The AMA Dragbike Track or Treat Nationals from Norwalk, Ohio, 10-11, proved to be a bit tricky for Top Fuel motorcycle legend and nine-time class champion Larry “Spiderman” McBride.
McBride encountered challenging, cold weather, the likes of which the team had never competed in before. Nonetheless, the chilly opening qualifying session proved to be a ghoulish good time for the Spiderman, who took the pole position with a 6.06 at 215 mph.
“It was 48 degree weather and the track temp was only 65 degrees. We aren’t used to that,” said McBride, who is more accustomed to track temperatures in the 90s. “We took a lot of power out and the bike got down the track for us.”
In the opening round of competition McBride improved to a 6.01 at 234 mph.
“The sun came out and the track warmed up a bit,” McBride said. “We made the right guess on the tuning call.”
In the final round of eliminations the Spiderman smoked the tire hard and slowed to a 9.58 at 98 mph, relinquishing the event victory to Geoff Pollard and his 7.03 at 149 mph.
“The freezing weather caught up to us,” McBride said. “I smoked the tire about 80 feet out. It looked like one of Elmer Trett’s old burnouts. I was in and out of the throttle 12 times but I couldn’t get it to hook back up.”
The run proved costly as Spiderman damaged a couple of his record-breaking machine’s pistons. However McBride remained optimistic after the race. It’s hard for the Spiderman to stay down for long, knowing that he is headed toward an unprecedented tenth championship.
“It’s unbelievable,” McBride said. “We have been racing for 31 years and we’re about to win our tenth championship. One out of three is a ratio I’m very proud of. I’m surrounded by great people and fantastic sponsors that make it all possible.”
Next up for McBride will be the last race of the season, the XXX Racing Fuel National Finals from Valdosta, Ga., Nov. 13-15.
Also the 2010 AMA Dragbike schedule was recently released and McBride continues to make progress on his new dragbike he hopes to debut next season.
“We are really excited about the new bike,” McBride said. “It will have an incredible amount of potential.”
2010 AMA Dragbike Schedule
March 5-7 B&B Promotions Bikeweek Nationals
South Georgia Motorsports Park, Valdosta, GA
April 10-11 MTC Elmer Trett Nationals
Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, GA
May 15-16 Spring Nationals
US 131 Motorsports Park, Martin, MI
June 12-13 Summer Nationals
Memphis Motorsports Park, Memphis, TN
July 31-August 1 Pingel Thunder Motorcycle Nationals
O’Reilly Raceway Park, Indianapolis, IN
September 10-12 Orient Express U.S. Motorcycle Nationals
Atco Raceway, Atco, New Jersey
October 9-10 Track or Treat Nationals
Summit Motorsports Park, Norwalk, Ohio
November 12-14 XXX Racing Fuel National Finals
South Georgia Motorsports Park, Valdosta, GA
The team thanked; Pingel Enterprise, Trim-Tex Drywall Products, Drag Specialties-Parts Unlimited, Red Line Synthetic Oil Corporation, K&N Air Filters and Web-Cam as well as his other sponsors.
Vance & Hines Motorsports, PR Factory Store, Muzzys Performance, Ferrea Valves, Kibblewhite, Precision Machine, World Wide Bearings, Vanson Leathers, Performance Machine, Belt Drives Ltd, Street & Competition, Simpson Race Products, Nitrous Express, APE, EK Chain, Arias Pistons, R/D Spring Corp, Autolite, MSD, Protect ALL, Whipple Industries, Cometic Gaskets, B&J Transmission, Carolina Cycle, L.A. Sleeve, PJ1, Mickey Thompson Tires, Valco, Goodridge, Carlisle Belts and Gates Belts.
