This past weekend Maryland
International Raceway hosted the
22nd annual WPGC Bike Fest with
the XDA delivering the best
motorcycle drag racing has to
offer. The event featured Live
music by New Impressionz,
Baggers vs. Slingshots Sound
Off, custom bike show, sound
competition, huge vendor midway
and a hot bikini contest!
The on-track action was
star-studded as always, with
over 700 entries tackling the
MIR’s quarter mile. Racers
showed up ready for serious
competition and they weren’t
letting the warm weather slow
them down. With full fields and
a variety of activities going
down in the pits, there was
non-stop action all weekend.
Orient Express
Racing Pro Street
Winner – Jason Dunigan /
Runner-up – Darion Payne
The Orient Express Racing Pro
Street tuners had their A-game
on this weekend in the brutal
summer temperatures. Normally
the performance numbers will
suffer when the track temps are
over 140 degrees and the air
temperature is close to 100
degrees. But the evolution of
this class showed this weekend
as the tuners quickly adapted to
the track and made it work.
“The track was not at its best
this past weekend, stated XDA
co-owner, Jason Miller. “I
really have to give credit to
the racers and tuners this
weekend that were able to take a
less than ideal combination and
still deliver stellar
performance numbers.”
Friday night, off the trailer,
class points leader and champion
Rodney Williford set the tone
for the event putting a 6.423 on
the scoreboards that would not
be beat in qualifying or
eliminations.
And despite the high
temperatures half the class
qualified under 6.68. Greg
Wallace, Justin Shakir, and
Darion Payne ran 6.461, 6.492,
and 6.498 respectively.
During qualifying Shakir ran a
233.12 mph pass potentially
setting a new XDA record. To
back up the run and set the
record he needed to make a run
within 1% at 230.78 mph. He was
unable to do that, but his
current personal record still
stands a 234.29 mph.
Curtis Ellerbe improved his
record standing during
qualifying moving up the Pro
Street GOAT list from 7.323 to a
7.206.
Eliminations on Sunday kept the
crowd in the stands entertained
as the competition was intense
every session. In round one
Rodney Williford and Justin
Shakir both ran in the forties
with a 6.477 and 6.492. Blake
Sander set a personal record of
221.67 to earn a spot on the Pro
Street MPH GOAT list.
In round two Jason Dunigan took
out Greg Wallace running a new
personal record of 6.474 at
231.95 mph.
In the semi-final Rodney
Williford stunned the crown when
he went -.216 red against Darion
Payne to end his reign of
consecutive wins in Pro Street.
Despite the red light, Williford
reset his ET record to 6.372.
And on this pass Payne reset his
personal record running a 6.450
at 227.80 mph. Jason Dunigan
took a win and a wild ride
against Justin Shakir. Justin
had problems off the line, but
Dunigan didn’t want to take any
chances letting him get back
around so when his front tire
started coming off the ground,
he was hesitant to back off the
throttle launching both wheels
off the ground making it a wild
pass to a win light.
In the final Payne and Dunigan
were a well-matched pair for
competition. But when the bulbs
dropped, Payne went -.017 red
sending Dunigan to his first XDA
Pro Street winner’s circle, and
his second with the MIROCK
dynasty.
DME Racing
Real Street
Winner – David Stewart /
Runner-up – Rickey Gadson
David Stewart continues his
reign in the DME Racing Real
Street as he earns more points
to lock in his chase for the
championship. Stewart took the
number one qualifying position
with a 7.463 and then went on to
dominate taking wins over Mark
Hylton and Brittany Bohne before
facing Rickey Gadson in the
final. Jeremy Teasley returned
to Real Street this event but
was quickly turned away when
Rickey Gadson took a win over
him in round one. Gadson had a
bye in the semi-final and
elected to break the beams after
finding a problem with his bike.
Gadson could not make it to the
finals giving an automatic win
to David Stewart. David Stewart
broke the beams in the finals to
officially declare his win, and
in true sportsman style,
reigning class champion Mark
Hylton and his team helped push
Stewart to the starting line and
back.
MaxxECU Pro
Xtreme
Winner – Ronnie Procopio /
Runner-up – John Collins
The MaxxECU Pro Xtreme fans were
stunned Friday night when Ronnie
Procopio put a 3.937 on the
scoreboard right out of the
gate. On Sunday Procopio took a
win over Thomas Gunn in round
one and earned a bye in round
two to face John Collins in the
final. Collins would take wins
over Eran Pielert and Tyron
Lemons. In the final it was a
deadly close race as Procopio
and Collins cut a .046 and .043
light respectively. They were
side-by-side down the track as
they had a photo finish crossing
the finish line running a 4.061
and 4.069 with the win going to
Procopio for the second time
this season.
