The 2019 Xtreme Dragbike Association (XDA) ultimate battle between the fiercest motorcycle drag racers in the country is scheduled for Armageddon on September 20-22, at Maryland International Raceway (MDIR) for the 27th annual DME Racing Fall Nationals.
In the sixth and final battle of the year, twelve classes and over 800 racers will be armed and ready as they compete for the 2019 XDA Championship titles. The DME Racing Fall Nationals will feature 6-second, 220+mph Pro Street Motorcycles, 7-second, 190mph Real Street bikes, 3-second 1/8 mile Pro Xtreme motorcycles, and the “Running of the Bulls” Grudge Shootouts.
The 2019 XDA season launched in April at MDIR, and next weekend our racers will finish what they started with over $40,000 on the line in payouts. We will see new records set, first-time champions, rivalries settled, and most importantly, our loyal XDA family of racers one last time this season.
Orient Express Racing Pro Street
Next weekend the Orient Express Pro Street class will turn up the dial on the country’s quickest and fastest 650+ horsepower Pro Street motorcycles. The 7th annual Battle Royale is jammed pack with action all three days. The battle will once again feature a 32-bike field and a payout of over $14,000 in purse money! And with thirty-nine confirmed riders you will see records fall in the cooler temperatures.
This event for the first time will feature a ‘Second Chance’ race for all first-round losers of the 32-bike field, with no entry fee and a $1,000 payout. And for racers that don’t qualify for the show, XDA will be run a B class that pays out $100 to the winner. However, if forty or more motorcycles enter the class, XDA will bump the B class payout to $1,000.
Penske Racing Shocks for the first time will feature two separate shootouts during Saturday’s qualifying sessions. One shootout will feature the fastest guys of the class, while the other shootout will be available to racers 6.90 or slower on the GOAT list.
The Dunigan Racing Pig Roast returns exclusively for the Pro Street racers Saturday night to celebrate a year worth of blood, sweat, and tears. And with the addition of the new events, Pro Street racers stand to win almost $23,000 in purse money. It’s going to pay big to be a part of the XDA series next weekend.
This will be the seventh straight year that the Pro Street championship has not been clinched before the final event. Defending champion Rodney Williford, who didn’t try to win last year, will roll into Maryland three points behind rival Jeremy Teasley. If the race were the standard sixteen bike field, they would be the only two racers in contention for the championship. However, with the 32-bike format, Frankie Stotz and Ehren Litten now both have a shot at the championship. Stotz sits 107 points out of first, while Litten has a 113-point deficit. We could potentially see Litten come from behind the pack and take the championship. All four riders have bikes capable of breaking records that could add to their points tally. The class speed records convene at 6.422 at 232.59 held by Teasley and Litten respectively. These records were set in the heat of June and could easily be reset next weekend!
And the battle doesn’t stop with the top four in points. Pro Street racers will be also be fighting for a top ten finish. The top ten will qualify for the chance to compete in front of 40,000+ fans at the Haltech World Cup Finals (WCF) presented by Wiseco Import vs. Domestic event in November. The exclusive Platinum General Services Pro Street Shootout offers a $5,000 to win purse. The top four riders are already locked in for a spot, while eight other racers will battle it out for the remaining six spots.
The top thirteen in points all have a mathematical chance to qualify for WCF. Jordan Haase will lock-in as soon as he breaks the beams in qualifying. Richard Gadson sits in the sixth spot, missed two races this year, and needs to qualify for this event if he wants to be eligible for a spot at WCF. Rookie Pro Street racer Chris Moore and Gaige Herrera both have a chance to qualify for their first WCF race this year. Darion Payne who qualified for WCF last year is eighth in points and is in jeopardy of losing his spot if he doesn’t stay ahead of the competition. Ryan Schnitz, who won the WCF event last year, sits twelfth in points after missing an event this year. He will need to get past Jason Dunigan and Justin Shakir if he wants to defend his title in November.
Live life without regrets, mark your calendars now and get ready for a three-day event of on-track battles. Qualifying starts Friday at 8 pm.
DME Racing Real Street
The DME Racing Real Street class will turn up the pressure for Jeremy Teasley as he fights for another Pro championship next weekend. Five other racers could snatch this title from him in a fraction of a second. Teasley has only taken one win this year, but he has set two records this season that awarded him twenty points to put him in the lead. In 2008, Teasley entered his first year of Real Street competition. And at the young age of 18, Teasley set five Real Street records and won his first Real Street Championship with AMA Prostar. Since then he has won numerous Pro championships and set more records than we could list. Some of his competition might not realize what they are up against next weekend.
