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XDA started its sixth season
strong as they overcame a poor
weather forecast, yet still
delivered a weekend of quality
racing action with 645
motorcycle drag racers at the
Maryland International Raceway
for the 29th annual Platinum
General Services (PGS) Spring
Nationals.
The pre-event weather forecast
showed potential storms on
Saturday with a 100% chance of
rain. But this did not deter
loyal XDA racers from loading up
and heading out for the event.
Before XDA even opened the gates
on Thursday, the Miller brothers
had already laid out and
announced a plan to adjust the
schedule with the forecast on
Saturday. Sportsman morning
qualifying would stay intact
with 2 qualifiers, the Voodoo
Bracket Bash was canceled, the
Pros would only receive 2
qualifying sessions and the
Bulls would get 2 shakedown
runs, then eliminations for
everyone would be on Sunday. It
was a perfect solution that
allowed the entire event to move
forward while still giving the
racers what they needed.
High winds and rain came in at
2pm on Saturday and rained off
and on long into the night.
Despite these circumstances, the
pit area was full of wet kids
running around playing in the
rain and happy adults catching
up with their racing friends and
grilling their dinners. The
track staff came back in on
Saturday night and started
working on drying the track
overnight. When the sun came up
on Sunday, it was game on! The
Awards Ceremony on Stage was
completed to honor the Top 10’s
and Champions from 2022, and it
was back to business as the
lanes filled with racers eager
to turn on win lights.
Orient Express
Racing Pro Street
Winner - Rodney Williford
Runner-up - Jordan Haase
#1 Qualifier - Rodney Williford
6.382
Orient Express Racing Pro Street
once again delivered on-track
action with several personal
bests and several new riders
making their marks.
Brandon Litten, who had been
doing pre-season testing, made
his official Pro Street debut
this past weekend. Litten made
his fastest pass during
Thursday's test session with a
6.682 at 210.70 mph. However, he
was unable to replicate that
time during official
competition. He qualified with a
6.786, which will land him on
the #37 spot on the Pro Street
GOAT list.
In round one of eliminations,
Litten put a .023 light on
Jordan Haase and quickly got out
in front of him; however, at
about half track, Litten started
losing momentum, and Haase came
around him to take the win.
Despite the loss,
seventeen-year-old Litten has
already shown he will be a
player this season.
Mark Rendeluk also debuted with
a new DME Racing built Turbo
Hayabusa. He couldn't get
pre-season testing in and made
his maiden voyage on Thursday
before the event with an
impressive 6.986 at 214 mph.
Rendeluk has been 6.30 in the
quarter mile on his
record-breaking Pro Open
machine, so he is no stranger to
the speed. He quickly learned a
new riding style and qualified
with a 6.651 at 22.29 mph.
Rendeluk will land on the #26
spot of the Pro Street GOAT list
and the #21 spot on the MPH
list.
He went on to win the first
round of eliminations with a
6.690 over Ricky Wood. In round
two, he had a bye after teammate
Jason Dunigan could not continue
due to an unusual valve train
failure, which ended his hopes
for an event win. In the
semi-final, Rendeluk left before
the tree was activated to end
his weekend and sent Jordan
Haase to the final round.
Shawn Pinkney is no longer the
lone Kawasaki of the class.
Derek Sobiech debuted his new
Nitrous Kawasaki ZX-14R and
qualified in the field with a
7.225 at 189 mph. He was set to
run Caleb Holt in round one but
could not make the call after
the team discovered they had a
split shim: Sobiech and his team
plan to regroup and be back out
for the June event even
stronger.
Gaige Herrera debuted his new
Pro Street Nitrous setup
featuring the new DME Racing
Chromoly frame. During Friday's
testing, he ran an impressive
6.45 at 204 mph pass while
lifting early to avoid the
center line. However, the
drastic weather change would not
allow him to replicate the time
and surprisingly did not qualify
for the sixteen-bike field.
Defending class champion Rodney
Williford showed up and did what
he does best; he applied the
pressure. In the last round of
qualifying on Saturday, he ran a
6.382 to take the top qualifying
position.
In round one of eliminations,
Ryan Bonitatis reset his record
to a 6.643 as he took a win over
Jamie Lopes. However, the
victory was short lived when he
found himself up against
Williford in the next round.
