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XDA's sixth season was a
success, with fourteen champions
crowned at the 31st annual DME
Racing Fall Nationals at
Maryland International Raceway.
This season showcased an
electrifying display of speed
and power with unmatched
on-track action. XDA racers
competed for over $450,000 in
total payout, including a
staggering $121,600 contingency
offerings over the 2023 season.
XDA has released its 2024
motorcycle drag racing schedule
featuring six events. The 2024
XDA season begins at the
world-renowned Maryland
International Raceway on April
19-21 for the Platinum General
Services Spring Nationals. Mark
your 2024 calendars now for the
six events featuring the
quickest and fastest sanction in
the country! #RacewithXDA
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April
19-21 / PFR Spring
Nationals / MIR
May 17-19 / MTC
Engineering Summer
Nationals / VMP
June 28-30 / Superbike
Showdown / MIR
July 26-28 / WPGC Bike
Fest / MIR
August 23-25 / FuelTech
Bike Bash / VMP
October 4-6 / DME Racing
Fall Nationals / MIR |
The Orient Express Pro Street
class is the most exciting class
to watch in motorcycle drag
racing. With no wheelie bars,
these 6-second, 230+mph
motorcycles launch like missiles
as their riders fight to keep
them straight through the
quarter mile. This past weekend
delivered two winners and
numerous personal improvements
in the class.
Orient Express
Racing Pro Street - FuelTech
Bike Bash Event
Winner - Jason Dunigan /
Runner-up - Rodney Williford
Everyone waited a month to see
reigning Champion Rodney
Williford and Jason Dunigan slug
it out again this season. Since
2021, these two have met in
three final rounds. And
Williford has taken wins in two
of those rounds. Everyone in the
Pro Street class will attest
that beating Rodney is no small
feat. And if you manage to
accomplish it, you won't soon
forget it. During round two of
qualifying Saturday afternoon,
Dunigan and Williford lined up
to complete the final from the
FuelTech Bike Bash event
initially held at Virginia
Motorsports Park.
Williford took the starting line
advantage on Dunigan with a .017
to a .027 reaction time.
Williford was out in front of
Dunigan from the start, but as
they came to half-track,
Dunigan's Hayabusa started
building that top-end power.
Williford's front end started
coming up on him, and he
skillfully battled it back under
control. But this gave Dunigan a
small window of opportunity that
he did not waste as he pulled
ahead of him. Williford
recovered and was catching back
up to Dunigan, but the finish
line came up on them too quick
for Williford to gain the lead,
and Dunigan's win light came on,
flashing a 6.592 on the board to
Williford's 6.652. Despite the
win, Rodney held a firm grip on
the Championship chase as he
still led over Dunigan and the
class with an eighty-four-point
lead.
Orient Express
Racing Pro Street - DME Racing
Fall Nationals
Winner - Mark Rendeluk /
Runner-up - Jordan Haase
2023 Champion - Rodney Williford
Pro Street rookie Mark Rendeluk
continued his incredible year by
qualifying number one with a
6.436, with Williford behind him
in the second position with a
6.444.
During Saturday's qualifying,
Ricky Wood lowered his best ET
of 6.596 to qualify him sixth.
Brett Ware went vertical during
round one of qualifying and
separated from his bike during a
wild wheelie. Ware and the XDA
racing community pulled together
to help him get his bike fixed
so he could make the first round
of racing on Sunday.
Ware was able to make the call
Sunday morning and faced Mark
Rendeluk in round one. Rendeluk
took the win, but despite the
loss for Ware, he lowered his
personal best ET on that run to
6.706, making a bad weekend a
little bit better.
Also in round one, Ryan
Bonitatis lowered his personal
ET record to 6.584 as he won
over James Waugh's 6.641 run.
Kenny Brewer did the unthinkable
and turned on a win light
against Williford in round one.
