NHRA 2024 Carolina Nationals – Top Fuel Motorcycle
NHRA Carolina Nationals
zMax Dragway
September 19-22, 2024
Larry McBride Wins the NHRA 2024 Carolina Nationals
It seems fitting that Larry McBride, the face of Top Fuel Motorcycles for 40 years, was crowned the first champion of the Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle Series, wrapping it up at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, but it took more than reputation to win the title.
McBride’s Pingel/Trim-Tex two-wheeler was consistently the quickest and fastest motorcycle at each of the four events in the inaugural season, and the man they call “Spiderman” for his superhero-like ability to hang onto the handlebars and maneuver around the saddle at 240 mph, rode it perfectly.
“This is just such an honor to win this championship,” he said. “But it’s my crew who are the ones who deserve this: My wife, my kids, and my crew allow me to come live this dream.”
McBride was the low qualifier at all four events – in Chicago, Richmond, Brainerd, and Charlotte – and won the Richmond and Chicago events, where he had the only motorcycle to cover the 1,000-foot racing distance in less than five seconds.
ELIMINATIONS
The competition was incredible at the final event for the Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle class.
FINAL SEASON POINTS
1 Larry McBride324
2 Mitch Brown 278
3 David Vantine 187
4 Elmeri Salakari 159
5 Robert Malloy 154
6 Micah Fenwick 149
| DRIVER | Bike# | RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | 660 MPH | 1000 ET | 1000 MPH | MOV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELIMINATIONS ROUND 1 | ||||||||||
| WIN | Bob Malloy | 1039 | 0.150 | 1.025 | 2.588 | 3.865 | 190.70 | 4.990 | 215.27 | 0.0596 |
| David Vantine | 22 | 0.100 | 1.073 | 2.755 | 4.034 | 198.06 | 5.099 | 225.97 | ||
| WIN | Mitch Brown | 500 | 0.116 | 1.027 | 2.715 | 3.982 | 196.96 | 5.072 | 220.30 | 0.4462 |
| Elmeri Salakari | 56 | 0.114 | 1.072 | 2.798 | 4.157 | 181.52 | 5.520 | 162.51 | ||
| WIN | Larry McBride | 207 | 0.093 | 1.052 | 2.636 | 3.823 | 209.23 | 4.838 | 239.61 | 0.2573 |
| Micah Fenwick | 117 | -0.031 | 1.087 | 2.755 | 4.043 | 193.57 | 5.219 | 191.13 | ||
| ELIMINATIONS - SEMI-FINAL | ||||||||||
| WIN | Mitch Brown | 500 | 0.099 | 1.097 | 2.741 | 4.023 | 193.43 | 5.132 | 217.25 | 1.1516 |
| Bob Malloy | 1039 | 0.108 | 1.127 | 3.467 | 4.889 | 178.28 | 6.274 | 159.4 | ||
| WIN | Larry McBride | 207 | 0.069 | 1.047 | 2.721 | 4.25 | 142.72 | 6.01 | 124.76 | |
| Earned Bye | ||||||||||
| ELIMINATIONS - FINAL | ||||||||||
| WIN | Larry McBride | 207 | 0.122 | 1.054 | 2.649 | 3.855 | 208.14 | 4.875 | 238.38 | |
| Mitch Brown | 500 | |||||||||
Qualifying
| DRIVER | Bike# | RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | 660 MPH | 1000 ET | 1000 MPH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROUND Q1 | ||||||||
| Larry McBride | 207 | 0.069 | 1.062 | 2.639 | 3.825 | 209.69 | 4.840 | 239.19 |
| Mitch Brown | 500 | 0.123 | 1.065 | 2.690 | 3.948 | 196.47 | 5.115 | 192.33 |
| Micah Fenwick | 117 | 0.146 | 1.078 | 2.751 | 4.072 | 187.65 | 5.316 | 178.10 |
| Elmeri Salakari | 56 | 0.096 | 1.092 | 2.864 | 4.259 | 175.14 | 5.665 | 157.78 |
| David Vantine | 22 | 0.224 | 1.089 | 3.365 | 5.672 | 111.92 | 7.672 | 111.29 |
| Bob Malloy | 1039 | 0.140 | 1.721 | 8.249 | 17.039 | 24.93 | 26.571 | 23.94 |
| ROUND Q2 | ||||||||
| Larry McBride | 207 | 0.119 | 1.060 | 2.652 | 3.846 | 209.72 | 4.868 | 234.86 |
| Mitch Brown | 500 | 0.118 | 1.094 | 2.715 | 3.966 | 197.02 | 5.064 | 217.18 |