Williford ran a 6.477, defeating
Bonitatis's 6.711 to move on to
the semi-final. In the
semi-final Williford ran a 6.400
taking a win over Darion Payne's
6.497.
Jordan Haase, who failed to
qualify for the World Cup Finals
in November, put in the hard
work in the off-season to prep
for a successful 2023 season.
Haase qualified with a 6.658 and
went on to win round one against
Litten, round two against Caleb
Holt, and Rendeluk in the
semi-final. However, his
semi-final win came at a cost as
his output shaft decided to
break out of the cases.
With Haase unable to make the
final round, and Williford on
his third motor of the weekend,
Pro Street had its most
anticlimactic win in history
when Williford took the win by
breaking the beams with his bike
under power for the win.
Williford starts another season
leading the Orient Express
Racing Pro Street points chase.
However, there is enough talent
in the class that he could be
knocked off his perch next race.
Will another team be able to get
their ducks in a row? Come to
Virginia Motorsports Park on
June 2-4 to find out!
DME Racing
Real Street
Winner - Courtlan Whiting
Runner-up - Mark Hylton
#1 Qualifier - David Stewart
7.530
DME Racing Real Street was all
business this past weekend as
racers looked to step up their
game this season, and the class
saw the biggest bike count in
years!
George Cross debuted his
Hayabusa with a great attitude.
Cross qualified with an 8.990;
however, by round one of
eliminations, he was knocking on
that seven-second door with an
8.070 run.
Shane Stubbs also debuted with a
GSX-R1000 that he thrashed on
until he had to load up for the
event. He qualified with an
8.275, but then went red in the
first round of eliminations.
With five weeks until the next
event, he will get his package
fine-tuned and ready for the
June event.
Defending class champion David
Stewart earned the number one
qualifying spot with a 7.53.
Stewart made it to the
semi-final but was outperformed
by Courtlan Whiting, who ran a
7.568 to Stewart's 7.622. This
win would send Whiting to his
first-ever Real Street final!
In the final, Whiting faced
previous class champion Mark
Hylton and it would take
everything he had to get around
him for a win. When the bulbs
flashed both riders rocketed out
of the gate. Both riders fought
wheelies at the 60' mark, but
Courtlan recovered quicker,
allowing him to keep his forward
momentum and stay ahead of
Hylton to the finish line. This
was Whiting's first DME Racing
Real Street win.
MaxxECU Pro
Xtreme
Winner - Chris Cutsinger
Runner-up - Dale Leeks
#1 Qualifier - Ronnie Smith
4.005
The MaxxECU Pro Xtreme 1/8 mile
heads-up class welcomed a new
entry to the race, Dale Leeks
came down from Ontario, Canada,
and put down a 4.210 at 18.68 in
a round one win over Ronnie
Smith.
Chris Cutsinger who finished
third in points last season came
out swinging at the PGS Spring
Nationals as he qualified number
two with a 4.165 and took wins
over Chris Theodoridis and John
Collins for a final round
appearance. Unfortunately, the
final would be anticlimactic as
Leeks could not make the call
with a broken transmission from
his previous bye run, so
Cutsinger broke the beams to
claim the win.
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 - Mark Blake
Runner-up - Patrick Cooper
#1 Qualifier - Caleb Holt 8.831
In HTP Performance Super Stock,
Caleb Holt grabbed the number
one qualifying spot with an
8.831. Holt would make it to the
semi-final but would take a loss
after he experienced mechanical
troubles at about half-track
against Mark Blake. Blake also
took out Terry Geesy and Felton
Goodwin Sr. to earn his spot in
the final round.
Patrick Cooper, aboard the only
Gen3 Hayabusa in the class, also
earned a spot in the final as he
took wins over Blake Johnson,
Felton Goodwin Jr., and Curtis
McDougald. Going into the final
Blake looked to have the
performance advantage over
Copper on his 2018 Kawasaki
ZX-14R, but Cooper would go
-.090 red at the tree to hand
Blake a win and the points lead.
