2008 AHDRA SEASON OPENER!!

SCREAMIN’ EAGLE PERFORMANCE PARTS BIKE WEEK NATIONALS

PRESENTED BY GAINESVILLE HARLEY-DAVIDSON

FEBRUARY 29^TH, MARCH 1^ST & 2^ND, 2008

IT’S OFFICIAL..THE BIKES ARE FIRED UP AT GAINESVILLE RACEWAY FOR THE 2008 AHDRA SEASON OPENER!!

Sunday Eliminations

6:50pm

That’s a wrap from Gainesville..Check out all the final results on the ladder pages!

We are headed to the winner’s circle! Good night from Gainesville Raceway!

The Finals!

Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel

Mark Conner-Joe Timmons

It’s Mark Conner taking the win on the Edge Motorsports ride with a 6.68 at 189mph over a troubled 8.82 at 108mph from Timmons.

S & S Pro Stock

Greg Krenik-James Surber

Krenik gets a little out of shape at the launch and gets it back to score a 8.62 at 161mph, but Surber gets there first with a 8.32 at 155mph for the win.

Pro Fuel

Rick Casas-Rick Moore

Casas is the winner with a 6.98 at 190mph to a 6.86 at 200mph from Moore!

Rush Pro Gas

Rick Moore-Dale Raudenbush

Raudenbush has problems and gets shaky at mid track and Moore gets to the win light first. We are on hold as we wait for Moore to get back fro, the top end for his 2^nd final!

Kresto Pro Drag

Terry Stewart-Willie Herschberger

Terry Stewart takes the win with a 7.49 at 172mph over the 7.52 at 173mph from Herschberger. A great drag race!

Pro Modified

Greg Krenik-Randy Borho

Krenik gets by Borho in this close one and wins with a 8.82 to a 8.83 from Borho!

Krenik will be back for a 2^nd final in Pro Stock!

Street Pro

Danny Worth-Charley Douglass

Upset win when Douglass (9.52-146mph) gets by Street Pro regular-Worth who had a troubled run.

Super Gas

Jay Wagner-Ronnie Fensick

Wagner gets the win with a 9.71 over the breakout 9.66 from Fensick.

Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod

Mike Roberts-Jamie McNaughton

And it’s Roberts coming out for this THIRD final today and after a red light from McNaughton- Roberts goes 2 out of 3 for wins here this weekend in Gainesville!

S & S Super Sport

Sam Lowery-Bryan Lewallen

Lowery gets the win in the 10.30 index class.

SSC 124

Lou Gerencer-Mike Roberts

Roberts 2^nd final of the day-and he gets the win here after Gerencer’s holeshot couldn’t hold off a RECORD setting 9.17 finish. (records pending tech inspection)

Pingel Enterprise Super Eliminator

Donnie Huffman-Brent Garcia

Garcia grabs his 2^nd win of the day!

DragMasters Hot Street

John Burdynski-Mike Roberts

Burdynski gets the win light over Roberts.

SEP

Keith Carper-Curtis Talbott

Carper takes a triumphant win on his return to racing over the #1 qualifyer, Talbott.

Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod Destroyer

Nick Gonatas Jr.- Wanda Poff

Gonatas goes all the way this weekend and takes the win with a 9.26 to a 9.30 over Wanda Poff.

Syn 3 ET

Kevin Winters-Brent Garcia

Garcia gets the win on the holeshot.

5:50pm

The finals coming up shortly!

ET Semis

Brent Garcia has a pair of .000 reactions to his credit this weekend and after a 31 qualifying spot, he has earned his way all the way to the final in not just ET, but he’ll be in the Super Eliminator final as well. Garcia will take on Kevin Winters in today’s ET final.

Destroyer Semis

#1 qualifyer, Nick Gonatas takes it all the way to the finals after advancing over Jeff Stevens and will take on Wanda Poff who just earned her way to the final after a .005 at the tree.

SEP Semis

Father and Son battle and the dad shows him how it’s done. #1 qualifyer, Curtis Talbot goes to the final against Keith Carper who just took out Kevin Winters.

Dragmasters Hot Street Semis

Burdynski advances on the bye and will take on Mike Roberts who is appearing in two finals today.

Super Eliminator Semis

Donnie Huffman advances over Kevin Winters and Huffman goes to the final against Brent Garcia.

