The XDA’s 37th Annual MTC Engineering Summer Nationals delivered record performances and a flawless event to Virginia Motorsports Park again.
The biggest and best show in motorcycle drag racing gave the east coast an action-packed event under cooler-than-normal skies that allowed the performance numbers to outshine the glassy surface of the VMP 1320.
The rider talent and tuning in Orient Express Racing Pro Street reached a new level turning out the quickest field in history! With twenty-two entries, Jason Dunigan earned the number one qualifying spot with a 6.430 at 230.80 mph, while Jordan Angelo held the sixteenth position with a 6.815 at 211.06 mph, the quickest bump spot in history. With an all-six-second field, the competition on Sunday was set to be phenomenal, with a forecast in the mid 70’s.
During qualifying, Aruba’s Jayson Geerman with Team DME ran his personal best of 6.755 to move him into the top forties of the Orient Express Pro Street GOAT list. Geerman lined up next to Williford twice during qualifying and outran him both times. But that would prove to be a big mistake as Geerman drew Williford in round one of competition. Overnight, Williford turned his
program around and ended Geerman’s weekend with his best run of the weekend at 6.428.
Brandon Litten also improved his personal best performance in qualifying, running a 6.613, and he would continue his decent on the GOAT list into eliminations with a 6.580 run in round one eliminations and a win against James Waugh. Litten would, unfortunately, be taken out in round two by Jason Dunigan with a 6.638 run.
Mark Renduluk with Team DME also made strides in his second outing in Pro Street when he lowered his ET to 6.533 during qualifying. He then became the fourteenth rider ever to enter the 6.40’s when he ran a 6.484 at 229.04 against Darion Payne in round two of eliminations. He improved that time in the semi-finals with a 6.473; however, that ET would be no match for
Williford who ran 6.459 to advance to another final round.
Jason Dunigan and Rodney Williford are no strangers to each other in a final round. The last time these two met was last November at the Haltech World Cup Finals where Dunigan took his first win over Williford.
As the bulbs flashed, both bikes shot out like rockets, and you knew right away it would be a great race. Williford’s Hayabusa was out in front of Dunigan easily, but Dunigan was gaining on him, and by the finish line, Dunigan’s front wheel had caught up with Williford’s rear wheel. It was an incredibly close race, with Williford winning, running a 6.448 to Dunigan’s 6.457.
Williford remains undefeated this season at XDA…. for now.
DME Racing Real Street was a slugfest among former-class champions. David Stewart reset the records to a 7.435 at 198.47 mph in the first round of eliminations. Tech Inspector Will King tore his bike down to the studs and deemed him officially legal, earning him ten additional points.
Stewart would face 2021 champion Mark Hylton in round two and take a loss on a hole shot despite running a quicker 7.472 to Hylton’s 7.495 with a .007 reaction time. Hylton would then take out David Fondon in the semi-finals with a 7.516. Hylton suffered motor damage during Saturday’s qualifying session. Still, his team stayed up past 2 am getting his Hayabusa back up and running to compete on Sunday, so heading to a final was satisfaction for Hylton and his team.
On the other side of the ladder, 2018 Champion Spencer Claycomb took a first-round win over George Cross. Cross ran a personal this best over the weekend with a 7.920 during qualifying and is already planning some upgrades to sharpen his program before the WPGC Bike Fest at Maryland International Raceway in July.
Claycomb went on to win against Anibal Merced and Rickey Gadson before getting to his first final since June of 2021.
In the final, Hylton looked to be the favorite for the win with his quicker ET’s during eliminations compared to Claycomb. But as the pair rolled up the starting line, Hylton had a problem, and XDA Starter Mikey had to start a countdown for a timeout.
Hylton’s team rectified the situation, and he rolled into the pre-stage beam with seconds to spare. The bulbs dropped, and Hylton cut a .059 light on Claycomb’s .096 but the advantage was short-lived as Hylton’s bike lost power at the 330′, and Claycomb flew past him to take the win!
Tommy Saxon led the MaxxECU Pro Xtreme class of eight riders qualifying with a 4.042. Saxon, John Collins and Dale Leeks took easy first-round wins when their competition suffered catastrophic failure during qualifying, keeping them from making the first round. Points leader Chris Cutsinger won over no-bar bike racer Chris Theodoridis.
In the semi-final, Saxon won over Dale Leeks with a 4.096 to a 4.168 and John Collins took out points leader with a hole-shot win with a .055 reaction time and 4.148 to Cutsinger’s .088 reaction and 4.125 ET.
