NHRA Route 66 Nationals – Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle
24th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals
presented by PEAK Performance
Route 66 Raceway
May 17-19, 2024
Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle
David Vantine Secures First Win of the 2024 Season! In an electrifying start to the NHRA Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle season, David Vantine clinched the first victory of 2024! During the final round, Elmeri Salakari was unfortunately sidelined after his burnout due to an oil or fuel leak. This left Vantine with a solo pass to seize the victory, and he did so in spectacular fashion, clocking an incredible 5.073 seconds at 231.00 mph!
*All runs are to the thousand-foot mark.
FINAL
W – David Vantine / .325 / 1.060 / 2.725 / 4.009 / 196.04 / 5.073 / 231.00
RU – Elmeri Salakari
SEMI-FINAL
W – David Vantine / .129 / 1.038 / 2.652 / 3.888 / 201.79 / 4.931 / 234.45
L – Mitch Brown / .121 / 1.051 / 2.774 / 4.039 / 195.19 / 5.173 / 205.19
W – Elmeri Salakari / .115 / 1.028 / 2.802 / 4.803 / 108.12 / 7.100 / 96.27
L – Earned BYE
Saturday – Eliminations
First Round Eliminations
The first round of eliminations is complete, and Elmeri Salakari, Mitch Brown, and David Vantine are the standout winners.
W- Elmeri Salakari / 0.089 / 1.018 / 2.663 / 4.026 / 169.7 / 5.36 / 182.26
L- Larry McBride / 0.148 / 1.027 / 2.953 / 4.675 / 140.44 / 6.441 / 125.85
Elmeri Salakari clinched his victory when Larry McBride spun the tire on launch and couldn’t recover to catch Salakari. Salakari’s solid run was a 5.360 at 182.26 mph.
W- Mitch Brown / 0.121 / 1.035 / 2.681 / 3.931 / 196.67 / 5.104 / 194.77
L- Bob Malloy / 0.193 / 1.127 / 2.855 / 4.152 / 193.43 / 5.238 / 224.02
Mitch Brown kept the momentum going strong with a win, running a 5.104 against Bob Malloy’s 5.238. Consistency and speed paid off for Brown!
W- Dave Vantine / 0.202 / 1.075 / 2.755 / 4.047 / 194.3 / 5.128 / 223.17
L- Micah Fenwick – Wasn’t able to get the bike fired.
David Vantine seized the win after Micah Fenwick’s bike failed to fire. Vantine powered through with an impressive 5.128 at 223.17 mph!
Saturday – Qualifying
Qualifying Round 3
David Vantine / 4.963 / 232.43
Mitch Brown / 5.13 / 188.83
Bob Malloy / 5.132 / 225.33
Micah Fenwick / 5.314 / 187.99
Elmeri Salakari / 5.693 / 185.21
Larry McBride / 6.608 / 118.93
Final Qualifying Order and Pairings
Of the six Top Fuel motorcycles entered for this 8 bike competition ladder, McBride sits in the #1 spot with his 4.813, followed by Dave Vantine 4.963, Mitch Brown 5.130, Bob Malloy 5.132, Micah Fenwick 5.134 and Elmeri Salakari 5.334.
1. Larry McBride / 4.813
6. Elmeri Salakari / 5.334
2. David Vantine / 4.963
5. Micah Fenwick / 5.314
3. Mitch Brown / 5.130
4. Bob Malloy / 5.132
Friday – Qualifying
NHRA Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle Update – Two rounds of qualifying were completed on Friday, and Larry McBride stole the show by securing the #1 qualifying spot with an incredible 4.813-second run at 236.59 mph!
Mitch Brown and the Brown/Bradley Top Fuel Motorcycle Team is back in action, clocking a solid 5.547 in round two after a rough start with a beam roll in round one.
The excitement continues today with one more qualifier scheduled for 1:30 PM, followed by the first round of eliminations at 4:30 PM. Don’t miss the action as these top fuel bikes tear up the track!
