NHDRO at Atlanta, Georgia

“Cash is King” but a check will work too, especially when it’s an NHDRO “Big Check” for $13,000. That’s what Chris Moore (above) earned for winning NHDRO’s Last Man Standing Grudge Spectacular Saturday night, April 14, at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia. It was the crowning moment of the 190hookup.com Season Opener, the first race of 2018 for America’s fastest growing motorcycle drag racing series.

Moore tuned his Motec-controlled, DME-built, turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa to be the class of the sixteen-bike field all through Friday testing and racing on Saturday. Since this was a Performance Racing Products Grudge race, no times, incrementals, or reaction times were shown.

Moore beat Desmond Jerel “Kill Bill” Spaulding riding “CT Fletcher” in round one (Moore’s closest race of the day), “Bad News” with Caleb McDougald in round two, Lil’ Richard Gadson on “Super Freak” in the semis, and “Kill Bill” again on “Heartless” in the final.

“That was my first time going to an NHDRO race and I really enjoyed it,” said Moore. “I like the way Brian (NHDRO owner Brian Welch) put the race on. Like when the track wasn’t hooking, he talked to the track staff about it.” Needless to say, the track was put into good shape and Moore was impressed. “I said ‘This guy (Welch) is legit.’ I’m hoping he’ll put one of these grudge races on at Indy, ‘cause I’ve never raced there and I really want to.”

NHDRO races at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis in August and September.

Excellent results also came to veteran racer Mike Thyen in Quicktime Motorsports/Lindeman Performance Pro Ultra. Thyen didn’t really need much excellence in the final, as number one qualifier Les Stimac’s transmission broke and no gear was to be found in the waterbox.

England rode his dragbike in Top Gas, but his streetbike in Penske Racing Shocks Street Fighter, where he won the final against Vince “Family Man” Hileman, who broke out. England beat number-one qualifier John “Spooky” Markham in round two.

Don’t feel too bad about Lee (shown) losing the Top Gas and Super Comp finals, as he took the win in M2.Shocks Crazy 8s. Lee beat Stephen “The Right” Knight with an .013 light to Knight’s .077. Ron Arnold also qualified number one in Crazy 8s, and also lost in round two—this time to Travis Klotz.

Don’t grieve too hard for Knight either, as he won Kevin Dennis Insurance Street ET. He won the final despite leaving .036 later than Lee -- Dustin’s third runner-up of the night.

Garreth Sheppeard won MPS Pro ET, beating veteran racer Doug Fisher who redlit in the final.

Dorian “Doe Doe” Wallace won NHDRO’s first Grom race, sponsored by Total Racing Motorsports, and Anthony “Bishop” Randle won the Heavy Hitters race.

The most exciting event on Friday night was a stock ‘Busa challenge—riders making one test pass and one pass on the clock aboard a new, stock Hayabusa to determine the quickest. Richard Gadson took the honors with a 9.77 at 147 mph.

And because NHDRO events satisfy all your senses, grill master Sherman Matthews won the turkey smoking contest.

Brian and Niki Welch want to thank all the racers and sponsors who made this weather-challenged event come off without a hitch, especially Rob Bush Motorsports and 190hookup.com.

The next reunion of the NHDRO family is back in the Midwest at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio, for the Liguori Drag Racing May Bike Fest on May 4-6.