McBride Scares, Brown Scores
IHRA Top Fuel Motorcycle Report Presented by Pingel Darana National Trail Raceway, Hebron, Ohio USA, June 19-20, 2026
If the 1600 + horsepower, supercharged, nitromethaneburning Top Fuel Motorcycles( TFM) and the men who ride them looked insane enough before the first IHRA Triple Crown race at Darana National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio USA, the insanity amped up tenfold over the June 19-20 weekend. Larry " Spiderman " McBride- probably the most experienced and successful racer in the history of nitro motorcycle drag racing- had the wind peal him off of his bike after a bump in the shutdown area in the first round of eliminations. It was a horrifying image as the well-known and beloved rider came off the side of the bike at about 200 mph. Untethered, Spiderman few through the air like Superman. McBride slid along the pavement before coming to a stop alongside the wall in the other lane. Also fortunate was that opponent Jaska Salakari was on a shutoff pass rather than at speed as the fallen McBride slid into his path. McBride ' s bike sailed off the end of the track, skipping over the gravel trap and diving 200 feet into the cornfield of the other side of Refugee Road. Incredibly, McBride stood right up. He initially refused transport to the hospital, but relented when the medic assured him that he would need stitches on his elbow. " What was my ET?" McBride asked from the ambulance. His winning 3.82( eighth mile) would stand as low ET for the class. When he came back from the track,
Mitch Brown showed winning consistency amidst the drama
the mob of well-wishers saw that he only needed three stitches, had a small wound on his knee, and a bruise on his back. The bike also was in reasonably good shape, and after a long rain delay, both bike and rider might have made the next round had everyone involved been feeling reckless. But they weren ' t, and despite taking the winlight, McBride wouldn ' t show for E2. Elsewhere in E1, TFM newcomer Gerry Hunt put. 051 on Jason Pridemore at the tree before his blown I4 outran Pridemore ' s blown Nitro Harley 4.01 to 5.18. Fellow nitro rookie Richard
Larry McBride WAS the drama, scaring everyone!
Bob Malloy went to both nitrobike finals and came up empty handed
This report was prepared by Tim Hailey, provided courtesy of Pingel Enterprise.
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" Sandman " Deys gave up. 071 to Mitch Brown at the tree and trailed 4.85 to 4.21 on track. Micah Fenwick gave away a golden opportunity when he redlit against Bob Malloy, who broke the shaft on his supercharger and would have been soundly beaten by Fenwick ' s 4.08. Malloy then needed to borrow parts from Fenwick to make round 2, where he had a bye to the final due to McBride ' s no-show. Malloy opted to just take the tree. In the other semi, Brown easily handled Hunt and had lane choice for the final. Brown owns Monster Race Products, which produces a brand new, billet cylinder head for inline 4-cylinder nitro bikes. It debuted nicely on the bike he co-owns with Dennis Bradley. Pro Mod Car driver Todd Martin helps tune the bike ' s FuelTech controlled and fired system. Brown thanked Dennis, Nick, Todd, Eddie, Sheila, Sandlain Iron and Metal, Monster Race Products, PennGrade Oil, Mile High Crankshafts, Steve Churchman, Scott Truett, George Bryce, Niles Gibson, George Babor at BPM, Ron Rees, Rob Flynn, MTC engineering, Sam Wills, Steve and Larry McBride, B & J Transmissions, Heikki Salmien and Antii Peltokski, Worldwide Bearings, Mickey Thompson and the PR Factory Store, Strategic Hail Solutions, his wife, three daughters, and mom. Where Top Fuel Motorcycle race next is anyone ' s guess, as IHRA has shut down its Nitro series for the remainder of the season.
Jaska Salakari’ s drama was more comical than scary
Micah Fenwick had a costly first round redlight
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