ROOKIE PHILIP MATLOCK TAKES HOME THE GREEN AT BOWLING GREEN!

Johnny Vickers accompanied four Hawaya Racing built Fuel bikes to the AMRA season opener in Bowling Green , KY. Mark Blackmer & Randal Andras both on 150 cubic inch High Gear machines and Philip Matlock & Mike Nolen on 121 cubic inch Derringer powered carburetor machines.

Mark Blackmer on his 150 cubic inch injected high gear machine chose to enter in the Top Fuel class. His first qualifying round showed ignition problems causing him to abort the run and ultimately miss the second round. In the 3rd qualifying round, Mark layed down a 6.78 @ 206.5 MPH to take the #2 spot behind Jay Turner. In the first round of eliminations, Mark ran a 6.920 @ 181.74 against Derrick Nelson. Mark moved towards the center line on the big end and chopped the throttle early, but not before hitting the finish line cone with his foot peg and being disqualified.

Randal Andras on a Derringer powered 150 cubic inch high gear machine entered the Nitro Funny Bike class ultimately qualifying 3rd with a 6.92 @ 180.74 early shut-off pass. In the first round he ran a 6.872 @ 199.64 on a early shut off bye run. In the second round, his opponent was John Breckenridge. Randal had a .015 light against John but broke a drive belt out about 60 feet allowing John to advance.

In the Pro Fuel class (AHDRA Pro Drag) two new Derringer carburetor bikes made their debut ridden by Philip Matlock, a rookie to drag racing, and Mike Nolan, a veteran of the gas classes. Mike qualified in the #4 position, even though fuel tank vent problems limited his performance. On the other hand, Philip's bike ran strong in the short time, but he was having handling problems on the big end. Philip qualified in the #7 position.

First round of eliminations saw Mike advance with an 8.03 over David Haskins. Philip ran a excellent 7.597 to advance over Scott Hooper.
In the semi-final round Mike faced Bob Totty on the R&B machine. This was an excellent drag race as Mike recorded a 7.856 @ 157.59 to Bob's 7.857 @ 154.88. Margin of victory for Bob was .006 seconds. Philip faced Rocky Jackson running a 7.623 @ 164.31 to Rocky's 8.0 @ 165.01.
In the final, rookie Philip Matlock faced veteran Bob Totty. Philip would triumph running a 7.577 @ 162.96 over Bob's losing effort of 7.866@ 148.43.

" I finally was able to calm Philip's bike down enough for him to be able to ride it to the end of the quarter mile. This bike has a lot more in it and as Philip's riding skills improve, I will step him up. Mike Nolan's bike is not far behind as he had top mph in the Pro Fuel class for the weekend.. Both of these bikes will be contenders in the carburetor class this year. I have redesigned the bore, stroke, head configuration, and even designed my own cams for these Derringer engines. Staying the course and believing in your products is starting to pay off" says Johnny.

"Next I go to a local bike event at No Problem Raceway in south Louisiana, then to the AMRA Georgia event, then to St. Louis, MO followed up at the Texas Motorplex in Dallas for the AHDRA. On the other side of the coin, things are moving along on the move to North Carolina. I have awarded the building contract for the new shop building and we should be breaking ground within the next 30 days. We are also in the process of updating our website using the latest software available. This will enable us to keep our site current with less effort than the present program."