Looking to nail down his first championship, Joey Gladstone qualified number 1 with a 6.949 at 211.70 mph on his turbocharged, DME Suzuki Hayabusa. Gladstone bettered that in eliminations with a 6.942, and along the way secured enough points to finally stop three-peat champ Rodney Williford’s stranglehold on the class. Gladstone needed a holeshot to get past teammate (and Battle Royale winner) Terrence Angela’s 213.98 mph blast in the semi, then faced Battle Royale runner-up Tony Ficher in the final.
Ficher was slaying all-time supercharged Pro Street records on his deafeningly loud ‘Busa, and nailed an .018 light to Gladstone’s .044 in the final. Ficher lost a little ET somewhere on the track, and as both bikes streaked through the traps side-by-side at 210 mph, Gladstone’s winlight flashed on.
But Teasley wasn’t finished winning championships. Jeremy also won the MIRock Crazy 8s championship on his own ZX14R. The Crazy 8s race was won by number 1 qualifier Chad Milford, who shook off the effects of getting nailed in the staging lanes by a runaway scooter. Milford beat Rick Janney Jr. in the final.
Veteran racer Kenny Cornnell finished his season off in style, bookending his first ever win at The Rock back in March with another one in November and the first ever Louis Concrete 4.60 championship. Cornell beat Jay Beasley in the final.
After a spirited battle with a whole host of potential winners, “Hillbilly Hustler” Jimmy Shifflett won the Trac King/APE Top Sportsman championship. But in the final it was Jay Windsor and Richard Diggs. Windsor redlit and Diggs took the win.
Jerry Turner beat Boyd Mathias in Saturday night’s Nitrous Express Pro ET final, but Mathias came back around and won Sunday’s final over Wayne Smith. Wayne also runner-upped in Sunday’s Brock’s Performance Street ET final, with Spencer Claycomb taking the win. Mike Schulz beat Herman in Saturday’s Street ET final.
The Hustler’s Paradise known as Afterdark Undergound raced past 2:00 am, with Gadson claiming two wins on “Bud Light Lime.” And as always, a family reunion atmosphere flourished all weekend beneath beautiful Rockingham sunsets.
Find out more about PJ1 motorcycle products at http://www.pj1.com/
Find out more about Rockingham Dragway: www.rockinghamdragway.com
To see more Tim Haley photos from this race click here.
This report was prepared by Tim Hailey. Photos are for editorial use only. Enjoy everything there is to read, see and watch about motorcycle drag racing and more at http://www.eatmyink.com