ANDRAS WINS SERIES TITLE BEFORE RAIN RUINS THE DAY Thornley’s Come From Behind Bid Cut Short by Elements at Rockingham Dragway ROCKINGHAM, N.C. – (Oct. 13, 2019) Persistent rain showers washed out the 28th annual Jim McClure Memorial All-Harley Nitro World Finals Sunday at Rockingham Dragway but not before Randal Andras won the Top Fuel championship for himself and Liberty-based Jay Turner Racing. The No. 3 qualifier behind teammate and two-time reigning NHRA Champion Tii Tharpe of East Bend, Andras raced to quick time of the opening round at 6.549 seconds, 207.34 miles per hour to turn back Bill “Billy Jack” Jackson of Honeybrook, Pa. That clinched the title insomuch as Turner, who was second entering the event, suffered a rare DNQ. Only one round of Top Fuel and partial rounds of Pro Fuel and Nitro Funny Bike were completed between the rain showers, ultimately compelling organizers to pull the plug on the race for the second time in six years. It was a particularly disappointing outcome for Statesville’s Janette Thornley, who had hoped to overtake Dennis Waldron of Ownings, Md., for the AMRA Pro Fuel championship especially when Waldron was upset in one of the two first round races completed before the washout. Waldron was upset by Jim Martin of Carleton, Mich., in one of the two first round races completed in Pro Fuel. In the other, No. 1 qualifier Kirby Apathy of Deland, Fla., topped Rocky Jackson of Arnaudville, La., in the process earning AMRA world record certification of his qualifying time of 7.128 seconds. ROCKINGHAM, N.C. – Results from the 28th annual Jim McClure Memorial All-Harley Nitro World Finals at Rockingham Dragway at the time racing was suspended by rain on Sunday. Hometowns are North Carolina unless otherwise indicated. Results include reaction time, track time, target time where applicable and finish line speed: TOP FUEL Qualifying – 1. Tii Tharpe, East Bend, 6.325, 223.91 mph; 2. Jim Fagan, Valley City, Ohio, 6.748, 195.31 mph; 3. Randal Andras, Amelia, La., 6.926, 188.65 mph; 4. Chris Streeter, Cleveland, Ohio, 7.079, 170.06 mph; 5. Peter Geiss, Huntington, N.Y., 7.541, 159.48 mph; 6. Tyler Wilson, Walnut Cove, 7.702, 127.86 mph; 7. Tim Kerrigan, Novato, Calif., 7.744, 163.10 mph; 8. Don Becker, Palm Coast, Fla., 8.407, 122.97 mph. Did not qualify: Jay Turner, Julian, 8.412, 107.68 mph; Robert Stewart, Grovester, Va., 9.274, 100.88 mph; Bill “Billy Jack” Jackson, Honeybrook, Pa., 12.440, 67.04 mph; Tracy Kile, Ashville, 12.680, 59.23 mph; Craig Fisher, Wilmington, Del., 16.462, 49.69 mph; Mike Beland, Maiden, 16.122, 16.04 mph. Round one – Tyler Wilson, Walnut Cove, .141, 6.913, 160.00 mph, def. Chris Streeter, Cleveland, Ohio, .115, 10.932, 76.80 mph; Don Becker, Palm Coast, Fla., .813, 8.906, 145.61 mph, def. Jim Fagan, Valley City, Ohio, broke; Randal Andras, Amelia, La., .041, 6.549, 207.34 mph, def. Bill “Billy Jack” Jackson, Honeybrook, Pa., .112, 13.513, 57.87 mph; Tim Kerrigan, Novato, Calif., .043, 6.929, 194.41 mph, def. Tii Tharpe, East Bend, .055, 10.465, 81.23 mph. NITRO FUNNY BIKE Qualifying – 1. Ryan Peery, Milford, Ohio, 6.553, 209.14 mph; 2. Rich Vreeland, Bloomburg, Pa., 6.802, 206.83 mph; 3. Jim Doyle, Chicopee, Mass., 6.900, 195.65 mph; 4. Tadashi Saito, Tokyo, Japan, 7.042, 171.55 mph; 5. Rocky Jackson, Arnaudville, La., 7.945, 166.99 mph. Round 1 – Jim Doyle, Chicopee, Mass., .114, 7.025, 198.76 mph, def. Tadashi Saito, Tokyo, Japan, .336, 8.940, 99.36 mph; Ryan Peery, Milford, Ohio, 6.620, 208.88 mph, bye; Rich Vreeland, Bloomburg, Pa., versus Rocky Jackson, Arnaudville, La., undecided. PRO FUEL Qualifying – 1. Kirby Apathy, Deland, Fla., 7.128, 181.98 mph; 2. Chaz Kennedy, Kiln, Miss., 7.355, 174.12 mph; 3. Jim Martin, Carleton, Mich., 7.442, 169.40 mph; 4. Sam White, Chapin, S.C., 7.538, 173.21 mph; 5. Tyler Wilson, Walnut Cove, 7.569, 169.96 mph. Round 1 – Kirby Apathy, Deland, Fla., .262, 7.153, 179.30 mph, def. Rocky Jackson, Arnaudville, La., .148, 7.920, 164.21 mph; Jim Martin, Carleton, Mich., .099, 7.568, 166.03 mph, def. Dennis Waldron, Ownings, Md., .117, 7.664, 159.04 mph; six first round races undecided. PRO MOD Qualifying – 1. Billy Doherty, Lake Charles, La., 8.395, 156.44 mph; 2. John Price, Emmitsburg, Md., 8.595, 153.86 mph; 3. Richard Boone, Mint Hill, 8.672, 151.94 mph; 4. Gary Douglass, Staunton, Va., 8.688, 153.04 mph; 5. Keith Cooper, Laurel, Md., 9.110, 142.00 mph. OUTLAW STREET Qualifying – 1. Tim Grindle, Uniontown, Pa., 7.921, 166.42 mph; 2. Stephane Crete, Victoriaville, B.C., Canada, 8.267, 168.03 mph; 3. Mike Motto, Jacksonville, 8.495, 155.97 mph; 4. Stacey Bortz, Uniontown, Pa., 8.550, 161.05 mph; 5. Dan Dennis, Barrow, Wis., 8.636, 153.72 mph.