SSC 124 Semis

Mike Roberts advances on the bye. He will head to his 2^nd final of the day and he will take on Lou Gerencer who advanced on a red light from his opponent-Chris Sansevere.

Super Sport Semis

Sam Lowery upsets Larry Maynhart and advances to the final against Bryan Lewallen who’s holeshot advanced him over Mike Marsh.

V-Rod Semis

Jamie McNaughton-Lou Gerencer

McNaughton heads to the final after advancing with a 9.55 to a close 9.56 from Gerencer. McNaughton will take on Mike Roberts who advanced on the bye.

Super Gas Semis

Jay Wagner-Greg Best (9.70 index)

Wagner advances with a 9.76 over a 9.81 from Best. Wagner will take on Ronnie Fensick who advanced over Dan Lesnock. Fensick clocked a 9.75 to a 9.84 from Lesnock.

Pro Modified Semis

Greg Krenik-Tommy Hannum

Hannum slows shy of the finish and Krenik gets by him with a 8.80 at 148mph to Hannum’s troubled 9.63. Krenik heads to the final against his regular rival-Randy Borho, who advanced on a bye.

Pro Drag Semis

Rick Moore-Willie Herschberger

Herschberger keeps Moore from appearing in 3 finals today after advancing with a 7.45 to a close 7.47 from Moore! It will be Herschberger and Stewart in today’s final.

Terry Stewart-Rickey House

Something goes away for House early and Stewart advances to his 3^rd consecutive Pro Drag final with a 7.43 at 167mph.

Pro Gas Semis

Dale Raudenbush-Mike Lozano

Red light for Lozano and Raudenbush is headed to the final with a 7.32 at 162mph on the single.

Rick Moore-Jay Wagner

Rick Moore makes his way to double finals after a win in this semi-Wagner broke in the box and Moore advances on a single.

Pro Fuel Semis

Rick Moore-Doug Horne

Both riders lose power early, but Moore coasts through first with a 8.33 at 114mph to a 8.40 at 151mph from Horne.

Jay Turner-Rick Casas

Rick Casas just took out the defending champ with a 6.80 at 201mph to a 6.88 at 194mph from Turner!

Pro Stock Semis

Greg Krenik-Shaun Reno

Krenik advances to the final with a .001 reaction-8.18 at 164mph to a 8.19/157mph from Reno. Krenik will take on James Surber in the final who advanced on the bye.

Top Fuel Semis

Mark Conner-Tony Ruggiero

Conner heads to the finals after advancing over Ruggiero with a 6.94 at 210mph. (Ruggiero’s time- 7.21 at 181mph) A big “way to go” for Ruggerio though, who came in as the underdog and made his way to the semi’s in a field of heavy-hitters!

Joe Timmons-Steve Dorn

Joe Timmons pulls ahead of Dorn down track and advances to the final with a 7.00 at 176mph over a 7.16 at 166mph from Dorn.

4:30pm

Here come the semi-final rounds..Top Fuel pulling in the box!

Barnett Outlaw front-runners were Randal Andras with a 6.99 at 167mph and Brook McCabe with a 6.826 at 181mph and Breckenridge had the best pass of the round with a 6.79. The winner comes from the best-combined ET out of two passes, so stayed tuned for the winner later today.

3:45pm

Barnett Outlaw Nitro Harleys in the lanes. We will resume elimination rounds shortly.

Round Two Updates

Pro Modified

Krenik comes back around from his record setting Pro Stock run and advances over Stephen Galati to the Pro Modified semis. Randy Borho has a bye in the semis after advancing over Donnie Huffman.

S & S Pro Stock

After identical reaction times, Greg Krenik advances over Eddie Lee with a 8.17 at and record MPH at 166.35. Matt Smith held the record heading into the event at 163.28mph.

James Surber advanced after a red light from Bruce Beltramini.

#1 qualifyer Shaun Reno advanced on the bye.

Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel Round #2

Back in action after the track clean-up..

Dorn-Sternotti

Dorn advances on this pairing with a 6.73 at 180mph, and Sternotti gives the big end a thumbs-up that he is A-OK after contact with the retaining wall at mid track. Sternotti turned a 7.27 at 140mph on the scary ride. That was the final pair of the round and next up is Pro Stock!