Williford had to abort his pass
as he approached the 1000' mark
to avoid taking out the center
line sensor blocks. Brewer won
the round, but his bike didn't
make it into high gear, and he
trashed the transmission in the
shutdown.
Dunigan took out Justin Shakir
in round one with a 6.636 on
what would be Shakir's best run
of the weekend with a 6.499.
However, the win would come at a
cost, as you could hear his
backup motor blow up as he
crossed the finish line. This
ended his weekend and chances to
put himself closer to Williford
in season-ending points.
With Dunigan and Brewer broke
for round two, Jayson Geerman
and Jordan Haase took bye-run
passes to head to the
semi-final. Rendeluk took out
Bonitatis with a 6.547 to his
6.603. But this round would also
reset Bonitatis' MPH record to
224.88. Darion Payne ran a 6.627
to take out Tony Ficher on a
6.725 run. However, Payne would
blow his motor on this run,
putting his team into a scramble
mode trying to get him back in
action for the semi-final.
Payne would not make it to the
semi-final, sending Haase to his
second final of the season.
Rendeluk took a win over
teammate Jayson Geerman with a
personal-best run of 6.390 to
his 7.521.
This would be both rider's
second time seeing a final this
season. Haase took the starting
line advantage over Rendeluk
with a .034 to his .081. Haase
would be out in front of
Rendeluk until the eighth mile
when both riders' front wheels
started coming up. Haase
recovered his first wheelie, and
then the front end started to
come up right back up again, but
it was too late; Rendeluk was
powering around him to the
finish line. Rendeluk crossed
first, running a 6.402 to
Haase's 6.594, taking his first
Pro Street win.
The DME Racing team was on top
this past weekend, taking two
Pro Street wins in one weekend.
Team tuner Andy Sawyer plans to
use this momentum as they
prepare for racing next month.
The team has won twice at the
World Cup Finals and will look
to do it again.
With the XDA season complete,
the top ten XDA Pro Street
racers will now focus on their
$5,000 bonus race on November
1-5, 2023. The 27th annual
Haltech World Cup Finals
presented by Wiseco Import vs.
Domestic event at Maryland
International Raceway will host
the sixth annual Pro Street
Shootout sponsored by Platinum
General Services.
This will be the largest event
that Pro Street has ever raced
at, competing in front of
50,000+ fans.
Ten racers will show up, but
only eight will make it to the
show on Sunday! The ten racers
who will aim to qualify for the
eight-bike field are Rodney
Williford, Mark Rendeluk, Jason
Dunigan, Darion Payne, Jordan
Haase, Ryan Bonitatis, Brandon
Litten, Kenny Brewer, Justin
Shakir, and Jayson Geerman.
DME Racing
Real Street - FuelTech Bike Bash
Event
Winner - Rickey Gadson /
Runner-up - Spencer Claycomb
The DME Racing Real Street
action started on Saturday when
the final round from the August
FuelTech Bike Bash was run
between Rickey Gadson and
Spencer Claycomb.
Electricity was in the air as
fans and racers made their way
to the grandstands to watch this
battle go down. Claycomb led the
points coming into this event,
and with this one round, it
could all be turned upside down.
Claycomb came hungry for the
win, which showed when the bulbs
dropped. With nearly identical
reaction times, Gadson's .099
and Claycomb .095, both racers
shot off the starting line on a
mission.
Gadson had a small wheelie that
he could keep under control,
while Claycomb fought two
wheelies and blew his motor
before crossing the finishing
line. Claycomb gave everything
he could but came up short with
a 7.797 to Gadson's 7.755
winning run. And just like that,
Gadson became the points leader.
DME Racing
Real Street - DME Racing Fall
Nationals
Winner - Rickey Gadson /
Runner-up - Anibal Merced
2023 Champion - Rickey Gadson
Mark Hylton took the number one
qualifying position in DME
Racing Real Street with a 7.468
on his all-motor Hayabusa. David
Stewart followed with a 7.470,
making them the only riders to
enter the seven-forties over the
weekend. Gadson might have taken
the lead in points on Saturday,
but Claycomb, Hylton, and
Stewart were all within a
mathematical shot of the
championship.