Anibal Merced, the 2015 class champion is only ten points behind Teasley. Mark Hylton, who has won two events this year, is looking for his first Real Street championship. He is thirty-seven points out of first place. Defending class champion, Spencer Claycomb, who has not won an event this year sits fifty points out of first.
And to round out the racers in championship contention are rookies Devin Ragland and Brad Stinnett. These two racers would need to see Teasley take a first-round loss and they would need to make a final-round appearance if they want the 2019 title. Ragland set the world on fire at the Bike Bash when he won the event against Teasley and became the second rider to run a fifty in the class with a 7.590. Will he be able to carry this momentum into the DME Racing Fall Nationals and earn himself a Championship title? Come out and see what may be the biggest upset of the year!
The action won’t be contained to just Sunday eliminations. The Schnitz Racing Real Street Shootout will return with select racers competing for cash during Saturday’s qualifying sessions. Our two female racers of the class, Alisha Malone and Ashley Cotnoir will be racing head to head during qualifying for a cash payout from their fellow racers. The ladies with be looking for win lights in a best 2 out of 3 races that will be sure to spark trash-talking all week leading up to the event. Brad Stinnett and John Martin will also be racing head to head every round of qualifying for big money. And several other racers are still in negotiations to prove they have the better Real Street package. You’ll have to be at the event if you want to see all this action go down. Will you be at MDIR to witness all the excitement?
Pro Xtreme
The eighth-mile heads-up class of Pro Xtreme took a turn towards excitement during the Bike Bash at Virginia Motorsports Park. Kevin Clarke took the first two wins of the season, and with only four events on the schedule, it looked like he may simply dominate the class. However, Ehren Litten took the top qualifying spot at the last race, and Kevin Clarke was out of competition in round two. Rodney Williford who holds the classes ET record at 3.962 was in the finals, and a win would have put him only a point behind Clarke. However, in a final-round upset, Rob Garcia took the win when Williford handed it to him at the tree with a red light. This chain of events has now mathematically given four riders a chance at the first XDA Pro Xtreme championship. John Collins, Rob Garcia, and Williford will all be looking to take out Clarke, and each other in round one. Pro Xtreme is the quickest eighth-mile category in the XDA, but will anyone challenge the 3.962 record of Rodney Williford?
Pro Xtreme is presented by DME Racing, Fast by Gast, Harley Haul, MaxxECU, McCoy Motorsports, MTC, Rob Bush Motorsports, Timblin Chassis, and Worldwide Bearings.
HTP Performance Grudge
HTP Performance Grudge racers will be out in droves for the cooler temperatures of the DME Racing Fall Nationals. If you want to bet on the action, you have to be at the track. That’s when you get to see who’s playing games and who is sitting at the ready line, suited up, and ready to throw down.
Monster Bulls will deliver the action for the Bull classes as David Page, and Rendolf Torbed go to battle for a championship. There are several scenarios to their 18-point difference that would allow each of them to win the championship. Riders receive extra points if they lock-in before the pre-entry deadline expires, and these extra points could come into play. For David Page, his job will be to win more rounds to keep his lead. But Torbed needs to get Page out of the way in round one and then win two more rounds if he wants the Monster Bull title.
In APE Nitrous Bulls, points leader and class badass, Dave Norris, just needs to show up and race on Saturday night to win the championship. While Norris has only won three of the five events this year, his attendance and round wins gave him the edge over the class.
Unit 5 Components Brahma Bulls has been a broken record this year with Nick Mazeika taking wins in four of the five events this year. Like Norris, he just needs to show up and race on Saturday to claim his title.
The Grudge class has the best track prep available in the country and runs with every Pro session all weekend, even Sunday. This is the last chance you have to show up and show out. So, let’s see what you have.
Limited spots are available, sign up now and reserve yours at www.xdaracing.com/bulls.
Vance & Hines 4.60
The Vance & Hines 4.60 class proves for another year that they are the fiercest Sportsman around. Their reaction times and their dead on eighth-mile times make them the most exciting sportsman class to watch on Sunday. Michael Ostrowski, who finished last year tied for third place, is currently leading the class by twenty-four points. And in this class, twenty-four points isn’t enough to knit a security blanket. Any of the top six racers can win the championship, including Tyler Cammock, Mac McAdams, Michael Thyen, Boo Brown, and Ron Procopio.