Romine-Timmons

Big smoke from Romine’s tire and Timmons gets by on a slowed run at (7.06/157mph) to advance.

Ruggiero-Erdman

Ruggiero makes his West coast trip worth the miles..he’s headed to the semi’s after a win over Rick Erdman!

Lehman-Conner

Big flash from Lehman’s bike and Conner sails through the round on the Edge Motorsports bike with a 6.53 at 214mph!

Stand-by as they get Lehman’s bike off the track and check for any debris.

2:50pm

2^nd round of the Pro’s coming up shortly! Elimination’s are going smoothly with little delays- Stephanie has the results current for you as we head into the next round. Top Fuel has been called to the lanes..stay tuned for more Pro elimination’s!

Street Pro Round One Update:

Another early upset when Charley Douglass who enters Street Pro for the first time-upsets #1 qualifyer, Andy Simon. The run wasn’t pretty for either rider, with both of them dancing around the centerline early, but Douglass holds on and will have an easy ride to the final round with the slim field. For Danny Worth, he was handed a ticket to the final round after his opponent, Stacy McMillan reported in broke. Douglass and Worth will battle it out for the win later this afternoon.

The round by round action is coming to you on the ladder pages at the end of each session. We’ll check back in here with breaking news and updates on lengthy delays.

It wasn’t the smoothest opening round with the tire smoking and breakage that brought on a few upsets, but none the less, it was exciting for the fans who are flowing in to get their nitro fix before heading to Daytona for the Bike Week action!

The Pro’s are making their way through the round one session and then it’s back to sportsman classes!

1:00pm

Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel on the track for the opening round and it’s a big upset early in the action when Tony Ruggiero who traveled from California for the season opener- gets the win over the #1 qualifyer, Doug Vancil. Both had problems early, but it was Ruggiero who hung on for a 7.17 over a 7.58 from Vancil.

Stay tuned for the numbers following the round..

Good morning from Gainesville Raceway. The skies are full of sunshine and warm temps are expected to reach near 80 today.

We are underway with early sportsman rounds right now and we will fire up pro eliminations at 12:30pm. Stay tuned for the results on the ladder pages for your favorite class following the rounds.

Saturday Qualifying:

4:53pm- That’s a wrap for today’s qualifying from Gainesville Raceway! Great day-perfect weather and the finish came 7 minutes ahead of schedule, so the delays were few during the exciting, action-packed day!

We will be back tomorrow with early rounds of sportsman classes at 9:00am.

The Pro’s take the track at 12:30pm.

Good night.. from Gainesville Raceway!

Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel

Vancil unstoppable today..he finishes the session with a solid 6.31 at 219mph..the quickest pass of the weekend so far! He’s safe in his #1 spot!! Big upset when Tak Shigematsu misses getting in the 16-bike field and finishes as 1^st alternate in the #17^th spot.

Mark Conner gave the crowd a show with his top MPH of the day at 224mph!

The final order of the day will be coming you way shortly!

S & S Pro Stock

Shaun Reno steals the #1 spot from Surber with a 8.16 at 157mph. James Surber moves to the #2 spot with his earlier 8.19 at 157mph.

Pro Fuel

Randal Andras comes out in the 3^rd and final lap of the day and grabs the #1 spot from the defending cham-Turner- with a 6.671 at 206mph. Turner couldn’t beat it and moves to #2 with his earlier 6.674.

Rush Pro Gas

Dale Raudenbush will be the #1 qualifyer in the Pro Gas field after his earlier 7.219 holds as the best number of the day. Junior Pippin had a slight improvement on his NHRA Pro Stock-AHDRA Pro Gas bike- when he scored a 7.298 at 180mph on his final pass to maintain the 2^nd spot. Rick Moore had a better pass on his final shot with a 7.75 at 164mph and holds onto to his 3^rd spot.

Kresto Pro Drag

Rick Moore stays in tact with his earlier 7.35 at 179mph while the #2 man, Terry Stewart improves his time with a 7.40 at 170mph to maintain that 2^nd spot.

Curly Jim Fontaine was holding on by a belt..(literally) after he lost his (a belt) on the track during his 3^rd round which left him on the bubble for his spot in tomorrow’s show, but at the end of the day, he makes it in at the #8 spot.