Collins would gain the starting line advantage in the final with a .031 light to Saxon’s .054. Collins had the total package running 4.000 to the eighth mile at 184.62 to Saxon’s slower 4.044 ET.
MaxxECU Pro Xtreme is presented by Billy Vose Racing, Fast by Gast, Dunigan Racing, DME Racing, Grothus Dragbikes, Harley Haul, Rob Bush Motorsports, Robinson Industries, Schnitz Racing, Timblin Chassis, and Worldwide Bearings.
Curtis McDougald dominated HTP Performance Super Stock, qualifying number one with an 8.858 and making it to the final round. There he found Mike Davis, who desperately needs a wedding dress. In 2021 Davis made it to two finals that resulted in runner-up finishes.
In 2022 Davis made it to four final rounds, leaving him a bridesmaid again with all runner-up finishes. Davis needs a win this season. Unfortunately, it would not be this past week as he went red at the tree with a -.017 to give the victory to the 2022 class champion Curtis McDougald.
Craig Edwards debuted in the turbo power-adder class of Boosted Bulls aboard ’99 Problems’. He left round one with 100 problems as Malcolm Phillips on ‘Billy Mays’ easily dispatched him out of competition. Craig Elliot on ‘Cotton Mouth’ left Geoff Godfrey on ‘Minion at the tree as he took off for the eighth-mile finish line. Godfrey couldn’t catch up, and Elliot would face Phillips in the final.
In the final Elliot would once again grab the starting line advantage; luckily for Phillips, his bike was tuned to catch up and power past Elliot to take ‘Billy Mays’ to its second consecutive win in the season.
APE Nitrous Bulls had stacks on stacks in play during round two of eliminations when Malcolm Phillips on ‘Strip Tease’ went up against Lavar Delee on ‘High Roller’. Delee forgot to have someone blow on his dice and had no luck keeping his front wheel down as Phillips powered on past him for the payday and the advancement to the finals.
Teasley on ‘Unhinged’ took out ‘Mister Jay’ piloted by Ronald Benjamin in round one. He then broke the beams in round two of eliminations with an earned bye to give him an easy path to the final. In the final, Teasley had no problems keeping ‘Unhinged’ under control as he left Phillips’ newly fat pockets at the starting line to rocket to the win.
Michael Thyen on ‘The Prisoner’ was on a winning spree at other events, but Josh Eubanks on ‘Belmont’ ended his good time when he took him out of action in round two. Eubanks went on to win against Ken Alston on ‘Leather Face’ and advanced to the final.
Mike Burkhart on ‘Atilla’ took wins over David Page on ‘Pickin Pockets’ and Brandon Tyree on ‘Made Man’ to line up against Eubanks in the final. Eubanks had problems with the throttle and leaves before the tree was activated to give the win to Burkhart.
Brandon Litten made a statement this past weekend in Tommie’s Motorsports DMV Bulls when the seventeen-year-old took ‘Butch Cassidy’ to a final after defeating Mark Blake on ‘Bounty Hunter, Alex Kupetz on ‘Money Business’ and Cody Lowe on ‘Plan B’ to land in the final opposite of Jeremy Teasley.
Teasley brought Rock Sanders on ‘Geronimo’, Derek Sobiech on ‘Night Stalker’ and Aubrey Valentine on ‘Stunna’ to the hall of the slain before his final stop at the finals.
Litten got the jump on Teasley at the tree, but Teasley quickly caught him and cut him down on ‘Valhalla’ to take his second win of the night.
Tommie’s Motorsports All Motor Bulls welcomed several new riders at the MTC Summer Nationals with Jaques Gaskins on ‘Cranky’, Jordan Angelo aboard ‘DaSetup’, Terry Chavis on ‘Big Al’ and LA Payne on ‘Dark Knight’.
David Fondon on ‘Bad Bitch’ won the last four events last year and already has a win under his belt from the season opener, so it was no surprise to see him in the finals once again. La Payne on ‘Dark Knight’ swooped in to take out the competition and land himself in the final. However, the bat signal went out in the water box, and he couldn’t compete sending Fondon to his sixth
straight All Motor Winner’s Circle.
Like chips on a Vegas poker table, the Vance & Hines 4.60 riders continue to stack the class event after event, and the MTC Engineering Summer Nationals was no exception with forty-four riders ready to compete. Points leader Darion Payne was taken out of action in round one by Ron Bonitatis, who would earn his way to the final round. There he met three-year reigning
class champion, Ronald Procopio.
