Peery Leads AHDRA Pounding at Milan
Story and photos by Tim Hailey of Eatmyink Motorsport Media
AHDRA/AMA took their ground-pounding Nitro Harley-Davidson motorcycle drag racing show to Milan Dragway for the Second Annual Southern Michigan Bikefest (July 29-30, 2023) and gave the Michigan fans some thunderous competition that they won't soon forget.
NHRA U.S. Nationals winner and 2021 AHDRA champion Ryan Peery ruled the Top Fuel class with his customary fist of consistent performances.
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| Ryan Peery |
The final knockout punch was delivered against recent Kuhnle winner Jason Pridemore. Peery took the tree with an .032 to Pridemore's .103, but Jason's supercharged "Gunslinger" started laying down better numbers to the 60 foot, the 330, the eighth, and even 1,000 feet. But it was there that Pridemore's march slowed, his trap speed of 184.16 miles per hour a tick slower than his eighth mile velocity. Peery was going 214 and took the win against his fellow Ohio racer with a 6.45 to Jason's 6.54.
One week after thrilling Milan fans at their Night of Fire, defending champion and 2022 Milan race winner Tracy Kile qualified second just one hundredth behind Peery, but fell to Pridemore in E1.
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| Michael Balch |
Like Kile in Top Fuel, Michael Balch was the defending Milan winner and Nitro Funnybike champion. And also like Kile, Balch struggled this time around. So much so that first year nitro rider Cameron Gunter took number one qualifier on Saturday.
But Balch took the tree against Gunter by nearly three tenths on race day. And that's what delivered the win, as Balch's still not completely sorted bike ran two tenths slower than Gunter on track for a holeshot victory.
Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel champion Sam White started off the weekend with struggles of his own but got it all straightened out in time for the final against recent Indy AMRA winner "Bad Apple Mary" Dangrow. Neither racer was exactly hot on the tree, with Mary's .129 besting Sam's .203. But from there on, White's Hawaya Racing-built Terminator Too started making up ground and took the win with a 7.46 at 164 to Dangrow's .66 at 163.
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| Chris Hoppe |
AHDRA's two nearly unlimited no-bar classes, GMS Racing Engines Xtreme Outlaw and MTC Pro Comp Outlaw Bagger, were combined at Milan and resulted in a Bagger vs. no-bags, all-turbo final.
Defending Milan winner Charley Douglass and his recently reassembled Outlaw took the win against Frank Wojcik's Bagger, the number one qualifier.
John Price is having a heck of a season, of Zipper's Performance Products Pro Modified racing, qualifying number one and taking the win at Milan. He beat Chris Hoppe in the final.
Kimberly "K-Charm" Deshields continued her Axtell Cylinders Super Modified mastery, besting number one qualifier Gary Douglass in the final.
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| Sam White |
Nate Carnahan had a great weekend, winning both Pingel Modified and 10.30 index. Nate beat Jeff Workman on a holeshot in a great round 1 Modified race, with his 9.84 beating Workman's quicker-but-losing .82.
He then earned the winner's plaque when number one qualifier Dru Conner broke in the final. Carnahan stayed close to the 10.30 index to win the Super Pro final against national anthem chanteuse Heather Jendruch. Perry Paugh qualified number one in 10.30 and lost in round 2.
No-bar racer Brad Reiss Jr. was also a double winner at Milan, winning 9.30 and Vreeland's Harley-Davidson 9.90.
Number one qualifier Reiss' .008 reaction time delivered Chris Hoppe his second runner-up of the day in the 9.30 final. Brad qualified number one in Vreeland's Harley-Davidson 9.90 and put a wide .056 to .202 margin on Cody Hayworth in the final. Both wins came on Reiss' red bike. "Went to the semifinals in (two) classes on my blue bike," added Brad. "I would have gone to the finals on the blue bike in 10.30 class. I got out ahead of her (Jendruch) and the throttle cable broke."
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| Nate Carnahan |
Frequent winner Hayworth runner-upped twice at Milan, losing to Willie George in the Universal Fleet & Tire 10.90 final. George's dad Richard George beat Racin' Ray Robinson in Saturday's Eliminator final. Richard's .011 light pretty well did Robinson in this time around.
Sunday's Eliminator winner was two-time runner-up Hoppe, who beat a rider listed as A. Hammerhe in the results. Hoppe gave up .023 at the tree, but was still able to win the double breakout final. Robinson may have lost an Eliminator final, but he came out on top in 11.50 by beating M. Thurston in the final.
Super Pro number one qualifier Paugh was able to find the winners' circle in Saturday's Trophy class. "I raced one of my other bikes in the final, my teammate Denny Nyegran," said Paugh. "He broke out." Nyegran also runner-upped on Sunday, this time to Talon Harper.
Harper's son Blake scored his first win in Junior Dragbike on Sunday and the number one qualifier on Saturday. Jaden Hines runner-upped on Sunday, but the order was reversed on Saturday with Jaden the winner and Blake the runner-up.
Jaden's brother Michael Hines Jr. won Junior Senior Dragbikes both days, with Bradley Croneberger Jr. the runner-up on Sunday.
Bill and Chrissy Rowe look forward to welcoming the AHDRA/AMA family back to Cecil County Dragway in Rising Sun, Maryland, on September 8-10 - always one of the best attended races on the tour!
AHDRA/AMA thanks Vreeland's Harley-Davidson, MTC Engineering, Hawaya Racing, Pingel Enterprise, GMS Racing Engines, Zipper's Performance, Horsepower Inc., Vanson Leathers, Universal Fleet & Tire, V-Twin Powersports, Daryl Coffin Motorsports, All-Harley World Shootout, Axtell Cylinders and Racers For Christ.