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.
HTP
Performance Super Stock
Winner – Curtis McDougald /
Runner-up – Mike Davis
In HTP Performance Super Stock
Curtis McDougald took the number
one qualifying spot with an
8.789 to lead the class of pro
hand clutch racers. And for the
second event in a row Mike Davis
and McDougald met in the final
round. And like Déjà vu,
McDougald took the win running
an 8.920 to Davis’s 8.946. This
was Davis’s fourth straight
final round appearance this
season. There can be nothing
more frustrating than being so
close to a win so many times.
These hand clutch killers will
be back at it next month for the
4th annual Bike Bash on August
26-28, 2022.
Vance & Hines
4.60
Winner – Wes Hawkins / Runner-up
– Ron Bonitatis
The Vance and Hines 4.60 Index
class had a record turnout for
Bike Fest with forty-seven bikes
competing for the thirty-two
bike field. Due to the increased
turnout, XDA moved the
qualifying field to forty bikes
allowing more racers to enter
competition on Sunday. Frank
Christian led the charge in
qualifying with a 4.601. The
field was tight with the top
forty bikes running within the
4.60 to 4.74 zone. Ron Bonitatis
and Wes Hawkins both dominated
their sides of the ladder to
earn a spot in their first final
round appearances of the season.
Hawkins left the line first with
a starting line advantage of
.046 over Bonitatis’ .066 light.
Bonitatis ran dead on with a
4.608, but the hole shot for
Hawkins got him the win on his
4.626 run.
HTP
Performance Grudge
Soaring temperatures didn’t stop
the grudge racers as the Bulls
showed up in force for the WPGC
Bike Fest. The grudge racers and
their fans turned up the volume
Saturday night to give the Sound
competition on the other side of
the track a run for their money
as the smack talking and dolla
bills exchanged sides all night.
Boosted Bulls
Winner – Frankie Stotz /
Reddi-Wip
Runner-up – Malcolm Phillips /
Billy Mays
Malcolm Phillips on ‘Billy Mays’
is leading the points in Boosted
Bulls and was the favorite for
the win Saturday night over
Frankie Stotz on ‘Reddi-Wip.’
But when the bulbs dropped
‘Reddi-Wip’ shot out of the can
straight down the track and
‘Billy Mays’ just couldn’t keep
up. This was a redemption win
for DME Racing and Stotz after
his unfortunate high-speed crash
in April.
APE Nitrous
Bulls
Winner – Jeremy Teasley /
Unhinged
Runner-up – Gaige Herrera /
Bumpy Johnson 2.0
Jeremy Teasley returned to XDA
looking for action on ‘Unhinged’
in APE Nitrous Bulls. Teasley
put the smack down on ‘No
Drawers’ and ‘War Cry’ before
going to work on ‘Bumpy
Johnson2.0’ in the final. Gaige
Herrera took wins over
‘Sho-Nuff’ and ‘Kill Shot’
before facing Teasley. In the
Final Teasley made ‘Bumpy
Johnson 2.0’ look weak as
scoreboards lit up in his favor.
3 Sixty 5
Monster Bulls
Winner – Spencer Claycomb /
Under the Influence
Runner-up – David Martin /
Unknown
In 3 Sixty 5 Monster Bulls
Spencer Claycomb for the second
time in a row had to face his
teammate, Jason Herron in round
one of competition. However,
this time the tables turned and
Claycomb took ‘Under the
Influence’ to the final. After
taking out his own bike ‘Tic Tok,’
he also took wins over ‘Leather
Face’ and ‘Son of Sam’ before
reaching the final to battle it
out with David Martin on
‘Unknown.’ The final was easy
work for Claycomb as he got out
in front of Martin and turned on
his win light for back-to-back
win for his team. This win also
moves him to the top of the
championship points chase.
Tommie's
Motorsports DMV Bulls
Winner – Caleb Holt / AM
Performance
Runner-up – Malcom Phillips / No
Cap
In Tommie's Motorsports DMV
Bulls, Caleb Holt on ‘AM
Performance’ made his first DMV
Bulls appearance and no one
could stop him as he cut down
the smack talking round after
round with wins over ‘Stunna 4
Vegas’, ‘Bud Light lime’ and
‘Rick James.’ And the final
again Malcolm Phillips on ‘No
Cap’ was another round of pure
performance domination as Holt
turned on another win light for
his team.
Tommie's
Motorsports All Motor Bulls
Winner – David Fondon / Bad
Bitch
Runner-up – Matt Dozier / Nasty
Bastard
The Tommie's Motorsports All
Motor Bulls put on show and
didn’t let the heat slow down
their performance on the track
Friday night. David Fondon on
‘Bad Bitch’ slapped ‘Nasty
Bastard’ with the win light in
the final round and took the
win.