On Sunday, Claycomb took a
round-one loss to Anibal Merced,
taking him out of the running
for the championship. In round
two, Merced took out Stewart,
giving Gadson one less obstacle
for the championship.
In the semi-final, Gadson came
head-to-head with Hylton. Hylton
ran a quicker 7.492, but
Gadson's better reaction time of
.032 to .119 sealed his fate for
his first XDA championship as
Gadson won. Merced took out
Caleb Holt in the semi-final
before heading to the final to
battle Gadson.
In the final, Merced would
outrun Gadson with a 7.515 to a
7.536, but once again, Gadson's
superior reaction time of .057
to Merced's .096 would get him
another hole shot victor. Gadson
secured his first XDA
championship with a comfortable
lead of forty-five points over
his competitors in the class.
MaxxECU Pro
Xtreme
Winner - Brunson Grothus /
Runner-up - Chris Cutsinger
2023 Champion - Chris Cutsinger
Congratulations to Chris
Cutsinger on this first MaxxECU
Pro Xtreme Championship.
Cutsinger came into the final
with a forty-point lead and left
with a ninety-eight point,
cementing his championship run.
George Whitaker qualified number
one with the only three-second
pass in qualifying at 3.999 at
183.24 mph. He would make it to
the semi-final on Sunday but
could not run due to a faulty
cam sensor.
XDA MaxxECU Pro Xtreme
first-timer Brunson Grothus
arrived race-ready after a
two-year hiatus. Grothus took
down the competition one round
at a time, with teammate Jean
Gosselin in round one and Tommy
Saxon in round two, running a
3.982, and then had a bye to the
final to face class champion
Chris Cutsinger.
In the final, Grothus had a
slight advantage on the tree
with a .064 reaction to
Cutsinger's .070. Cutsinger's
power plant didn't have enough
to catch Grothus, who was on the
quickest pass of the weekend,
running a 3.965 at 188.28 mph to
his 4.043. And just like that,
Grothus Racing is back and
poised to dominate the
competition.
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
- Brian Johnson
2023 Champion - Mark Blake
It was a dream weekend for Mark
Blake in HTP Performance Super
Stock as he entered the season
finale third in points and left
with a win and the 2023
Championship!
Tim Cottrell came into the final
second in points and qualified
number one with an 8.871, but
his hopes for the championship
were dashed in round one when he
went red against Blake Johnson.
Points leader Mike Davis picked
the wrong event to have a bad
weekend, qualifying sixth and
running off his number to lose
in round two to Mark Blake,
ending his championship
contention.
With Cottrell and Davis out,
Blake simply had to make it to
the final round to clinch the
championship. In the semi-final,
he took out Curtis McDougald's
9.008 with an 8.876.
On the other side of the ladder,
Brian Johnson took out Marcus
Queen, his son Blake, and Jamie
Lopes to meet Blake in the
final.
In the final, Johnson cut a
better .065 on Blake's .213
reaction; luckily, Blake had the
horsepower to make up for that
with an 8.904 to Johnson's
slower 9.055. After this win,
Blake also went on to win the
Brock's Performance Street ET
class.
Boosted Bulls
Winner - Malcolm Phillips /
Billy Mays
Runner-up - Geoff Godfrey /
Minion
2023 Champion - Malcolm Phillips
/ Billy Mays
Geoff Godfrey came in the DME
Racing Fall Nationals, leading
by seven points over Malcolm
Phillips. However, when it came
down to the final round, Godfrey
couldn't keep his minions in
line at the tree, while Malcolm
Phillips on 'Billy Mays'
rocketed to the finish line with
the win before Godfrey could
make it to half-track.
Congratulations to Malcolm
Phillips on his first Boosted
Bulls Championship.