Chuck Jones took the Mid Continent racing team from the bottom (#11) to a secure spot in the show at #3 when he clocked a 7.49 at 173mph for his final shot of the day.

(3:30pm) Kresto Pro Drag opens up the 3^rd round with oil spill, so stand by for the clean-up..

Pro Modified

Randy Borho makes a ‘bracket style” finish, matching his 2^nd round 8.638 in the 3^rd round. Greg Krenik picks up the pace on his earlier 8.73 to a 8.68 and moves from 3^rd to 2^nd.

Back in action after the clean-up, and no one betters Simon’s number, so he clinches the top spot with the 8.893 in Street Pro.

3:00pm- We are on hold for a track clean up after just a pair of Street Pro runs, so we will resume the Pro Qualifying final session after the fluid spill is clear. Meanwhile, prior to the delay, Andy Simon clocked his best out of three with a 8.93 at 151mph to put a tighter grip on the #1 spot. Danny Worth sits in the box, still yet to run. He’s currently 3^rd in the field.

2:45pm

WE HAVE STARTED CALLING UP PRO CLASSES FOR THE FINAL ROUND OF THE DAY..STAY TUNED…

The results coming at the end of the session.

Final Rounds-Sportsman

Super Gas

Justin Kopcak clocks a 9.710 to take over the #1 spot from Jim Sweet who had it in the 2^nd round with a 9.716. Sweet is now 2^nd and Mike Motto finishes the day 3^rd with his 9.719.

Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod

Lou Gerencer is back on familiar ground..the starting line for the #1 qualifyer intros. Gerencer finishes the day with a 9.281 best.

S & S Super Sport

Gary DeGrange keeps his 10.33 at the end of the day for the #1 spot and Danny Boyer goes from #19 up the pack to #2 with 10.34, taking the spot from Stacy McMillan who is now 3^rd.

S & S 124

Roberts gets quicker in the final round (9.27 at 141mph) and stays on top of the field.

Pingel Super Eliminator

Gary Douglass joins his son, Charley on the starting line for #1 qualifyer intros tomorrow when he finishes the day as the #1 qualifyer with his 10.91 best pass of the weekend!

Drag Masters Hot Street

Charley Douglass gets the bugs worked out and moves from #9 to the #1 spot in the final round with a 9.95 at 131mph. John Burdynski gets in the 9-zone on the final lap of the day with a 9.97 at 133mph for the 2^nd spot and former leader, Croneberger is now 3^rd with that earlier 9.99.

Screamin’ Eagle Destroyer

No big changes to the front pack in this final round. Gonatas, Jr. stays in the No. 1 spot with his 9.15 best, with Tonglet finishing the day in the 2^nd spot with his 9.17.

SEP (11.50)

Curtis Talbott maintains for all three sessions with an 11.503 he’s the #1 qualifyer headed into tomorrow’s elimination’s. Larry Krause from St. Augustine, FL came close with an 11.504 and takes the 2^nd spot. And welcome back Keith Carper! A triumphant return for Keith after the loss of his dear wife and a good friend to us all- Maura. Keith finished the day 3^rd with a 11.255.

Syn 3 ET

What a battle at the tree this one ended with! Brent Garcia lays down the gauntlet with triple zero’s and seals the top spot. Jimmy McMillan improves a .011 to a .002 for the #2 spot. David Gilbert tries to take it from him with a .002 of his own, and Rebel Glover gives up his #1 spot with that earlier .009 and is now 4^th. Donnie Huffman who was 2^nd earlier, is now 5^th with his .010.

12:30pm

Round 3 coming up for the sportsman categories..

Pro Qualifying Round 2

Top Fuel

Still several pairs to go, but Doug Vancil is the man to beet today when he opens today’s round with a 6.35 at 212mph! Mike Romine was leading yesterday’s round with a 6.39 at a whopping 222mph, but he slowed today to a 6.46.

Pro Stock

James Surber and Shaun Reno are still #1 and #2 after two rounds and Eddie Lee has taken over the #3 spot with a better 8.27 at 153mph. Lee races this weekend with a heavy heart after the passing of his dear friend and crew chief, Rick Phillips. The Southwind Racing team honored Phillips today, having his wife, Linda fire the bike for the team, and have dedicated this weekends race in Rick’s memory.