Ron Procopio is the only racer who has missed an event in the top ten that could still win the championship. Last year Procopio finished the season tenth in points but started the 2019 season with a win at the PFR Spring Nationals. It will be cut-throat next weekend as tensions rise with the championship title on the line.
The FBR Shop 5.60
The FBR Shop 5.60 who is currently being led by sportsman standout Courtlan Whiting, has eleven potential champions rolling into the DME Racing Fall Nationals. Whiting who finished fifteenth in points last year now sits in the top spot with an 81-point lead. And the top eleven riders of the class are all still in the hunt for the championship. Working with only an eight-mile of track, these racers will be looking for starting line advantage to give them the edge on Sunday.
Harvey Hubbard and Bob Carlson both took wins this year, and also both missed a race. However, Hubbard is out of the championship contention while Carlson still has a chance to take it all. Qualifying position and rounds won is what it will take to make a difference in the points chase.
Shinko Tires Crazy 8’s
Dustin Lee has the Shinko Tires Crazy 8’s Championship on Lock. With a comfortable 166 point lead, all he has to do is break the beams in round one. Win or lose he will become the Shinko Tires Crazy 8’s Champion.
While Lee’s championship is inevitable, the class has seen many riders stand out this year. Nick Hamlett and Courtlan Whiting have both taken wins this year. Rookie standout Thomas Miceli Jr. heads into the final seventh in points and will finish in the top ten of points with a good showing at the DME Racing Fall Nationals.
Florida racer, Robert Parker currently sits in the twelfth spot and will be looking to knock out Andre Ritchey and Taylor Dunham to get into the top if he wants an XDA top ten plaque. The competition will still be in full swing for this class next weekend.
Mickey Thompson Performance Top Sportsman
Mickey Thompson Top Sportsman will see the quickest sportsman racers on the property go to battle next weekend. The top ten racers all have a mathematical chance at the championship. Dylan Wood, who sits in the eighth spot, had a lot of bad luck at the last event. He broke a chain that destroyed his bodywork in one round, and then later in another round his rods broke destroying his motor. He said his bike might not be ready next weekend, but even if it isn’t, he will find something to ride. So, either way, Wood will be in championship contention against the toughest competition in the sportsman ranks.
Robin Procopio who won the last event propelled herself to the points lead and is currently the racer with a target on her back. However, Bob Carlson, who missed two events could be the biggest ‘come from behind’ upset next weekend if he wins the final, as it could give him the championship.
MPS Racing Pro ET
XDA’s competitive MPS Racing Pro ET class will see over two hundred entries next weekend as the chase for the championship comes to a climax. While Mike Schulz is the current points leader, the championship spot is wide open. Robin Procopio’s Pro ET/Top Sportsman double up at the Bike Bash has put her into championship contention in Pro ET. Any of the top twenty racers in points have a chance to steal the championship right out of the hands of Schulz.
2018 champion, Dale Hamilton who is 141 points behind Schulz is due for a win and could still make a play for the championship with two final-round appearances at the finals. Anything can happen next weekend, and you won’t want to miss it.
Brock’s Performance Street ET
The Brock’s Performance Championship chase is led by Dustin Lee who has a 120 point lead over the field. However, with two independent races in a one weekend, and the option for reentry after a first-round loss, Lee doesn’t have enough points secured to intimidate the competition. Duane Jackson, Russell Dennison Jr, and Jimmie Miller are right behind him in points, and if any of them go an average of seven rounds over the weekend, Lee will be in trouble. With over a hundred racers in the field, a lot can happen in this class over two days of competition.
Grab your family and friends and head to Maryland International Raceway next weekend for an exciting weekend of two-wheel racing action and history-making runs on September 20-22, for the 27th annual DME Racing Fall Nationals. XDA, it’s always the place to be!
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Visit xdaracing.com for event information, class rules, schedule, and more.
About XDA Racing
The Xtreme Dragbike Association (XDA) is an east coast motorcycle drag racing series with 700+ motorcycle racers competing at each event. Every XDA event hosts professional classes, sportsman classes, grudge racing and a vendor midway. Lifestyle activities such as bike shows, bikini contests, DJ and live bands are also held at select events. For more information on the XDA, please visit www.xdaracing.com or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube @xdaracing
