|
 |
Romine
Racing News
See our Gallery for photos and our schedule to find where
we race next.
"It was gonna be a good race," said Mark Conner after winning the second of three Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley exhibitions at NHRA's nationals. With an injured back, Mike Romine turned over his Nuclear Tomato to Conner to ride.
Taking off with all it was worth, Conner qualified highest of the three riders on the team with a 6.595 at 208.68 miles per hour. "It was pretty entertaining. I didn't get to keep the throttle open the whole time. The bike was going toward the center. I rolled off a little bit to get it steered. I rolled off of the throttle three times according to the computer. Hopefully tomorrow I can have a nice straight run instead of a figure S run and we can go to rounds."
Only two qualifying rounds existed, due to Friday's rain cancelled sessions. Jack Romine qualified sixth with a 6.598 at 217.67 miles per hour in the second session Saturday. "Our performance picked up a little bit in the early numbers, not quite as much as we thought they were going to. It ran real good from halftrack on. The belt stayed on this time, so we were able to run the 6.59." First round, Romine threw a belt around 1000 feet down track.
AHDRA Indy finalist Drums Brancaccio qualified seventh for the Sunday show with his 6.683 at 219.72 miles per hour against teammate Romine. "I had a killer light. When the bike left the starting line, it started spinning immediately, sashaying down the track. It tried to high-side me. I like to get my feet up onto the foot pegs around the eighth mile mark, but I couldn't do that until 1000 feet. At that point, it picked up the wheel so hard. When I got to the end of the track, I told Jack that was the fastest this NitroHarley has ever been in the quarter. Sure enough, it went 219.72. I'm just so excited to be out here. "I want to run 220," is what I kept saying. Second round, I ran as close to it as you can."
Brief rain showers reminded the 8-bike NitroHarley field to stay on their toes. Skipping the first round of pros, the Harleys lined up for the quarter-final round with 8 bikes. Romine ran first with a 6.62 against a 6.48. "It slowed down a little bit. I don't have much to say about my run."
Drums staged against Doug Vancil only to be slammed by a record setting 6.282 at 226.54 miles per hour. Drums said after the run, "There ain't nothing for that. Obviously we thought we put enough clutch in it but obviously we didn't. I didn't feel like it was on a bad run. And I just watched him walk away. It's amazing to see how quick that bike went away. I'm just glad to be out there. It's great to be a part of that run. It was the fastest bike I've run against in my life. Doug just did what we all expected him to do. It was good. I went over there and told him I hope he runs a teen."
Conner continued to improve by winning round one with a 6.55 at 216.17. "I'm glad Johnny wasn't in the other lane after the finish line. It was a pretty smooth run all in all. It's going straighter for me now. We're just working on the short numbers. It has plenty of top end." Conner had a bit of trouble going to the left at the end of the track but successfully was the only winner on the RMC team.
For the semi-final round, Conner took on Chicago number one qualifier Steve Stordeur. He won against the Team Mancuso forward with the second-quickest e.t. of the event at 6.339 at 225.45 miles per hour. "Wow! That was cool. You could have told me it went 6.65 and I would have believed you. I think I just got a good line and it just did what it was supposed to do. It didn't go crazy in the shutdown like it did last round when I went in front of Johnny. It was my personal quickest and fastest. And probably the most boring pass I ever made."
Vancil won the semi-final round with another 6.20+, at 6.29, 216.41, keeping lane choice against Conner.
In the end, lane choice didn't matter. Vancil broke a tranny and Conner won avoiding the center line at 6.773 second and 188.15 miles per hour. "It was gonna be good race. We picked up on our short numbers and I just couldn't keep it in the groove. I started looking back for Doug and working the throttle trying to get to the finish line first. I really, really, really, really, really, really need to thank Mike and Patty Romine, Chromatic, RMC, Lucas Oil, PMS Excavation, GP Manufacturing, Dan the Man for being Doug Vancil's pit rat."
RMC Racing earned the second NHRA Exhibition victory. Mike Romine's back continues to heal. Conner will go back to riding a different bike for the remainder of the season. Will he be forced to instantly 'come down' next weekend when he rides a different Nitro Harley at the AHDRA Rockingham Finals? "Are you kidding? I went 6.33 at 225 miles per hour. I'll have an illegal smile for a long time."
Mark Conner, Mike Romine, Jack Romine and Drums Brancaccio are sponsored by RMC Racing, Romine Racing, Oceans 11 sports bar in Hollywood, FL, Chromatic Inc, Lucas Oil, PMS Excavation, GP Manufacturing, Performance Machine, Ross Racing Pistons, Fram, and Autolite.
|
|