Pro Fuel

Jay Turner appears to be headed for another dominating year if his start here in Gainesville is any indication. The Bulldog came off the trailer (in flashy brand new metallic red leathers) and clocked a 6.67 at 198mph. He didn’t improve that number today, but he’s still #1 after a pair of rounds.

John Breckenridge came out strong this morning and takes over the #2 spot with a 6.69 at 205mph. Still not in the pack is Armon Furr who opened his day yesterday with a big boom and apparently ended his weekend in the class at the same time, but today he’s suited up and on the Top Fuel roster! Willie Herschberger, Sam White and Wes Hearn are still trying to get in the show themselves with one shot left today.

Chris Streeter was sitting on the outside yesterday, but after a 6.86 at 196mph this morning, he gets in easily in the #5 spot. Douglas Horne continues to impress in the nitro category and sits in the 3^rd spot with a 6.70 at 195mph best while Randal Andras improved today with a 6.85 that moves him from 6^th to 4^th.

Kresto Pro Drag

Although Rick Moore gave up his top spot in Pro Gas in round two, the 2-time defending champ in the Pro Drag category grabbed the top spot in today’s opening session with a 7.35 at 179mph. Terry Stewart moves to #2 with his 7.46 at 172mph from yesterday’s session.

Rush Pro Gas

Dale Raudenbush takes over the #1 spot with a 7.219 at 180mph. Junior Pippin comes in with a solid pass (7.299 at 184mph) after a shaky start in yesterday’s round when he launched and took a hard turn towards the retaining wall, before getting it shut off and under control.

Rick Moore, who lead after the opening round with a 7.77 improves today with a 7.67 but moves down to #3.

Pro Modified

Randy Borho and Tommy Hannum stayed #1 and #2 with no improvement in round two, and Greg Krenik kept his 3^rd spot with an improved 8.73 today.

Street Pro

Andy Simon was slower this morning, but his 8.89 shot yesterday kept him in the top spot.

11:10am

The Pro’s are in the lanes and ready for the 2^nd session! Stephanie will have the results coming right up after the round!

Round No. 2-Sportsman

SSC 124

Mike Roberts gets in the show today with a 9.30. Roberts ran a record 9.20 in last nights show, but didn’t meet the weight requirement and had to give up the nice lap.

Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod

Lou Gerencer took over the top spot with a 9.28. Mike Roberts moves from 4^th to 2^nd with a better 9.47 and Edmondson, the champ, who lead after one round, has now moved to 3^rd.

DragMasters Hot Street

Bruce Croneberger III came off the trailer with a 9.999 in last night’s round and he holds on to that number for the No. 1 spot after two rounds so far. John Burdynski improves his number this morning with a 10.025 and stays in the 2^nd spot. Mike Roberts (the former champ in the class) comes in the field today and takes the 3^rd spot with a 10.127.

Super Gas

Jim Sweet stayed on top of the pack with his 9.71 and Mike Motto is still 2^nd with his 9.71. Dan Lesnock improved with a 9.72 and moved from 6^th to 3^rd.

Pingel Super Eliminator (10.90)

Gary Douglass jumped up from 10^th to No. 1 after a 10.91 in this mornings 2^nd round and moves John Price to the 2^nd spot with his 10.92 best from yesterday.

S & S Super Sport

Gary DeGrange holds on to his 10.33 best from yesterday for the No. 1 spot. Stacy McMillan goes from 4^th to 2^nd after a better 10.34 this morning.

SEP (11.50)

Curtis Talbott has set the bar with his 11.503 in last night’s opening round and after two rounds, he holds on to the top spot. Nate Carnahan came out this morning with a 11.545 to take over the 2^nd spot and move Troy Young to 3^rd with his 11.550 from last night. Greg Best made a nice leap up in the order this morning with a 11.550 of his own and he moves from 19^th to 4^th in the field that has 30 entries so far.

Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod Destroyer

A trim sixteen Destroyers make up the field so far. Nick Gonatas Jr. grabbed the pole position last night with a 9.16 at 140mph and he improved that number this morning (9.15 at 141mph) to keep him on top of the field. L.E. Tonglet clocked a better 9.17 this morning and the champ gets a much better spot in the order (2^nd), after his 9.47 last night had him in the 10^th spot. Brian Fox improved his 9.22 to a 9.21 and is now 3^rd in the order.