1 Stop Speed
5.60
Winner - Dustin Lee / Runner-up
– Thomas Graves
Robert Parker led the 1 Stop
Speed 5.60 qualifying on
Saturday with a 5.604 time over
thirty-five other competitors.
Dustin Lee who came into this
event sitting number three in
points made sure he took out all
the heavy hitters on his way to
the final where he met Michael
Graves. Lee intimidated Graves
on the starting line as he went
-.252 red handing Lee the win
and sending him to the winner’s
circle giving him the points he
needs to reach a championship
with only two events left in the
season.
Mickey
Thompson Tires Top Sportsman
Winner – Robin Procopio /
Runner-up – Jeffrey Santin
Mickey Thompson Tires Top
Sportsman had a quick field
despite the soaring
temperatures. Ryan Burnell
qualified number one with a
7.431, however he took a first
round loss to the number
thirty-two qualifier when he had
problems on the track and ran
almost two seconds off his
dial-in time. Jeffrey Santin and
Robin Procopio both qualified in
the middle of the pack and
earned their win lights for a
final round showing. Procopio’s
husband just won Pro Xtreme and
she was determined to double up
their winner’s circle photo. In
the final, Procopio dialed an
8.22 and cut a .020 light,
Santin dialed an 8.04 and cut a
.051 light. Procopio turned on
the win light with an 8.257
running closer to her dial than
Santin’s 8.087 run.
MPS Racing Pro
ET
Winner – Jimmie Miller III /
Runner-up – Harvey Powell
Over a hundred and thirty racers
entered Sunday’s MPS Racing Pro
ET class to test their skills
and earn that $5,000 payday.
Jimmie Miller and Harvey Powell
won seven rounds of competition
to earn their final round spots.
Miller last saw a Pro ET
winner’s circle in 2019 and he
was determined to get back there
this weekend. Miller dialed an
8.10 and cut a .015 light,
Powell dialed an 8.24 and cut a
.037 light. As the two riders
raced to the finish line, Miller
lifted right before the finish
line running an 8.115, and
Powell didn’t lift enough as he
broke running an 8.234 helping
put Miller back in the winner’s
circle.
Brock's
Performance Street ET
Winner – Montrell Johnson /
Runner-up – Micheal McAllister
The Brock's Performance Street
ET class yielded action packed
rounds as competitors were
running close to their dials and
giving the crowd a show on
Sunday round after round.
Montrell Johnson and Micheal
McAllister both won six rounds
to dominate their side of the
ladder. Johnson dialed an 8.77
and McAllister a 10.84 for the
final. McAllister left first
with .077 reaction time, and
Johnson cut his worst light of
the day at .129. The two raced
to the finish and neither racer
was lifting! McAllister got
their first but broke out with a
10.838 pass giving the win to
Johnson who ran an 8.771. It was
a great final round.
VooDoo
Components Bracket Bash
Winner – Nick Hamlett /
Runner-up – Mike Schulz
The heat did not deter the
VooDoo Component Bracket Bash
with over 170 racers entering
for a change at the $3,000
payout. Nick Hamlett and Mike
Schulz both worked their way
through seven rounds of tough
competition to Saturday night to
face off in the final. Hamlett
dialed an 8.72 and Schulz an
8.63 making it a close actioned
round. Hamlett left the line
first with a .009 reaction time
to Schulz’s .041 light. As the
two raced down to the finish
line they were side eyeing each
other as they both lifted off
the gas trying to take the
finish the line without breaking
out of their dial. Hamlett’s
starting line advantage got him
there first and he took the win
with a .021 margin of victory
running an 8.807 to Schulz’s
8.706.
Hard Times
Parts & Service Gambler's Race
Winner – Ben Knight / Runner-up
– Michael Parsons
It was back-to-back wins this
weekend for Ben Knight in the
Hard Times Parts & Service
Gambler's race. After taking a
win last month, he fell right
back in the win light groove and
methodically picked off the
competition round after round.
In the final he faced Michael
Parsons, but the work was made
easy when Parsons went red to
send Knight to another winner’s
circle.
For full qualifying and
round-by-round results of the
event, visit
www.xdaracing.com.
The XDA will head back to
Virginia Motorsports Park for
the 4th annual Bike Bash on
August 26-28, 2022. There will
be over 700 Professional,
Sportsman, and Grudge motorcycle
racers in competition battling
it out for over $80,000 in cash
purse at this event. Get August
26-28 on your calendar now!
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 |