Ray Price Racing Reaches Finals at Manufactures Cup RaceTop Fuel Harleys challenge Supercharged Metric bikes in fall Manufacturers Cup raceFor Ray Price Racing final race of the 2011 season the team headed to South Georgia Motorsport Park in Valdosta, GA for the fall Manufacturers Cup race November 11th – 13th, 2011.
The three day event provides the opportunity for two different classes of Top Fuel Nitro drag bikes to compete; the supercharged inline metric bikes piloted by the likes of Larry "Spiderman" McBride and the V-Twin Harley-Davidson Nitro burning monsters campaigned by the legendary Ray Price Racing team. Normally the four cylinder metric bikes and the two cylinder Harley-Davidson bikes do not compete against one another in the top fuel class due to the metric bikes being supercharged and the V-Twins being naturally asperated. Tommy Grimes twisted the throttle on the Ray Price Harley-Davidson / Akea sponsored drag bike in the first round of qualifying on Friday to post a 6.443 ET at 222.58 mph. In the second round on Saturday Grimes ran a 6.367 ET at 221.31 mph to secure a spot in the eight bike elimination field. Going into Sunday’s eliminations the Ray Price Race team was one of seven V-Twin Harley-Davidson Top Fuel teams competing against the single supercharged metric bike of McBride. All eight bikes are all competiting in the Top Fuel class for a chance for a spot to stand in the winners circle.
In the first round Grimes brought the 1,000 horsepower Top Fuel Nitro Harley drag bike to the line and went on to win with a 6.493 ET at 210.83 mph to move the team into the semi final round. In the semi’s Grimes ran a 6.220 ET at 233.76 mph to move the team into the finals where they would face the lone supercharged metric bike piloted by McBride. "During the spring Manufactures Cup here we made it to the semi’s running a real close race against McBride. The uniqueness of this race makes it exciting to compete against the supercharged bikes", remarked Price. Grimes made it a very close race even though the supercharged bike riden by McBride had a performance advantage over the Ray Price Harley-Davidson / Akea sponsored V-Twin Harley. McBride got the win running a 6.009 ET at 222.14 mph but not before Grimes ran an equally impressive 6.333 ET at 219.83 mph to runner up. The Manufacturers Spring Cup is the one race where both the supercharged metric bikes and the thunderous V-Twin Harley’s can compete side-by-side while putting on an awesome show of power for the fans. This was the final race of the 2011 season for the Ray Price Harley-Davidson / Akea sponsored drag bike. The team had a very successful season competing at three NHRA races, eleven AHDRA races, two Manufacturers Cup races and Cyclepalooza. The team captured a total of two wins at the NHRA races; came in second place as part of the 2011 AHDRA Screamin Eagle Championship points series and went to the winners circle to kick off the 2011 race season at the Cyclepalooza exhibition drag race. The Ray Price Motorsports team sends sincere thanks to all their sponsors for their support for the 2011 race season. They include our Primary Sponsors: Akea, Ray Price Harley-Davidson, with special thanks to our Associate Sponsor Raleigh H. O. G. and our Support Sponsors: Nationwide Insurance, CP Pistons, Royal Purple, Barnett Clutches & Cables, Autolite Sparkplugs, Mickey Thompson Tires, Gates Belts, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, JIMS USA, Industrial Machine Solutions and Wiley X. Additional thanks: Bill Hayes, Hargis Consulting, Ultra Pro Machining and Freddie Robbins. Ray Price Harley-Davidson - Raleigh, NC - www.rayprice.com www.LiveToRideLonger.com |
