PennGrade1 AMRA Maryland Nitro Nationals
Cecil County Dragway in Rising Sun , Maryland USA
April 26-28 , 2024
April showers brought nitro power to Cecil County Dragway as the PennGrade1 AMRA Harley-Davidson drag racing series shook off a full day of Saturday rain to qualify and race on Sunday , April 28 , at the Rising Sun , Maryland speed facility . The Maryland Nitro Nationals saw winlights flash for legends and those that will be .
This report was prepared by Tim Hailey . Enjoy everything there is to read , see and watch about motorcycle drag racing and more at https :// www . eatmyink . com
AMRA Nitro Nationals Cecil County Dragway
When it comes to the living legends of Circle M Ranch / Dove Fuels Top Fuel Harley , it ' s hard to top " The Bulldog ," Jay Turner . These days , the North Carolina Hall of Famer most often shows up riding his ongoing ProCharged project bike . As that project moves closer to competitiveness , Jay has seemed comfortable to cede the winners circle to others - and he works to see that it ' s one of his teammates hoisting the trophy . But when Randal Andras chose to skip Cecil County , Turner mounted Randal ' s normally aspirated Nitro Harley and focused his own attention on the spoils of victory . He looked to have number one qualifier sewn up until Jordan Peterson ' s 6.42 at 210 mph secured that honor on the Steve Horne-owned , Mike Romine-tuned bike he sometimes rides . Peterson had the round one bye in eliminations , while Turner faced what would normally be his biggest challenge - the two-time and defending AMRA champ Ryan Peery . But Peery ' s clutch has yet to awaken from its winter slumber and he spun the tire while Jay ran a 6.45 at 217 - both lows for the round . Turner nudged those numbers up to 6.44 at 219 to trailer AMRA ' s own John " JT " Toth in the semis , while Peterson advanced past Virginia racer Robert " Ziggy " Stewart . Turner ' s . 024 light put . 020 on Peterson at the hit in the final , and his 6.42 at 219 kept Jordan ' s 6.47 at 211 at bay in what was a great side-by-side , thundering final round . Nitro Funnybike champion Jim Doyle made his first appearance of 2024 pay big time , qualifying number one and taking the win over Jason Leeper . Doyle took the tree . 040 , then easily built more of a gap as Leeper took a Pro Fuel bike to the Funnybike final round for the second straight race . The Nitro Funnybike field was hit pretty hard with mechanical carnage at Cecil County , but not so for Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel . The carbureted nitro bikes traded punches every round , with " Bad Apple Mary " Dangrow punching longest for the win . Sam White started his Pro Fuel title defense with a win in Louisiana and looked strong in Maryland , qualifying number one with a 7.23 at nearly 175 mph . But even while racing to the final , White started looking vulnerable as the day went on . A development part was failing , along with Sam ' s hopes for the win . Dangrow , meanwhile , had consistency on her side and delighted the locally strong Bad Apple faithful with the final round winlight .
Pro Modified champ Billy Doherty wanted more competition after his Louisiana win , and he got it at Cecil County . Still , he was able to qualify number one with an 8.52 , a couple of ticks below 158 mph . Keith Carper took the tree by a whopping . 166 in the final , but encountered problems on his run , while Doherty streaked to an 8.42 low ET for the class at the event .
Circle M Ranch / Dove Fuels Top Fuel Winner - Jay Turner
Thundermax Street Eliminator 11.50 Winner - Joe Petersen
Matt Hillen
Robert Willis
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