
Great run Dave. Thanks for the memories.
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