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DESPITE RUMORS,
JIM MCCLURE NITRO
NATIONALS ALIVE AND
WELL
All-Harley
Motorcycle Classic
Set for 24th
Rockingham Renewal
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. –
What does Mark
Twain, author of The
Adventures of Tom
Sawyer, share with
Rockingham Dragway’s
biggest motorcycle
race? Both were
reported to be
deceased at a time
when they were very
much alive.
After his obituary
prematurely was
posted in his
hometown newspaper,
Twain, one of
America’s greatest
authors and
humorists, is
alleged to have
quipped that
“reports of my death
have been greatly
exaggerated.”
It’s a line that
Rockingham owner
Steve Earwood
temporarily has
adopted as his own
after erroneous
internet reports
that the 24th annual
Jim McClure Nitro
Nationals, a staple
of the fall racing
schedule, had been
canceled.
In fact, the
American Motorcycle
Racing Association
event is very much
alive and well and,
as it has for the
last 23 years, again
will feature the
world’s quickest and
fastest Harley
Davidson motorcycles
including the 240
mile an hour Top
Fuel Harleys on
which the late Jim
McClure was a
many-time champion.
“The big problem
with the internet is
that people seem to
think that anything
that gets on there
is accurate,”
Earwood said.
“Unfortunately, that
isn’t true. While we
all depend on the
web for information,
unscrupulous types
can, have and will
use it to further
their own agendas.”
The bottom line,
Earwood said, is
that the Jim McClure
Nitro Nationals,
victimized by rain a
year ago after
veteran Tommy Grimes
of Clemmons, N.C.,
had taken Harley
Hall of Famer Ray
Price’s hybrid to
the No. 1 qualifying
position, is
expected this year
to be especially
significant as it is
the last point race
in the AMRA series.
“There’s always been
a big interest in
drag racing
motorcycles here in
the Carolinas,”
Earwood said. “So
we’ve tried to work
closely with the
motorcycle community
to make Rockingham a
destination track
for two-wheel
competition and for
someone to try and
undermine those
efforts quite
frankly ticks me
off.
“Hopefully, we can
get the word out
that the race is
on,” Earwood said,
“but you know there
are going to be
people who saw the
first item about the
cancelation who
won’t see this one.
That means that
we’re probably going
to be answering
questions about it
right up to the time
we fire the first
Top Fuel bike.”
The race, to be
contested Oct.
16-18, is one of the
anchors of a busy
fall schedule that
also includes the
Dieffenbach Classic
Rock Super Chevy
Show presented by
Richmond County
Tourism and the
Roush-Yates Fall
Civil Wars.
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. –
Qualifying results
from last fall’s
23rd annual Jim
McClure All-Harley
Nitro Nationals at
Rockingham Dragway:
TOP FUEL – 1. Tommy
Grimes, Clemmons,
N.C., 6.330, 223.21
mph; 2. Ricky
“Sharkey” House,
Humble, Texas,
6.691, 198.99 mph;
3. Joey Sternotti,
Blackwood, N.J.,
6.766, 194.16 mph;
4. Robert Stewart,
Grovester, Va.,
6.973, 161.69 mph;
5. Peter Geiss,
Huntington, N.J.,
7.252, 157.61 mph;
6. Takeshi
Shigematsu, Ehime,
Japan, 7.438, 191.21
mph; 7. Jim Doyle,
Springfield, Mass.,
8.071, 141.52 mph;
8. Larry Stanley,
Norton, Ohio,
12.249, 70.74 mph.
NITRO FUNNY BIKE –
1. Jim Doyle,
Springfield, Mass,
6.746, 182.53 mph;
2. Rich Vreeland,
Humble, Texas,
6.887, 195.73 mph;
3. Jake Stordeur,
Loveland, Ohio,
6.921, 192.71 mph;
4. Armon Furr,
Orangeburg, S.C.,
7.050, 192.66 mph;
5. Rocky Jackson,
Youngsville, La.,
8.729, 116.16 mph;
6. Ben Fukushima,
Harrisonburg, Va.,
12.596, 104.57 mph.
PRO FUEL – 1. Kevin
Garrow,
Philadelphia, Pa.,
7.374, 165.50 mph;
2. Dale Nilles,
Wilkesboro, N.C.,
7.417, 163.37 mph;
3. Rebel Glover,
Holly Hill,Fla.,
7.478, 164.01 mph;
4. Billy Jackson,
Honeybrook, Pa.,
7.491, 162.41 mph;
5. Janette Thornley,
Mocksville, N.C.,
7.514, 161.57 mph;
6. Frank Capone,
Wakefield, Md.,
7.570, 161.98 mph;
7. Mike Beland, West
Palm Beach, Fla.,
7.589, 165.29 mph;
8. Rocky Jackson,
Youngsville, La.,
7.723, 167.66 mph.
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