NHRA: Dragbike Mania at the 2022 Virginia Nationals
Virginia NHRA Nationals
Virginia Motorsports Park
May 13-15, 2022
Pro Stock Motorcycle
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, defending world champ Smith denied Steve Johnson his third straight win, adding another great layer in their ongoing rivalry, going 6.842 at 198.35 on his Denso Auto Parts/Stockseth/Matt Smith Racing Suzuki to beat the points leader on a holeshot. It was a satisfying first victory in 2022 for Smith on a number of levels, including the fact that it was his first career victory on a Suzuki.
“This is big for us,” Smith said. “Our did team did their homework after Charlotte. We’re still not where we want to be, but we’re getting closer and all in all, it was a great weekend for us. I went to 4-5 finals on a Suzuki early in my career, but I could never close the deal, so to now have won on a Suzuki, I’m truly blessed. I haven’t been this excited to win a race in a very long time.”
To reach the final round, Smith knocked off Chris Bostick, teammate Jimmy Underdahl and Eddie Krawiec. He left first on Johnson in the finals, holding him off at the finish line to earn his 33rd career victory and first at Virginia.
Johnson, who maintained his points lead, reached his third straight final on the strength of wins against Ryan Oehler, Karen Stoffer and Marc Ingwersen.
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action with the NHRA New England Nationals on June 3-5 at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.
ROUND ONE
W – Eddie Krawiec / .037 / .037 / 6.823 / 196.30
L – Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light / -.010
In his career Eddie Krawiec has won 85% of his first round races. Joey Gladstone is 2 ??? 8 against Krawiec and those 8 losses are the most for him against any opponent. Gladstone is too quick off of the line and goes red giving the win to Krawiec. Krawiec makes his quickest pass of the weekend in the win.
W – Marc Ingwersen / .037 / 6.950 / 193.16
L – Ron Tornow / .007 / 6.980 / 189.39
Tornow gets the advantage off of the line, stays in front until just before the finish line, then ingwersen goes by and takes the win.
W – Angie Smith / -.028 / 7.009 / 197.51
L – Earned Bye
This is the 2nd time that 2 women have qualified 1 -2 in PSM (Angie Smith and Karen Stoffer also did it in Sonoma in 2021) Smith’s bike is a little sluggish off of the line and she will give up lane choice to Krawiec in the next round.
W – Jim Underdahl / .007 / 6.846 / 197.91
L – Kelly Clontz / .112 / 13.221 / 58.42
This (#5) is the best starting spot for Jim Underdahl in his last 61 races (since Denver, 2015). Kelly Clontz is making her 44th start. Underdahl gets a great light and starts to pull away. Clontz makes a move to the left right off of the line, heads for the centerline, then has to back off of the throttle.
W – Angelle Sampey / .057 / 6.784 / 199.26
L – Jianna Evaristo / .111 / 7.299 / 149.20
Angelle Sampey has raced 84 different riders and 40 of them have never beaten her including Jianna. Jianna Evaristo is making her 17th start overall and her 1st this year. Sampey gets out of the gate first and makes her quickest pass of the weekend. Evaristo drifted to the right early in the run and had to really lean on the bike to keep it off of the wall. Sampey will have lane choice over Ingwersen in the next round.
W – Steve Johnson / .031 / 6.807 / 196.56
L – Lance Bonham, Buell, Foul – Red Light
Lance Bonham is the 101st different rider to face Johnson in eliminations. Bonham is too quick off of the line and goes red giving the win to Johnson. Johnson makes his quickest pass of the weekend.
W – Matt Smith / .041 / 6.871 / 197.57
L – Chris Bostick / .039 / 7.042 / 188.83
Matt Smith wins 81% of his Rd.1 races when he has lane choice. Chris Bostick is 0 – 5 against Smith overall and 0 ??? 1 against him this year. A coin flip off of the line, Bostick is out in front early. Smith reels him in just past the sixty foot mark and pulls away for the win.
