INSIDE DIRT DRAGS

Flying mud and knobblies are not something you see at Santa Pod. But in Pennsylvania, USA they drag race on dirt, all the way up to Top Fuel…

1000bhp on dirt in Pennsylvania, USA. Yes, it’s as insane as it sounds.

LAUNCHING HARD

A Top Fuel nitro-methane bike launches at Blair-bedford dirt drag strip, Pennsylvania, USA. The clay/soil based track is a rarity as it’s one of the few tracks that runs up to 500ft, most others run up to 300ft. The course record was recently set at just under 4.5 seconds @ 142mph on a 1000bhp bike. With a top prize of $2000 competition is intense.

DIRT/STREET BIKES

Buddies Len Metcalf and Aaron Hoard from Virginia sit astride their Honda CBR600RR and Honda CBR1000RR. Apart from the extended swingarm on the 1000 they’ve been left completely stock: ‘we’ll take ’em back home, remove the knobbies, put street tyres on ’em and run ’em straight down the street’.

NITRO HARLEY

72-year-old Paul Plummer checks over his nitro-methane fuelled, 96ci (1500cc), hi-gear, fuel injected, ironhead Harleydavidson. Plummer is a veteran of the sport, having raced in dirtdrags for 50 years. He regularly covers the course in around five seconds, getting up to 120mph in the process. ‘You just give it the gas and hold on.’

STOPPING IS THE PROBLEM

Hunter O’haver opens up at the Christmas Tree on his ten foot long 1979 turbocharged Kawasaki KZ1000. According to Hunter pulling away is the easy part, it’s braking that’s the difficult bit: ‘whenever she starts sliding you can’t get her to stop, that’s when it’s kind of sketchy’.

KEEPING IT DOWN

Rick Reasy’s 1987 2-stroke Kawasaki KX500, looking immaculate and ready to race. Big 2-stroke dirt bikes from the 1980s are hugely popular in the 500 gas class but, not surprisingly, they are hard to keep down and need constant swingarm adjustment: ‘if it comes up on ya, just make it a little longer, try to keep your front end down or it’ll cost ya time’.

MODIFICATIONS

A racer stands over his modified Honda CR500 waiting to make his next pass. Bikes in the 500cc gas class are allowed to make engine and chassis mods but can’t go any higher than 550cc and they’re often fitted with forks from smaller 80cc dirtbikes to keep them low and as light as possible. Raked chassis and extended swingarms are common in this category.

‘If it comes up on ya, just make it a little longer, try to keep your front end down or it’ll cost ya time’.

VIEW FROM THE STARTLINE

The startline is a scene of constant action throughout the day. From the deafening roar of the pro bikes to the eye-watering smell of nitro-methane, and then there’s the wheel spinning tyres of the Top Fuel bikes catapulting mud and stones a good 15 or 20 metres behind them. It’s a full sensory spectacle. And it goes on for 12 hours per day.

‘You would think not wearing gloves is a bad idea when you’re drag racing in the dirt. However…’

TRACK PREPARATION

JR Hoffman takes to the track with his trusty pick-axe. Many of the riders and teams make adjustments to the soft clay startline throughout the day, doing their best to level out the ruts caused by wheelspin and pick out sections to give the tyres as much bite and traction as possible. It’s all very scientific.

LOW REVS, IMPRESSIVE TORQUE

Cody Ickes’ 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000 is fitted with a GPZ head, bigger valves and a professional porting job and weighs in at 1428cc. The majority of bikes in the pro class are from this era and have become a favourite of many of the seasoned riders over modern bikes because of their low revs and impressive torque.

THEY DON’T WEAR GLOVES

You would think not wearing gloves is a bad idea when you’re drag racing in the dirt. However, when your reaction time and control of the bike are crucial to winning and simply staying in a straight line, many dirt drag racers choose not to wear gloves to ensure as much feel from the bike as possible.

FROM NOON TO MIDNIGHT

Pennsylvania’s dirt drags start at noon and finish at midnight. Throughout the day the startline is a scene of frantic, adrenaline fuelled action and the only break in racing comes when the track is re-ploughed and rolled to keep the dirt plient and flat. Ruts definitely are not a dirt drag racer’s friend.

IT’S THE PITS

The paddock is crammed with crews operating from vans and pick-up trucks. For many of the Top Fuel teams the bikes have to go through work between each round including changing plugs, cleaning the motor, changing the oil and refuelling. All in just 20 minutes.

‘80S 2 STROKE

Bikes that run in the 500cc gas class are highly modified and often feature the lethal 2-stroke dirtbike engines of the ’80s. It’s not uncommon for them to reach speeds of 100mph in the 500ft course.

HONDA CBR1000

Bo Rich’s 2007 Honda CBR1000 was originally used as a street bike until Bo’s regular drag bike blew up: ‘I just threw a knobby tyre on this one, just to see what it would do, and ended up running better times on it than I ever did on the one I built’.

TOP FUEL QUADS

The Top Fuel quads are just as nuts as the Top Fuel bikes. Many of them are fitted with 1200cc snowmobile engines and are highly modified – a boost of nitrous sees them over 300hp. The quads often make the pass in just over five seconds, easily getting up to 110mph.

IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY

Bo Rich watches over his 12-year-old son as he launches off the line on his 250cc 2-stroke – with 62bhp it can fire him across the finish line at 95mph. Dirt drag racing is often passed down from father to son or daughter and it’s not unusual to see three generations racing at one event.

‘Dirt drag racing is often passed down from father to son or daughter and it’s not unusual to see three generations racing at one event’