North Carolina Legend Turner Leads Rockingham AMRA Winners
PennGrade1 AMRA All-American motorcycle drag racing series race coverage report
October 25-27 , 2024
Rockingham Dragway in Marston , North Carolina , USA
This report was prepared by Tim Hailey .
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When the world ’ s largest all-American motorcycle drag racing series holds their largest event at one of their marquee tracks , you know you ’ re in for a great weekend of Harley-Davidson drag racing . And so it was at North Carolina ’ s Rockingham Dragway for the PennGrade1 American Motorcycle Racing Association ( AMRA ) Jim McClure All-Harley Nitro World Finals , with 40 nitro bikes on the property and riveting gas class competition . Few racers ( or none ) carry on the legacy of the late , great Top Fuel Harley legend McClure better than North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Famer Jay “ Bulldog ” Turner , and Turner really delivered . He qualified number one in the twelve-bike Circle M Ranch / Dove Fuels Top Fuel field , ran low ET of every round of eliminations , won the race in an all-Jay Turner Racing final round , and secured the season championship . Turner faced teammate Tii Tharpe on his Spevco bike in the final , with Tharpe taking the tree by an extra slim . 0009 and both bikes flaming side-by-side into the Rockingham night . But Turner ’ s bike had been the class of the field all weekend and stayed that way , running 6.26 at 216 miles-per-hour to Tharpe ’ s 6.54 at 197 . Still working to finish his own Top Fuel bike damaged in a 2023 season opening crash , Bad Apple Racing ’ s Jimmy “ Mac ” McMillan jumped at the chance to ride injured Armon Furr ’ s beautiful Nitro Funnybike at
Rockingham . Normally , McMillan would be helping his Bad Apple teammate Cameron “ Flash ” Gunter , but this time around he was facing number one qualifier Gunter in the final . After putting an aggressive tune-up in the bike , Furr pulled McMillan aside and said “ We ’ re either gonna win , or …” “ Or blow the tire off ?” finished McMillan . Well , they did both . After taking the tree by a substantial . 126 margin , Jimmy Mac immediately had to go into pedal mode . But so did Gunter in the other lane , whose battles with tire and throttle eventually carried him into the timing blocks — handing the win to McMillan but still scoring the championship for himself in only his second year of nitro racing . Bad Apples were floating to the top of
Circle M Ranch / Dove Fuels Top Fuel winner - Jay Turner
the barrel all around , including Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel . “ Bad Apple Mary ” Dangrow had a career weekend , qualifying number one and racing through the full 16-bike field to meet defending class champion Sam White in the final . Mary took the tree by . 052 and kept her lead with a 7.35 at 165 to the 7.53 / 161 run by White , who retained the number one plate . It wasn ’ t just nitro bikes filling fields and putting on a show at The Rock , Baggers were bangin ’! Southern grudge legend “ Burnout Bruce ” Emanuel showed up with Scott Williams ’ beautiful blue turbo Bagger and immediately started setting M8 records while taking
number one qualifier in a 15-bike Zipper ’ s Performance Pro Bagger field . Bruce kept his advantage all the way to the final , where he took the tree by a scant . 003 against fellow finalist Jeremy Beaulieu . But Emanuel had the power to score a 7.79 at 183 win against Beaulieu ’ s 8.09 at 173 . Rick Hunnicutt won the championship . Jimmy Maikranz did what Jimmy Maikranz does , qualifying number one in Thundermax Street Baggers , then giving his teammate — in this case , Dave “ Paco ” Cartwright — the break in the final . After Cartwright ’ s . 189 , Maikranz waited a leisurely . 651 to join the race . Paco ’ s 9.74 at 134 was
Zipper ’ s Performance Pro Bagger winner - Bruce Emanuel Joe Perry Billy Doherty
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