Round No. 2 is underway at Gainesville Raceway! Today’s order started off with Syn3 ET with just under 60 entries. A local rider, Rebel Glover took the top spot in the 2^nd session with a .009 reaction followed by the veteran racer, Donnie Huffman’s .010 for the 2^nd spot and a.011 fro Jimmy McMillin has him in the 3^rd spot.

The Destroyers and the SEP 11.50 index class is coming up next..stay tuned for the qualifying order following the round!

Friday Qualifying:

(7:30pm) Jammed packed lanes of ET bikes waiting for their first shot of the night while the track crew cleans up fluid on the starting line. The ET class will be the final category of the night and then we’ll be back tomorrow for two more rounds!

Earlier tonight, Mike Roberts earned the 1^st record pass of the event with a 9.207 lap in the S & S 124 class, but the call from the big end was he came out light on the scales, so the run will not count, but he’ll be back for another shot at it tomorrow.

With pleasant conditions in the forecast, we predict there will be more records to follow throughout the weekend.

The results for all of tonight’s qualifying are coming at you shortly and Stephanie will be back at it tomorrow to keep you updated on your favorite class!

Saturday, March 1st

9:00am - Qualifying for Sportsman Classes

11:00am - Qualifying for Pro Classes

Sunday, March 2nd

9:00am - Eliminations for Sportsman classes (as needed to narrow the fields to 16 or less)

12:15pm - Opening Ceremonies

12:30pm - Pro Eliminations

Friday Qualifying:

6:20pm

Mike Romine closes the pro session today with a 6.39 at 222mph for the No. 1 spot in Top Fuel qualifying!! The sportsman classes are in the lanes and on their way out for this evenings round of qualifying. The results are updated and posted for all pro classes.

5:30pm- The Pro classes are still on the track with a few delays here and there as everyone gets the bugs out of the new stuff and in some cases just getting the old stuff back in shape!

The sportsman classes will be out shortly..but first there’s a lane full of Top Fuel bikes headed out!

We are getting things started with the Pro’s and then headed to the sportsman categories! Over 275 teched in so far and the skies are full of sunshine and the temperatures are pleasant and we know it’s raceday because we already have our first oil spill on the track!

Stephanie Druschel is back at the keyboards and already punching in the early numbers for you. We have one round of action for all classes today and then 2 more tomorrow! Catch the results for your favorite class right here!

(Racing will resume after our first track clean-up for the 08 season)

VANCIL AMONG THOSE BACK TO DEFEND THEIR CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE’S AT AHDRA SEASON OPENER.

SCREAMIN’ EAGLE PERFORMANCE PARTS BIKE WEEK NATIONALS PRESENTED BY GAINESVILLE HARLEY-DAVIDSON, FEBRUARY 29^TH –MARCH 2^ND.

GAINESVILLE, FL February 29, 2008- After fine tuning, rebuilding, waiting for parts, chasing sponsors and all the other prep work that goes on during the brief break from racing each year, the countdown has ended, the wait is over, it’s time to go racing!

AHDRA is set to go for the opening round of the 2008 series at the Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts Bike Week Nationals presented by Gainesville Harley-Davidson at Gainesville Raceway.

After unexpected cold temperatures greeted the early birds at the raceway, mother nature has now turned things around and the skies are full of sunshine and the thermometer is expected to reach the mid-70’s today and the rest of the weekend here in Gainesville, FL.

Temperatures were so unseasonably cold here yesterday that racers Dana Housaman and Kelley Smith, who traveled from a wintery Wisconsin arrived with their truck still blanketed with snow that would later provide some winter fun in the pits- complete with a snowman to greet folks and later a good old fashioned snow ball fight. In Florida?

While racers are still flowing in the gates today and setting up for today’s opening qualifying round at 4:00pm, we caught up with a few familiar faces in the pits preparing for today’s action.

Notably pulling through the gate early after off -season reports questioning his return, was defending Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel Champion, Doug Vancil. The Vancil team hasn’t missed an AHDRA point’s race in 5 years, but after learning they would be minus the support from one of their primary sponsors, (Drag Specialties) the champ had doubts about his plans to compete here in Gainesville. Still carrying the Vance & Hines banner however, the team worked things out, at least for now, and made their way here from New Mexico.