Boosted Bulls
Winner - Malcolm Phillips / Bill
Mays
Runner-up - Geoff Godfrey /
Minion
Boosted Bulls defending class
champion Frankie Stotz on 'Reddi-Wip'
was unable to make the field
after he suffered a blown turbo
during shakedown passes. The
first round would also be the
final with 'Billy Mays' piloted
by Malcolm Phillips, and
'Minion' ridden by Geoff
Godfrey. When the bulbs dropped,
'Billy Mays left the line hard
and straight as it rocketed to
the eighth-mile finish line. In
the other lane, 'Minion'
struggled to leave the line and
wheelied, causing Godfrey to
abort the pass.
APE Nitrous
Bulls
Winner - Desmond Spaulding / Sho
Nuff
Runner-up - Matt Dozier / Kill
Shot
APE Nitrous Bulls features the
quickest nitrous grudge bikes in
the game, and Matt Dozier on
'Kill Shot' pulled a first-round
bye sending him straight to the
final without breaking a sweat.
Despond Spaulding on 'Sho Nuff'
left first from the tree, but
Lavar Delee on 'High Roller'
quickly overtook him and started
to pull in front, but just as
Delee started to overtake the
pass, fire shot out of the
exhaust at the 330' foot marker
and Spaulding capitalized as he
kept building power to pull away
and cross the finish line first.
In the final, Delee made another
strong pass while Matt Dozier on
'Kill Shot' struggled off the
line handing a win to Spaulding.
3 Sixty 5
Monster Bulls
Winner - Brandon Tyree / Made
Man
Runner-up - Ken Alston / Leather
Face
3 Sixty 5 Monster Bulls had ten
entries and these racers were
hitting the track hard as the
side-by-side action was ample.
After three rounds of
competition, Brandon Tyree on
'Made Man' and Ken Alston on
'Leather Face' made it to the
final round. 'Leather Face'
outperformed 'Son of Sam' and
'Unknown' while 'Made Man'
knocked off 'Belmont' and
'Flawless Victory' on their way
to the Sunday night final.
In the final 'Leather Face' let
out hard on a trifling wheelie
off the starting line and
aborted the pass as Tyree took
the 'Made Man' crew to the
winner's circle.
Tommie's
Motorsports DMV Bulls
Winner - Desmond Spaulding / Mob
Ties
Runner-up - Lavar Delee / Lil
Charlie
The Tommie's Motorsports DMV
Bulls class was another sold-out
affair with 16 entries. 'Mob
Ties' piloted by Desmond
Spauling, made his mark as the
bike was a consistent rocket
pass after pass. This consistent
performance landed Spaulding in
the final after defeating
'Bounty Hunter', 'Pimp C' and
'Grey Matter.' Lavar Delee on 'Lil
Charlie' earned a spot in the
final after tossing out 'Bop
Bop', 'Quick Money' and 'Night
Stalker.'
'Mob Ties' showed up for the
final round meeting, but 'Lil
Charlie' was a no show giving
the win to Spaulding.
All Motor
Bulls
Winner - David Fondon / Bad B*tch
Runner-up - James Culbreath /
Vicous
David Fondon on 'Bad Bitch' drew
the bye run in the first round
of the non-power adder class of
All Motor Bulls. James Culbreath
on 'Vicous' outran Edward Thomas
on 'Da Setup.'
In the final Culbreath battled a
wheelie that would ultimately
lead to an on track crash while
Fondon made a clean pass to take
the win. Culbreath was unharmed
and was able to walk off the
track.
Vance & Hines
4.60
Winner - Darion Payne
Runner-up - Troy Hausmann
#1 Qualifier - Brad Gleason
4.601
Forty competitors qualified for
the country's most popular
1/8th-mile index class, Vance
and Hines 4.60. Four riders ran
a 4.60x in qualifying, but Brad
Gleason edged them out to take
the number one spot with a 4.601
time.
Class veteran Troy Hausmann
sliced through the competition
to win five rounds before making
it to the final to meet Darion
Payne. Payne, a multi-class pro
and sportsman rider, was
unstoppable on the 1998 Kawasaki
bar bike as he knocked out
competitors left and right to
make it to his first XDA 4.60
final. Hausman was cutting
unbeatable lights, including a
.005 in a previous round against
Boo Brown.
