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Romine
Racing News
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IHRA AC Delco Nationals - Virginia Motorsports Park, Dinwiddie, VA April 21, 2001
Climbing the ladder of success takes time. In the case of Mike Romine, that time is three years. And three rounds. He kicked off the 2001 season earning the quickest pass at the first IHRA national with a semi-final finish. Disappointed in the outcome, Romine put his head down and concentrated on performance. For the second consecutive IHRA national, at least through qualifying, Romine has the quickest e.t. This time, the format is rewarding in the form of #1 qualifier.
'We ran a 6.52,' Romine said with a humble smile. 'Going into the round, we were thinking our biggest concern was to get a full pass. The second round pass took me to the center line because of the wind, so I had to back off. I didn't really change anything on the bike. I just wanted to repeat the run from Friday night so I could get consistent for race day. This time, the bike shut off but not quite as early, so we went a 6.52 instead of a 6.56.'
As the second pair out of 14 bikes trying to get into an 8 bike field, Romine wasn't relaxed until the end of the day.' I figured that the 6.52 might not be strong enough with some of the guys that were behind me. After my run, I was sitting at the first turn off at the end of the track. A car radio was playing the track PA audio full blast so he could hear the times. So I just sat there and listened to the times. When the last one ran, I thought, Whew! It was good to finally become number one qualifier at an IHRA race.'
Romine sits prepared to run the number eight qualifier in the first round. 'So far, the bike's not hurting any parts. The motors real happy. The clutch is real happy. I think we have a good tune up for tomorrow. The only bad pass we had it really wasn't the tune-up. It was the wind and I shut it off. All three passes have been good to the eighth mile. It's not spinning the tire. I'm able to hammer the throttle. I don't have to worry about rolling it on. All of the early numbers are great.'
Incrementally, Romine is working his way to the first IHRA victory that has escaped him to date. Eliminations begin Sunday at noon.
Mike Romine is sponsored by Chromatic, Andrews Products, Saddlemen, Competition, Inc and Romine Racing.
Watch for IHRA Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harleys this Summer on TNN. Keep up with Mike Romine and his 2001 racing results at www.mikeromine.com.
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