Qualifying Round 2
Larry “Spiderman” McBride / 4.813 / 236.59
Dave Vantine / 5.065 / 204.39
Bob Malloy / 5.262 / 221.56
Elmeri Salakari / 5.334 / 180.98
Mitch Brown / 5.547 / 183.19
Micah Fenwick / 5.908 / 147.04 (Q1 5.88)
Qualifying Round 1
Bob Malloy / 0.067 / 5.367 / 172.7
Elmeri Salakari / 0.114 / 5.369 / 173.27
Larry McBride / 0.13 / 5.41 / 224.43
Micah Fenwick / 0.401 / 5.88 / 140.96
David Vantine / 0.087 / 6.30 / 188.54
Mitch Brown / Rolled through beams
Thursday
The NHRA Gerber Collision & Glass, Route 66 NHRA Nationals are set to unleash the professional class qualifying on Friday, May 17, 2024. The Friday session will begin at 2 PM Central Time with Pro Mod, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Funny Car, and Top Fuel. Following these classes, the new Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle sponsored class will take to the track for Q-1 at approximately 4:30 PM Central Time. Q-2 for the Top Fuel Motorcycles is slated for approximately 7 PM Central Time.
As of Thursday evening, all six Top Fuel Motorcycle teams that indicated they would be attending the event are all set up in the pits and race-ready: Larry McBride, Mitch Brown, Bobby Malloy, Dave Vantine, Micah Fenwick, and Elmeri Salakari are prepared to do battle.
Mitch Brown commented via phone interview: “Some of the Pro Stock Motorcycle team members came by to welcome us and they are excited they get to go before us, so they can get back in time to see us run. There is a very positive vibe in the pits.”
ABOUT NHRA
The National Hot Rod Association, the largest auto racing organization in the world, has come a long way since Wally Parks founded it in 1951.
Though it has grown into a global sports-entertainment business, NHRA has not lost sight of Parks’ original goal: to provide competitors a place to race. But now those places are deluxe supertracks in major U.S. markets, and the racing runs the gamut from 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters to 5-horsepower Jr. Dragsters. Drag racing’s journey through the decades has been sometimes swift, sometimes rocky, but always exciting and always worth the trip.
In the 1950s, top performance marks were 140 mph in 9 seconds. Today, they’re more than 330 mph in less than 3.7 seconds. Back then, winners earned little more than a trophy and bragging rights. Today’s racers compete for trophies and bragging rights as well as a share of more than $3 million in prize money.
In 2024, NHRA joined forces with Mission Foods to present the world’s fastest motorsports attraction as the flagship sponsor of the national touring series, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Under the leadership of President Glen Cromwell, NHRA raced forward in 2020 with a number of key initiatives, including a multiyear partnership with FOX Sports to televise NHRA events from the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, and the Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. FOX Sports networks aired more than 500 hours of programming throughout the year, highlighted by 22 race-day shows, including eight on FOX’s national network, in addition to primetime Friday night qualifying shows, and fans are in for more of the same this year.
NHRA has extremely loyal fans that are committed to the sport they love, and it’s easy to see why. They continue to have the best access to the behind-the-scenes action of racing. NHRA’s open-pits policy allows fans to get an up-close-and personal view of how teams rebuild engines. Drivers are often found in their pit areas, signing autographs and chatting with fans, who have the rare opportunity to get behind the wheel themselves in a variety of racing simulators in the Nitro Alley Fan Zone. Those are just a few reasons NHRA fans continue to be some of the most loyal in any sport.
For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
About Mission Foods
Great food is a great motivator. It brings everyone to the table and inspires us to explore all kinds of delicious destinations. At Mission®, it drives us to seek the freshest ingredients, simple recipes, diverse flavors and wholesome products that help us discover all the places our tortillas can go. There are better-for-you destinations like with our high protein, low carb, or gluten-free tortillas. Of course, tacos and nachos are favorite stops. We are always up for those. www.missionfoods.com
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