The Vancil’s plan to continue competing in 2008, although they indicated that they may scale things back when it comes to traveling in the big rig they have been driving for many years and opt for a more economical transport with the escalating fuel costs.

Campaigning four bikes with three riders for the 2008 season is Mike Bahnmaier’s –Mid Continent Racing team. The roster includes Tommy Grimes who climbed aboard Bahnmaier’s Top Fuel bike late in the 07 season and it appears that the North Carolina rider is set for a full season on the team for 2008.

After a break from actually riding and instead putting time in as a crewmember, Chuck Jones returns to riding in the Pro Drag category and will ride for Mid-Continent Racing. Jones from St. Pete, FL is a proven performer with plenty of wins on his resume.

Rider No. 3 AND No. 4 in the Mid Continent camp is Rick Moore! The Pro Drag champion returns to defend his title on the Pro Dragster and we’ll see him on a Mid-Continent Pro Fuel bike as well. Moore won’t stop with the two bikes he’ll be riding for Mid-Continent, this 98-pound jockey will also be back on his Pro Gas ride for Banky Racing too. Moore made his way to finals in both the Pro Drag and Pro Gas categories at last year’s opener here in Gainesville and he will start the season with plenty of seat time competing in three categories to lead off a brand new season today!

S & S Pro Stock Champion, Junior Pippin set a string of records here in Gainesville last year on his way to the event win and eventual championship title. Pippin plans to campaign an NHRA Pro Stock bike for the 2008 season, with a few appearances on the AHDRA circuit. He makes his season debut this weekend, defending his 07 win and getting some test time in for the NHRA debut here in 2 weeks.

Pippin was visibly excited about his plans for the 08 season when we caught up with him in the pits.

The multi-time champ from Conyers, GA says he has been dieting and fitness training to prepare for this year’s competition. His choice of exercise is a stationery bike. “I’ve ridden that bike 4000 miles and never left my living room”, a humorous Pippin commented.

Pippin will also unload his Pro Gas bike from the trailer and put it on the track here this weekend. He finished 3^rd in the Pro Gas standings in 2008.

2007 Pro Fuel champion, Jay Turner is expected here this weekend to defend last year’s Gainesville win that started off his successful championship journey. The North Carolina rider also came away with an ET record (6.580) here last year and it remains in tact. Turner will campaign a Top Fuel ride as well. Early reports also indicate that he and former AHDRA regular, Mike Lehman have teamed up for the 2008 season. Lehman, who comes from West Palm Beach, FL, has been off the track for a while, and plans to return to Top Fuel competition this weekend.

The Poor Boys Racing team- starring Pingel Enterprise Super Eliminator Champ, Dean Druschel, pulled in to Gainesville Raceway with a sporty new rig and although they are waiting for a last minute part delivery here at the track, they are ready for racing. Druschel plans to give it a shot at defending the Super Eliminator title, but he ultimately plans to shift his focus over to the S & S Super Sport category and perhaps the 2008 No. 1 plate.

We will follow all the defending champs and the many here seeking those titles for 2008 at this weekend’s Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts Bike Week Nationals Presented by Gainesville Harley-Davidson. You can catch hourly updates beginning with today’s qualifying on AHDRA’s Live Update page located on www.ahdra.com.

Today’s opening round of qualifying begins at 4:00pm and qualifying continues on Saturday with two more rounds before Sunday’s elimination’s begin. Racing on Saturday and Sunday begins at 9:00am.

For more information on the Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts Nationals Presented by Gainesville Harley-Davidson or the AHDRA’s 2008 Screamin’ Eagle Championship Series, visit us on line at www.ahdra.com or call Gainesville Raceway at 352-377-0046.

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Schedule of Events:

Friday, February 29th

11:00am-3:00pm Test and Tune - (conducted by Gainesville Raceway)

3:30pm Mandatory Riders Meeting

4:00pm Round One Qualifying - Run order: SP, PM, PD, PG, PF, PS, TF, SG, VR, SS, SSC, SE, HS, SEP, VRD, ET

Saturday, March 1st

9:00am - Qualifying for Sportsman Classes

11:00am - Qualifying for Pro Classes

Sunday, March 2nd

9:00am - Eliminations for Sportsman classes (as needed to narrow the fields to 16 or less)

12:15pm - Opening Ceremonies

12:30pm - Pro Eliminations begin