APE Nitrous
Bulls
Winner - Brandon Litten / Hell
on Wheels
Runner-up - Caleb Holt /
Fortnite
2023 Champion - Desmond
Spaulding / Sho Nuff
Congratulations to Desmond
Spaulding on defending his APE
Nitrous Bulls championship for
the second year. Spaulding took
‘Sho Nuff’ to the semi-final
Saturday night, but a choppy
wheelie forced him to abort the
pass and allow Caleb Holt on
‘Fort Nite’ to head to the
final.
Brandon Litten, who has been a
force to reckon with this year
in Orient Express Racing Pro
Street and Tommie's Motorsports
DMV Bulls, entered his latest
addition to his fleet in APE
Nitrous Bulls. ‘Hell on Wheels’
lived up to its name when the
young Litten took out veterans
David Fondon on ‘Storm Shadow’
and Jeremy Teasley on
‘Unhinged’.
In the final, Litten faced ‘Fort
Nite’. And while Holt took a
good fortnite to get down the
track, Ehren Litten had his
son’s bike tuned up like a
missile to take the win and put
his team in the winner’s circle.
3 Sixty 5
Monster Bulls
Winner - Spencer Claycomb / One
Trip
Runner-up - John James / Dope
Sick
2023 Champion - Ken Alston /
Leatherface
Congratulations to Ken Alston on
earning his first XDA
Championship in 3 Sixty 5
Monster Bulls. He finished the
season, leading the class by
sixteen points.
The weekend competition was
action-packed, 2022 class
champion Spencer Claycomb had
‘One Trip’ on kill and was
unbeatable every round as he
made quick, straight eighth-mile
passes round after round.
John James on ‘Dope Sick’ got
lucky in round one when ‘Son of
Sam’ piloted by Howard Gerken
turned on a red light while
James struggled on the starting
line. The Narcan never took
effect for James as he repeated
the process every round and
surprisingly made it to the
final.
When he met Claycomb in the
final, his luck ran out as ‘One
Trip’ was fine-tuned to the
track and took a quick win while
James stumbled down his lane.
Tommie's
Motorsports DMV Bulls
Winner - Cody Lowe / Lil Baby
Runner-up - Rickey Grayson / Red
Bull
2023 Champion - Desmond
Spaulding / Mob Ties
Desmond Spaulding won his second
grudge Champion this season in
Tommie's Motorsports DMV Bulls.
Spaulding took wins this season
aboard ‘Mob Ties,’ but he didn’t
have the same luck this past
weekend as Abrian Myers on
‘Carbon Gates’ took the win over
him in round two.
In Saturday's competition Cody
Lowe on ‘Lil Baby’ and Rickey
Grayson on ‘Red Bull’ had the
track figured out as they took
three wins before meeting each
other in the final. In the
final, Lowe flew down the track
while Grayson threw out sparks
and sputtered off the starting
line. This was Lowe's first
class win of the season.
All Motor
Bulls
Winner - David Fondon / Bad
Bitch
Runner-up - Jaques Gaskins /
Cranky
2023 Champion - David Fondon /
Bad Bitch
David Fondon wrapped up another
XDA season with Championship in
All Motor Bulls with
eighty-six-point lead over the
class.
In Saturday night competition
under the light, Fondon on ‘Bad
Bitch’ and Jaques Gaskins on
‘Cranky’ had the best tune-ups
in the class as their bikes
stuck to the track and turned on
the win lights every round.
In the final, it was a
side-by-side heart-pounding race
to the finish line. And just
like the season started, it was
‘Bad Bitch’ for their third win
this season.
Vance & Hines
4.60 - FuelTech Bike Bash Event
Winner - Ronald Procopio /
Runner-up - Jimmy Shifflett
The Vance & Hines 4.60 action
started during Saturday's
qualify when the final three
rounds were completed from the
August FuelTech Bike Bash event.