| David Vantine | 22 | 0.276 | 1.057 | 2.740 | 4.040 | 195.34 | 5.115 | 226.05 |
| Bob Malloy | 1039 | 0.116 | 1.127 | 2.819 | 4.046 | 200.80 | 5.161 | 210.28 |
| Micah Fenwick | 117 | 0.288 | 1.072 | 2.766 | 4.109 | 178.45 | 5.496 | 160.14 |
| ROUND Q3 | ||||||||
| Larry McBride | 207 | 0.108 | 1.051 | 2.628 | 3.814 | 210.64 | 4.824 | 240.72 |
| Mitch Brown | 500 | 0.138 | 1.027 | 2.601 | 3.826 | 200.38 | 4.911 | 218.83 |
| Bob Malloy | 1039 | -0.057 | 1.015 | 2.603 | 3.867 | 194.18 | 5.060 | 187.05 |
| David Vantine | 22 | 0.096 | 1.048 | 2.917 | 4.447 | 170.47 | 5.626 | 209.01 |
| Elmeri Salakari | 56 | 0.209 | 1.029 | 2.727 | 4.076 | 185.08 | 5.290 | 184.98 |
ABOUT NHRA
The National Hot Rod Association, the largest auto racing organization in the world, has come a long way since Wally Parks founded it in 1951.
Though it has grown into a global sports-entertainment business, NHRA has not lost sight of Parks’ original goal: to provide competitors a place to race. But now those places are deluxe supertracks in major U.S. markets, and the racing runs the gamut from 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters to 5-horsepower Jr. Dragsters. Drag racing’s journey through the decades has been sometimes swift, sometimes rocky, but always exciting and always worth the trip.
In the 1950s, top performance marks were 140 mph in 9 seconds. Today, they’re more than 330 mph in less than 3.7 seconds. Back then, winners earned little more than a trophy and bragging rights. Today’s racers compete for trophies and bragging rights as well as a share of more than $3 million in prize money.
In 2024, NHRA joined forces with Mission Foods to present the world’s fastest motorsports attraction as the flagship sponsor of the national touring series, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Under the leadership of President Glen Cromwell, NHRA raced forward in 2020 with a number of key initiatives, including a multiyear partnership with FOX Sports to televise NHRA events from the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, and the Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. FOX Sports networks aired more than 500 hours of programming throughout the year, highlighted by 22 race-day shows, including eight on FOX’s national network, in addition to primetime Friday night qualifying shows, and fans are in for more of the same this year.
NHRA has extremely loyal fans that are committed to the sport they love, and it’s easy to see why. They continue to have the best access to the behind-the-scenes action of racing. NHRA’s open-pits policy allows fans to get an up-close-and personal view of how teams rebuild engines. Drivers are often found in their pit areas, signing autographs and chatting with fans, who have the rare opportunity to get behind the wheel themselves in a variety of racing simulators in the Nitro Alley Fan Zone. Those are just a few reasons NHRA fans continue to be some of the most loyal in any sport.
For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
About Mission Foods
Great food is a great motivator. It brings everyone to the table and inspires us to explore all kinds of delicious destinations. At Mission®, it drives us to seek the freshest ingredients, simple recipes, diverse flavors and wholesome products that help us discover all the places our tortillas can go. There are better-for-you destinations like with our high protein, low carb, or gluten-free tortillas. Of course, tacos and nachos are favorite stops. We are always up for those. www.missionfoods.com
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