trouble living up to his reputation as Larry "Spiderman" McBride rode his Suzuki to the Top Fuel title Sunday.
More than 400 racers took part in inaugural Summer Nationals in Thunder Valley with competitors coming from all over the country. A total of 17 states were represented in the finals alone with some finalists coming from as far away as California.
McBride, who hails from Poquoson, Va., snagged the Top Fuel title with a 5.936 elapsed time at 231.68 mph while Mike Lehman of Palm Beach, Fla. rode his Dixie to a runner-up finish with an 8.146 E.T. at 186.64 mph. McBride was also the No. 1 qualifier and scored the low E.T. and top speed for the event.
Mark Paquette of Howell, Mich., piloted his Kawasaki to the Funny Bike win over Keith Lynn (Wabash, Ind.) with a 6.691 at 194.72 mph. Lynn, also riding a Kawasaki, covered the distance in 6.640 at 197.33. Michael Phillips (Baton Rouge, La.) rode his Suzuki to the Pro Mod title over David Vantine (Hamilton, N.Y.) with an 8.014 E.T. at 113.54. Vantine's Kawasaki broke at the line.
The Pro Street victory went to Curtis McDougald (Lillington, N.C.) as he knocked off Bud Yoder (Flint, Mich.) with a 7.831 at 198.12 on his Suzuki. Yoder's Kawasaki ran an 8.010 at 193.99 mph. In Super Sport, Keith Dennis of Cordova, Tenn. and his Suzuki claimed top honors with a 9.253 at 154.32 mph while runner-up Kenny Poppell (Jessup, Ga.) came through with a 9.309/150.00 mph run.
Nicholas Mazeika (Woodbury, N.J.) snagged the Super Street title, riding his Suzuki to an 8.127 elapsed time run at 182.40 mph while Richard Gadson (Philadelphia, Penn.) was second on his Suzuki with an 8.227/171.69 run.
The Top Gas biker who finished atop the field was Don Tanklage (Huntington Beach, Calif.). Tanklage's Kawasaki traveled the strip with an 8.308 E.T. at 155.83 mph while Matt Smith (Cordova, Tenn.) and his Kawasaki finished second with an 8.276/158.24 effort.
Harvey Hubbard (Sedley, Va.) used a quicker reaction time (.059 to .072) to help him captured the Super Comp win over Robert Pannell (Arnold, Mo.) as his Suzuki recorded an 8.873 run at 150.50 mph. Pannell's Kawasaki ran an 8.793 E.T. at 146.16.
Other winners were Gilber Cornonado (Galexia Park, Texas) in Real Street, BayBay Yarbrough (Eatontown, Ga.) in Street Fighter, Andy Baumbach (Fairfax Station, La.) in Pro ET and Keith Dennis in Street ET.
Next up for Bristol Dragway is a trio of the popular Street Fights, starting Thursday, June 26 followed by shows on Saturday, June 28 and Thursday, July 3.
Gates open for Street Fights June 26 and July 3 at 5:00 p.m. with racing scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. Gates open for the June 28th show at 6 p.m. with racing slated to begin at 7 p.m. Spectator admission is $5 and racer entry is only $10.