W – Karen Stoffer / .028 / 6.888 / 195.65
L – Ryan Oehler, Foul – Red Light / -.050
Oehler lets the clutch out a little too soon and goes red giving the win to Stoffer. Stoffer makes a clean pass but will give up lane choice to Johnson in the next round.
QUARTERFINALS
W – Matt Smith / .058 / 6.860 / 196.67
L – Jim Underdahl / 6.886 / 197.13
Underdahl gets out of the gate first but Smith is able to get around him quickly and pull away for the win.
W – Eddie Krawiec / .084 / 6.869 / 196.99
L – Angie Smith / .027 / 9.496 / 89.39
Krawiec is 18 – 5 against Smith in prior events. Smith gets the advantage off of the line, starts pulling away, then her bike just quits about 500 feet out. Krawiec goes around her and pulls away for the win.
W – Steve Johnson, / .039 / 6.813 / 196.64
L – Karen Stoffer / .068 / 6.897 / 197.19
Stoffer is 18 – 10 against Johnson in prior events. Johnson gets the holeshot and then out runs Stoffer for the win. Stoffer makes a clean pass but was falling behind all the way through the run.
W – Marc Ingwersen / .005 / 6.884 / 194.32
L – Angelle Sampey, Foul – Red Light
Ingwersen is 1 – 0 against Sampey in prior events. Sampey leaves too soon and goes red, stays on the throttle and makes the quickest run of eliminations in the loss. Ingwersen takes the win and goes to the semi-finals for the first time in his career. He will give up lane choice to Johnson in the next round.
SEMIFINALS
L – Eddie Krawiec / .057 / 6.898 / 196.56
Krawiec is 28 – 21 against Smith in prior events. Krawiec gets out of the gate first but Smith reels him in quickly and pulls away for the win.
W – Steve Johnson, 6.850/ 196.19
L – Marc Ingwersen, 6.918/ 194.52
Johnson is 1 – 0 against Ingwersen in prior events. A coin flip off of the line, they are dead even at the sixty foot mark, then Johnson starts pulling away and takes the win.
FINAL
L – Steve Johnson / .110 / 6.786 / 198.06
Smith is 21 – 14 against Johnson in prior events and Smith is 3 – 2 against Johnson in prior final rounds. Smith gets a big holeshot and holds off Smith for the win. This is Smith’s first win this year on his second final round. He is now 33-34 in his career.
Saturday Qualifying
2. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.786, 199.52
3. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.826, 198.12
4. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.827, 199.32
5. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.828, 197.28
6. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.843, 198.00
7. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.858, 197.57
8. Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.868, 196.79
9. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.875, 195.25
10. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.925, 190.14
11. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.932, 198.15
12. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.988, 192.91
13. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.068, 189.58
14. Lance Bonham, Buell, 7.147, 187.44
15. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 7.147, 178.52
Friday Qualifying
Smith closed out the day with a pair of track records in Pro Stock Motorcycle, making her own bit of history with a standout pass of 6.788 at 200.38 on her Denso Auto Parts Buell. It is the first 200-mph motorcycle run in track history and also gave Smith the quickest run at VMP. If it holds, it would be Smith’s second career No. 1 qualifier as she looks to pick up her first victory of the 2022 season.
“It was very exciting to go 200 mph,” Smith said. “I love this facility and we come test out here a lot, and it’s just a great track. I would say it’s my second home and that was a good run. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going. We got off the starting line well and that’s the key with these bikes. It’s a very consistent track for us and to see that 200 pop up on the scoreboard is exciting. You want to put on a good show for the fans.”
Points leader Steve Johnson, who has won back-to-back races, went 6.826 at 198.12 to give him the second spot, while Angie’s husband and defending world champ, Matt, is third after going 6.827 at 199.32.
1. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.788, 200.38
2. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.826, 198.12
3. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.827, 199.32
4. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.828, 197.28
5. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.854, 197.36
6. Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.868, 196.79
7. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.871, 196.13
8. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.875, 195.25
9. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.897, 197.05
10. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.932, 198.15
11. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.938, 191.57
12. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 7.069, 189.58
13. Lance Bonham, Buell, 7.147, 187.44
14. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 7.408, 153.65
Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle
NHRA fans love seeing the Top Fuel Harley class at NHRA events, but they haven’t seen the supercharged monster known as Top Fuel Motorcycle in two decades. After two years of planning, NHRA finally got Larry “Spiderman” McBride to the track, and he did not disappoint, hanging all over his two-wheeled rocket ship en route to the fastest pass in motorcycle drag racing history: 268 mph.
In his media center interviews, McBride was humble and humorous, but he’s 100% badass, especially for a 64-year-old daredevil.
Dave Vantine also made an equally impressive pass running a 5.892 at 252.90 mph.
Top Fuel Harley
NHRA Top Fuel Harley rider Tii Tharpe gets the win over Billy Jackson with a 6.344 at Virginia Motorsports Park. Jackson got the holeshot but had troubles right off the line to shut off while Tharpe made a clean pass to win his 11th Wally with NHRA.
ROUND ONE
W – Bob Malloy / .218 / 26.810 / 54.54
L – Earned Bye
Malloy with the bye because he qualified number one for the sixth time in his career. He lost traction right at the hit and coasted down the track.
W – William Jackson / .040 / 6.474 / 222.44
L – Rich Vreeland / .129 / 6.919 / 183.62
This is the first time Jackson and Vreeland have faced each other in eliminations. Jackson with the starting line advantage and carries the front wheel for long way down the track and takes the win with a great pass. He will have lane choice over Malloy in the semifinal.
W – Tii Tharpe / .109 / 8.433 / 110.99
L – John Toth DQ / .100 / 99.999 / 156.08
This is the first time Tharpe and Toth have faced each other in eliminations. Toth with the starting line advantage and has the lead by 500 feet and takes the win. his first round win in NHRA competition. Tharpe started to lose traction and clicked it off. Toth was DQ’ed after the run.
W – Randal Andras / .104 / 6.305 / 215.72
L – Jay Turner / .284 / 7.779 / 121.08
Turner is 6 – 4 against Andras in prior events. Andras with the starting line advantage and the win. He makes the quickest pass of Race Day for the win and lane choice over Toth in the semifinal.
SEMIFINALS
W – William Jackson / .406 / 54.631 / 28.61
L – Bob Malloy / broke
Malloy Breaks on the burnout and Jackson breaks right off the starting line and comes to a stop on the track.
W – Tii Tharpe / .058 / 6.883 / 211.49
L – Randal Andras / .076 / 8.438 / 103.67
Andras is 9 – 1 against Tharpe in prior events. Tharpe with the starting line advantage and the win. He will have lane choice over Jackson in the final.
FINAL
W – Tii Tharpe / .100 / 6.344 / 217.11
RU – William Jackson / .036 / 41.222 / 155.56
Final Qualifying
| DRIVER | POSITION | BIKE NO. | ET | MPH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Bob Malloy | 1039 | 6.243 | 229 |
| 02 | Randal Andras | 1 | 6.248 | 224.73 |
| 03 | Tii Tharpe | 211 | 6.257 | 214.69 |
| 04 | William Jackson | 711 | 6.441 | 230.61 |
| 05 | Rich Vreeland | 6640 | 6.819 | 177.67 |
| 06 | John Toth | 1391 | 6.976 | 159.21 |
| 07 | Jay Turner | 63 | 7.160 | 141.68 |
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ABOUT NHRA
Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 22 national events featuring the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service, SAM Tech.edu Factory Stock Showdown and Mickey Thompson Tires Top Fuel Harley Series. Twice a year, NHRA hosts a ‘race-within-a-race,’ during the JEGS Allstars and Mickey Thompson Tires Pro Bike Battle specialty competitions. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 5 to 17. With over 120 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing-related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates four racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
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