With five competitors left in
the field, Ronald Procopio,
Jimmy Shifflett, and Boo Brown
took wins in the first round.
In the next round, Shifflett had
a bye to the final, and Procopio
took the win over Brown on a
double breakout run. That round
win would clinch the 2023 Vance
& Hines 4.60 Championship for
Procopio, making him the class
champion for the fourth straight
year.
In the final, Shifflett would
break out running a 4.594 to
give the win to the reigning
champ.
Vance & Hines
4.60 - DME Racing Fall Nationals
Winner - Mantez Thompson /
Runner-up - Michael Thyen
2023 Champion - Ronald Procopio
In the Vance & Hines 4.60 main
event for the DME Racing Fall
Nationals, Shifflett led the
field of forty-seven competitors
as the number one qualifier,
running the only 4.600.
Unfortunately for Shifflett, he
would go red in round two
against Terry Tompkins to end
his season third in points.
Earning their way to the final
were Mantez Thompson and Michael
Thyen. This was Thompson's first
XDA event of the year and
Michael Thyen's third. Both
competitors won five tough
rounds of racing before coming
head-to-head.
Thompson and Thyen were cutting
equally good lights every round,
with Thompson averaging .028 and
Thyen .038. They were set to
give us an action-packed final
matchup in the eight-mile. When
the bulbs dropped, Thompson took
the starting line advantage with
a .033 to Thyen's .071 reaction.
Thyen didn't have the power to
catch Thompson, and Thompson
turned on the win light, running
a 4.614 to send himself to his
first XDA Vance & Hines 4.60
winner's circle!
1 Stop Speed
5.60
Winner - Duane Jackson /
Runner-up - Jimmie Miller
2023 Champion - Duane Jackson
Duane Jackson has been fighting
hard for the 1 Stop Speed 5.60
champion, finishing in the top
five of points the previous two
years. He rolled into the season
finale, again sitting fifth in
the points. But this year, he
was leaving with the hardware.
In round two, he took out the
points leader, Dustin Lee, and
kept knocking down the
competition on his way to the
final.
After winning five rounds and
making it to the final, he had
earned enough points to clinch
the 2023 championship despite
the outcome of the final round.
In the final, he faced Jimmie
Miller, who also had an
addiction to the winner's
circle. Miller won the tree with
a .005 reaction time to
Jackson's .024, and as the pair
raced to the eight-mile, Jackson
would get their first winning
with a 5.623 to Miller's slower
5.656. Jackson finished the
event with a win and a
championship!
Mickey
Thompson Tires Top Sportsman
Winner - Dustin Lee / Runner-up
- Ryan Bonitatis
2023 Champion - Dustin Lee
In Mickey Thompson Tires Top
Sportsman, the 2020 class
Champion Dustin Lee once again
fought his way to the top to win
another championship this
season. Lee went into the DME
Racing Fall Nationals fourth in
points. However, his weekend win
propelled him to the top of the
class, winning by twenty-two
points over Gary Clontz.
In the weekend competition, Ryan
Burnell qualified number one
with a 7.302, followed by Ryan
Bonitatis with a 7.552. This was
Bonitatis' second Top Sportsman
event this season, and he has
already earned his way to a
final round. In the final, Lee
left first with a .024 reaction
on a 7.94 dial. Bonitatis was
the chaser with a quicker dial
of 7.55 and a .087 reaction.
Bonitatis chased Lee to the
finish line, but Dustin took the
stripe by 5 feet, lifting off
the throttle to turn on the win
light with an 8.007 to Bonitatis'
7.574.
MPS Racing Pro
ET
Winner - Nick Christmas /
Runner-up - Ronnie Reece Jr
2023 Champion - Dustin Lee
No championship battle was
closer than MPS Racing Pro ET.
Reigning class Champion Dustin
Lee and 2018 class Champion Dale
Hamilton both took wins this
season, and both finished with
301 points for a tie, requiring
the tiebreaker protocol to be
enacted to determine the winner.
