PROSTAR: the two-wheel alternative Words and photos by Jeff Burk 6/8/05

rag Racing Online doesn't cover a lot of motorcycle drag racing. It isn't because we don't like motorcycle drags, it's just that there are some very good online magazines that cover bike drags exclusively and they do a very good job, so for the most part we leave the coverage of that part of the drag racing scene to them and stick to the four-wheel action. But that doesn't mean we don't like bike drags. So a couple of times a year we select a bike race and give it some extensive coverage in the magazine.

That is the reason we attended the PROSTAR sanctioned event at Gateway International Dragway on June 2-4. We attended the race at St. Louis not only to see the bikes but because it is the fastest track on the PROSTAR tour and the fastest motorcycle track period since Larry McBride posted a surreal 5.84 lap on his fueler last year. From nitro burning Top Fuel bikes to short wheelbase, no wheelie bar Pro Mods to the two-wheeled version of Pro Stock, the PROSTAR races offer something for any drag fan even those that favor four wheel vehicles. What follows is the sights, sounds and results from the St. Louis event.

TOP FUEL

If you are one of those nitromethane addicts who still wants to see race vehicles built with maximum safety (although you do have to question the sanity of anyone who would drive a two-wheeled, supercharged, nitro burning race vehicle capable of five-second, 240 mph laps) and few other rules then rthe Top Fuel class is for you. There are rules but not enough to violate the spirit of a basically unlimited class. As far as I could tell any block, any head, any tire, 100 percent nitro in the tank and anything else you can think of was allowed. The basic powerplant seems to be a 1700 cc fuel injected, supercharged, in-line four-cylinder that, according to most of the tuners I talked with, make about 1400 hp, and the bikes weigh just in the area of 1,000 lbs.

Larry "Spiderman" MacBride owns the record for the class -- a mind blowing 5.866 -- setting it last year's St. Louis race. He also owns the PROSTAR speed record at 243.59! Now that kind of nitro-burning drag bike action is right up my alley.

At the St. Louis race five fuel burners showed up and they had five different power plants: Kawasaki, Suzuki, a turbo-charged V-twin Harley, Triumph and Puma engines were all represented. Larry McBride, who had the Top Speed and Low Elapsed Time of the event with a 6.065/227.33, and Australian National Champ Jay Upton and his radical full bodied Top Fueler got most of the attention. In the end, however, the win went to Estero, Florida racer Jim Brantley who on just his 20th ever pass on the bike ran a shut-off 6.157/209.98 and then on his 21st lap beat Larry McBride when McBride got shut-off on the starting line.

Upton was impressive for several reasons. He shipped his bike on his own dime from the Antipodes (Australia) to the U.S. just to race Larry McBride and other quick bikes just for two race, then he is shipping the bike back to Australia for the beginning of their season. He's about a half-tenth quicker on average than his competition in Australia so he came to the states to run quicker bikes. Now that's a real hot rodder in my book. He's getting help from the legendary Sam Wills while on his short tour.