2010 AMA Dragbike - Atlanta Dragway

By: Wally W

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Last weekend, the AMA Dragbike races were at the Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA. I had planned to go but couldn't decide if I should go Saturday or Sunday.

After some deliberation, Saturday was the day. I left the house at about 6:45 heading south on Rt 18 and turned right onto I85 after a few miles. I stayed on I85 all the way to the Commerce, GA exit (149) but stopped along the way to warm up. When I left, there was frost on the roof. When I got to the dragstrip at 9:15, it had warmed nicely.

The first thing I wanted to do was to see an old friend - Debbie Knebel. We met a couple years ago when I wrote an article with her picture in it. We have been emailing for awhile too.

When we spoke, she was waiting in the staging area for the first qualifying run of the day. Debbie and her husband have been AMA drag racing now since 1997 and the only race she missed was the one in Canada. (I heard that that one was a bit of a fiasco). But now she said that she was hanging up her racing helmet. It.s been a long run and very time consuming and costly . but a lot of fun too. Debbie also writes the articles for the AMA (USRiderNews) publication . Straight-Liner. She will continue to do that even though she won.t be racing.

After she went down the track flawlessly, I started to walk around. The first pit I noticed was the immaculate spread that Larry McBride (Spiderman) has. It's the best pits I have ever seen. Even some of the NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car pits could take a lesson from him. I know that I'll enjoy watching him race later in the afternoon.

Down the main aisle a few pits was another interesting looking pit. There were two guys who looked like brothers horsing around kidding each other. I stopped to talk with them. The bike was in the Pro-Mod class which is just a small step down from McBride's Top Fuel. The big difference is the fuel. This one runs with a shot of nitrous-oxide instead of nitro-methane.

I asked which one of the cut-ups was the racer. They said that neither of them raced but a young lady walked out of the trailer and they both pointed to her. I learned that her name is Anne Hansen (annehansenracing.com). She is a attractive young lady in her late twenties with long blond hair. We talked a few minutes and she said that this would be her twelfth race on this fast bike (which is not her normal ride). She usually races her bike in another class.

After I said my good-bys, I continued walking down the main aisle looking at all the racing stuff for sale and smelling the food cooking. Luckily, I brought a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I ate one as I sat watching the bikes take their qualifying runs. They all had to do a burnout to warm up their rear tire for better traction off the line. If I could design a tire heater that would eliminate the burnout, think of the tires that would be saved. But drag racing just wouldn't be the same with out the burnout.

I was looking forward to the Pro's qualifying; mainly Spiderman. He puts on an awesome exhibition. At 12:30, they started with Spiderman. After he did his burnout the breeze blew the sweet fragrance of nitro-methane exhaust mixed with burnt rubber. It's almost an aphrodisiac. I know that it is addictive.

Spiderman's bike sounded like an old style funny car. The engine had a very high idle and when he raised the rpm, it moved slowly to the starting line. It sounded like he had a high rpm stall converter (used by many drag racers to compensate for the radical cams in their engines).

When he launched, it was like he was shot out of a cannon. As I watched him fly down the track on just his rear wheel, he really did look like Spiderman as he moved around on the seat to keep the bike going straight. He usually runs in the high five second range but this was his first pass of the weekend so he took it easy and shut it down before the finish line. He still made it in 6.3 seconds. That's very quick for a quarter mile and for some of his competition, it's their best time.

Next was the Pro Mod class and Anne. I watched her and her crew as she did her burnout. I was expecting to watch a good run. As she was coming up to the line, she didn.t look comfortable and looked awkward. She was still determined and made a great launch but went nowhere. The bike died and she had to walk it back to the pits. I watched other racers do the same thing in the slower classes. The faster the class, the more temperamental the bikes become. I'm sure that she did well the next run.

Debbie is retiring and Anne is just starting and drag racing will always be there. It gets into your blood and it.s hard to get rid of it.

As I was walking around, I noticed another pretty lady racer. She was working very hard to be part of the crew for two other racers. She was dragging around the heavy battery starters for the race bikes (many do not have their own starters to reduce the weight). She raced in one of the earlier classes. She always had a smile on her face. I enjoy watching people enjoy themselves.

I headed north on I85 at about 1:00PM and got home about 3:30PM. I was a little tired. The sun was starting to take its toll on me. I talked Cindy into going for a short ride to Joe's Place in Shelby. He has designated every Saturday as 'Bike Saturday' with specials on food and drink. We had a delicious Philly Steak sandwich and I drank a pitcher of sweet tea. I guess I was dehydrated.

After dropping Cindy back home, I headed out to the Cleveland Mall and the monthly Cruise-In. They allow any type of vehicle and I thought that I.d ride the bike. It was the easiest to clean with a little spray & clean. I wiped off all the bugs and road dirt (and pollen).

While there, I talked with 'Teddy Bear' (the president of the Windjammers and the man responsible for the Cruise-In). He told me that just across the street the 'Wings of Eagles' Biker Ministry was celebrating their 5^th anniversary. I knew a few of the members so I decided to stop in before I headed home.

I said my good-bys and rode across the street, parked the bike and walked to where the party was. Everybody walked up to me and introduced themselves while shaking my hand. They were very friendly. I saw an old friend, Brit. We talked for a few minutes. The sun was going down fast so I said my good-bys and headed home. I got home about 8:00PM and was completely exhausted. It was a very busy day. I wish I could do this every Saturday.

Published: Apr 16, 2010

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