Bonitatis made two final-round appearances last season that both resulted in runner-up finishes, and his final-round reaction time showed he was ready to get in the winner’s circle when he cut a .014 light. However, Procopio was equally serious with his .009 light for the starting line advantage. This final was the closest of the weekend with Procopio crossing the finishing line first by a mere ten inches with a 4.604 to Bonitatis’ 4.603!
In the 1 Stop Speed 5.60 class, Patrick Farrow with a 5.610 took the top spot in qualifying over thirty-eight other competitors. Rico Brown and Nick Noble qualified number fifteen and sixteen with a pair of 5.64’s. These two middle of the pack qualifiers dominated their sides of the ladder until they met in the final.
Nick Noble left the starting line first with a .046 reaction time over Brown’s .070 reaction. With only 600′ to the finish line, it was intense as both riders approached the eighth-mile, but Noble pulled ahead and got there first to win with a 5.611 to Brown’s 5.623.
Over 100 racers entered the Saturday VooDoo Bracket Bash totaling seven rounds of fierce competition among the sportsman racers. Leevontre Clark and Ben Knight cut killer .001 and .008 lights in the semi-finals to earn their final-round spot. Curfew hit Saturday night, and the two had to sleep on the anticipation of a final-round win. The pair were the first racers to go
down the track on Sunday morning to decide the winner.
Knight dialed an 8.53 and Clark an 8.47. But the performance number wouldn’t come into play as Clark pushed the tree again and lost with a -.005 reaction time. This was Leevontre Clark’s XDA debut, and we congratulate him on a final round appearance on his first outing. It is no small feat against the talent at XDA!
In Mickey Thompson Tires Top Sportsman, the Fastest ET racers compete for a double payday. All thirty-two Top Sportsman bikes also merge into Pro ET for another chance to make it to a final-round.
Ben Knight, who came off a win first thing Sunday morning, was in win mode as he worked his way to a fifth-round final to face the 2022 defending class champion Jimmie Miller III. Miller left first with a .053 light on a 7.93 dial to Knight’s .012 light on a 7.81 dial. Knight caught Miller in an instance and gained distance on him as their Hayabusa’s gave all they could to turn on that win light at the end of the track. By a span of 6′ 7″, Knight got there first and earned his second win of the day.
MPS Racing Pro ET was in full force at the MTC Engineering Summer Nationals, with 117 class entries taking advantage of the great weekend weather. Dale Hamilton hasn’t had a Pro ET win since his 2018 Championship reign. But this past weekend, he found that sweet spot and easily cut through the competition to meet Boyd Mathias in the final. Mathias needed air shifter parts
earlier in the day, and Hamilton was the sportsman who helped a fellow racer out.
Mathias just came off a win against Boo Brown in the semi-finals and was looking for his first XDA Pro ET win. Hamilton dialed a 9.04 to leave first against Mathias’ 8.81 dial. Hamilton cut a .048 light to Mathias’ .065 and away they went in a race to the finish line. Hamilton got there first by a margin of victory of only two feet nine inches! With another taste of the Winner
Circle, will Hamilton regain that hunger for another championship this season?
Brock’s Performance Street ET racers can re-enter the race if they take a first-round loss. And Louis Green Jr was the perfect example of why sometimes you need a second chance. After his first-round loss again Laray Proctor, he was able to win the next five rounds to take on Clay Davies in the final.
Green dialed a 9.14, and Davies an 8.40. Green left the tree first with a .045 reaction time, and Davies follows with an .063 reaction. The pair raced side-by-side down the quarter-mile, and in a photo finish Green got the win with a 9.144 to Davies’ 8.405 for a margin of victory to Green by only .019 seconds!
In Friday night’s Hard Times Parts & Service Gambler’s Race, fifty-two sportsmen confidently put down their entry money, thinking they could outperform the competition. Shayne Proctor and Rick Bunting both won five tough rounds of competition to meet in the final round. Proctor dialed a 9.00 and Bunting a 7.97 to leave a full second before Proctor. The yellow bulbs started dropping on Bunting’s side of the tree, and instead of the green ‘Go’ light coming on, the red light came on at -.029 to hand the win to Proctor before his bulbs even came on.
For full qualifying and round-by-round results of the event, visit xdaracing.com. The next stop for the 2023 XDA season will be back at the Maryland International Raceway for the 23rd annual WPGC Bike Fest on July 14-16, 2023. This is the biggest XDA event of the year!
The event will feature Live Bands, Bikini Contest, Sound Competition, Custom Bike Show, Beer Garden with Bikini Bartenders, and a vendor midway full of great deals on motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel.
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