NHDRO World Finals and Pro Street Shootout Drag Race Results

Spotless weather and an incredibly tight Lucas Oil Raceway paved the way for record-setting quarter-mile runs, big-money payouts and well-earned championships at the NHDRO World Finals in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Michigan racer Mark Paquette already had the McIntosh Machine & Fabrication Pro Street championship in the bag before he unloaded his bike this past weekend. After skipping the Huntsville opener, Paquette won every following round in a dominant performance on his McIntosh/MPR Suzuki Hayabusa.

Paquette qualified number one at the Finals with a record-setting 6.75, then sweetened his season by winning $5,000 in Saturday’s Big Money Pro Street Shootout. Twenty-eight of the world’s quickest streetbikes showed up for the Shootout, with Paquette beating three-time MIRock champion Rodney Williford—riding John Drake/No Fear Racing’s “The Truth”—in the final of the biggest Pro Street race of 2016.

The final of Sunday’s points-paying eliminations was like deja vu as Paquette once again beat Williford with a 6.807 at 215.79 mph to Rodney’s 6.97. Both riders raced through an incredibly strong field to get there, as all eight bikes in the second round ran 6-second passes at over 200 mph.

Not many 18-year-olds have a Pro Street win on their resume, but DME Racing’s Chris Connelly Jr. certainly does after winning Pro Street B. Connelly was one of many riders who ran their first 6-second pass this weekend with a 6.98 at 203 mph to beat Jeremy St. Julien in the final.

Quicktime Motorsports’ Rudy Sanzottera’s big agenda for the Finals weekend was to protect his dad Marty “Pops” Sanzottera’s HMH Motorsports Coatings Pro Open points lead while Pops recovers from serious injuries sustained in a recent road crash.

To do that, Rudy had to pour more coals onto his no-bar, turbocharged ‘Busa’s fire and he did, qualifying number one with a 6.99 at 202 mph. But opponent Chris Cutsinger had his turbo ’Busa funnybike sitting back on the wheelie bars and running full-tilt boogie all day on race day and was giving no quarter.

But neither was Rudy. When the additional boost ruptured the plenum, Rudy set to work installing bolts and a strap. It wasn’t enough. After running a 6.49 low ET of the meet (along with a 210 mph trap speed—both personal bests) in E1, Cutsinger slowed to 6.60 in the final, but Rudy’s injured mount couldn’t respond. Cutsinger took the win and the championship.

The whole NHDRO family continues to wish Pops a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back on his badass Quicktime ‘Busa in 2017.

Fast Times Motorsports rider Chase Morris came into the finals behind Jeff Lindeman in points until a race was dropped, as per this year’s rules. Lindeman’s championship hopes were lost when he was eliminated by Ricky Scott Jr.—riding Randy Butler’s August race winning bike—in E1.

Scott went on to meet Morris in the final, where he slapped a .009-second light on Chase (who had an .027) for a 4.633 to 4.633 identical-ET win. Morris, though, scored the championship in his first year of racing.

Heather Baldi unpacked at Indy with the G&G Metal Spinners Top Gas points lead, but kicking a rod through the side of her motor was a poor start to the weekend. Then a motor donated out of sister Rachel Wagner’s Super Comp bike sustained head damage, keeping dad Mike Wagner up most of the night piecing something together.

Heather’s ability to defend ended early on race day with a round-one breakout 8.13 against the 8.20 index. From then on it was hope against hope as perennial champion Greg Mallett went round after round—regaining the lead he lost in August while recovering from surgery.

Mallet broke out and lost to Joe “Walk Off Home Run” Deck in the quarterfinals but went deep enough to win another championship. Deck went on to finally escape the batter’s box and cleanup the win in a double breakout final against Ron Morris.

Jeremy Teasley’s run at a second Top Gas win on his streetbike ended in the semifinals, but he did bring home the big check in Millennium Trailers Super Comp. Teasley took the tree against fellow finalist Scott Shepard and kept just enough at the finish line for the win in the 8.90 index class.

August Big Money MPS Pro ET winner John “Spooky” Markham kept enough points to score the Super Comp championship despite ending his race day run early against Eric Moran.

Moran and his dad Bob swept both MPS Pro ET wins this weekend, with Bob’s coming on Saturday and Eric’s Sunday. The final round victim of both Morans was Iowa’s Bruce Damewood. Sunday’s race saw some epic reaction times, with Eric having a .005 and Bruce an .014.

4.60 winner Ricky Scott Jr. went home with the MPS Pro ET championship.

Mitch Pennington won the Motorcycle House Crazy 8s final against popular Chicago racer Michael Daddio in a double breakout race. Wes Brown scored the Crazy 8s championship.

Dragbike/BAMF Dustin “Biscuits” Lee swept the Route 21 Street Fighter table, winning the race and championship. Danny Miller redlit against Lee in the final.

Ron “Jiu-Jitsu” Arnold won Saturday’s Kevin Dennis Insurance Street ET final over James Pepper, and eventually the championship. August Big Money Street ET runner-up Kenneth Smith won Sunday’s final against Kerry Sutton.

It was a perfect evening for the large field of Grudge bikes to log pass after pass, with the night ending with a money race featuring Joe McCoy and Midwest Cycle Concepts taking the win over 8 Below’s Can Man.