However, in the final, Hausmann
leaned a little too hard on the
tree and went -.008 red, handing
the win to Darion Payne and his
team at the starting line. "I
couldn't have done it without my
team, Bad Boyz Racing. Butch
Shelton got me into racing, and
I will forever be grateful. And
Charles Chuck Kay did a hell of
a job tuning for us," said
Payne. "It's a great feeling to
be moving in the right direction
at the start of the season."
And because forty riders
entered, the payout increased
with a $500 winner's bonus to
bring the payout to $5,500!
1 Stop Speed
5.60
Winner - Dustin Davis
Runner-up - Duane Jackson
#1 Qualifier - Brice Cornish
5.604
The eight-mile class of 1 Stop
Speed 5.60 was led by Brice
Cornish, who earned the number
one spot in qualifying with a
5.604. Brice would get the
first-round bye and win three
rounds until Dustin Davis cut a
light on him in round 4 to take
the win and move on to the
final. Davis would go on to meet
Duane Jackson in the final
round. Jackson who is no
stranger to the final round was
ready as he cut a .021 light on
Davis's .60 reaction time. As
the two competitors raced
side-by-side down to the eighth
mile, they never took their eyes
off each other, and no one
lifted as they crossed the
finish line. It was a photo
finish with a two-inch margin of
victory going to Dustin Davis on
his Suzuki GSX-R1000.
Mickey
Thompson Tires Top Sportsman
Winner - Dustin Lee
Runner-up - Bill Maturo Jr.
#1 Qualifier - Kevin Manchester
7.244
Mickey Thompson Tires Top
Sportsman features the quickest
ET racers on the property.
Connecticut racer Kevin
Manchester led the thirty-two
bike field with a 7.244, while
Barry Pryer Sr. brought up the
back of the pack with an 8.312.
Bill Maturo Jr. earned his way
to the final by taking out
defending class champion Jimmie
Miller in the first round,
Dystany Spurlock, Rick Bunting,
and finally Boo Brown in the
semi-final.
On the side of the ladder, 2020
class champion Dustin Lee took
wins over Norman Teal, Dave
Cornnell, Logan Mathias, and
Michael Daddio. Maturo would
make Lee's job easy as he turned
on the red light when he left
the line. Lee's win also allowed
him to continue to MPS Racing
Pro ET eliminations.
MPS Racing Pro
ET
Winner - Dustin Lee
Runner-up - Barry Pryer Sr
The MPS Racing Pro ET class had
an incredible turnout for Sunday
competition, with one hundred
and thirty-three racers entered.
After Dustin Lee's win in Top
Sportsman, he entered into Pro
ET in the sixth round of
competition. He didn't squander
the opportunity as he took wins
against Nick Hamlett and Boo
Brown to end up in another
final, this time he had to face
Barry Pryer Sr. And like Déjà vu
Pryer, who was dialed slower,
left the tree first and turned
on that red eyed monster to hand
another win over to Lee and a
double payday for the PGS Spring
Nationals. With two sportsman
wins, Lee took home a cool
$7,000 in XDA payout!
Brock's
Performance Street ET
Winner - Derrick Barbour
Runner-up - Donta Yates
Seventy-five competitors entered
Brock's Performance Street ET
for their chance to start the
season with a points lead.
Derrick Barbour and Donta Yates
sliced through the competition
to earn six-round wins on Sunday
to meet in the final. It was set
to be a BUSA battle, however,
Yates threw it away at the hit
with negative -.006 light.
Yates' disappointment would send
Barbour to the top of the points
leaderboard and the coveted
winner's circle.
Hard Times
Parts & Service Gambler’s Race
The Friday night Hard Times
Parts & Service Gambler's race
sold out again and had a
whooping sixty-four entries that
went to battle well into the
night. However, two on-track
accidents pushed the event
later, and the final two
competitors opted to split the
purse rather than running the
following day. Robin Procopio
and Shayne Proctor, who took
four round wins, each spilt
$4,400.00.
The XDA heads to Virginia
Motorsports Park located in
Dinwiddie, Virginia for the 37th
annual MTC Engineering Summer
Nationals on June 2-4, 2023!
Make plans now to be there!
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 |