The tiebreaker was ultimately
determined by the rider that won
the most rounds on the last day
of the season to award the 2023
MPS Pro ET Championship to Lee
with 301.1 points.
In weekend competition, Nick
Christmas, who entered his first
race of the XDA season, made his
mark by turning on seven-win
lights to make it to the final
to take on Ronnie Reece Jr.
Reece had cut several double-O
lights in previous rounds and
won. The final would be no
exception to him pushing the
tree. However, for the final,
Reece would push a little too
hard and go in the wrong
direction to turn on a -.005 red
light, giving Christmas a gift
before he even left on the tree.
Congratulations to Christmas on
his first XDA Winner's Circle
finish.
Brock's
Performance Street ET
Winner - Mark Blake / Runner-up
- Russell Dennison Jr
2023 Champion - Louis Green Jr.
Congratulations to Louis Green
Jr. on winning the 2023 Brock's
Performance Street ET
championship. Green took one win
this season, which gave him the
one extra point he needed to win
the championship over Laray
Proctor.
On Sunday, the 2022 class
champion, Mark Blake, took his
effort all the way to the final
round. Russell Dennison Jr. and
Blake both took six-round wins
to meet each other for the final
round.
Dennison dialed an 8.66 and a
cut .114 reaction time on his
Suzuki GSX-R1000, while Blake
dialed 8.35 and cut a leaner
.056 light. As both riders
approached the stripe, neither
looked to be lifting, and
Dennison broke out running an
8.645, giving the win to Blake,
who ran an 8.355.
Hard Times
Parts & Service Gambler's Race
Winner - Dustin Lee
Runner-up - Stanley Russell
The Hard Times Parts & Service
Gambler's race on Friday night
was at total capacity, with
sixty-four sportsman competitors
vying for a $4,000 payout. Heavy
hitters Stanley Russell and
class sponsor Dustin Lee took
five wins before facing each
other in the final. Lee dialed
an 8.72 to Russell's 9.43.
Russell left the tree first,
cutting a .044 light, with Lee
chasing him down after turning a
.063 reaction time. Lee had no
problem catching Russell and
staying with him until the
finish line.
Both riders were running almost
perfectly on their dial-ins in
their previous won rounds, so
they were a well-matched pair to
take the fight to the finish
line. As they crossed the finish
line, both riders ran off their
dial, but Russell was
significantly off with a 9.520
to Lee's winning 8.769. This was
Lee's first Gambler's race win
since he started sponsoring the
class.
VooDoo
Components Bracket Bash
Winner - Dustin Lee
Runner-up - Montrell Johnson
The VooDoo Components Bracket
Bash was stuffed with 119
sportsman competitors on
Saturday, fighting for the
$3,000 payday. Dustin Lee took
his Friday night win momentum
and was ready to steamroll
through the competition.
However, in the first round of
competition, both Lee and
Montrell Johnson took a
first-round loss. But they both
made the smart choice to buy
back in for round two to take
another crack at the field.
Both competitors then turned on
six-win lights to meet under the
Saturday night lights, ready to
take one more win for the night.
Johnson dialed an 8.93 and left
the starting line first with a
.064 reaction time. Lee dialed
an 8.64 and followed with a .018
reaction. Lee dragged Johnson to
the finish line, and as both
competitors lifted a little bit
right before the stripe, Lee got
the win light. Johnson ran
closer to his dial with an
8.947, but Lee's better reaction
time got him there first despite
the 8.683 run.
Congratulations to all the
racers, champions,
record-breakers, and winners of
this season's events. We also
extend our gratitude to all the
friends and family who came out
to support them. We look forward
to your support in 2024 as the
series evolves.
Don't miss a weekend of racing
with the quickest and fastest
motorcycle drag racing sanction
in the country; put XDA on your
2024 calendar now!
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 |
