Story and Photos Courtesy Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada
EDMONTON, Alberta (September 14, 2011) – Castrol Raceway - The silence at Castrol Raceway broke with the thunder of two V-Rod® Destroyer motorcycles, ridden by the two men who lined up for the prestigious title of Canadian Champion of the Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada-sponsored V-Rod® Destroyer Series. The Eastern Champion, Rocky’s Harley-Davidson®-sponsored Pete Thomson, once again faced off against the Western Champion, Redline Harley-Davidson® rider, Nick Allen, for the final CMDRA drag racing event of 2011.
A feeling of déjà vu fell over the Castrol Raceway when Saturday’s torrid temperatures gave way to bone-chilling cold and light rains that threatened to, once again, leave the championship undecided.
Both riders ran almost identical times all weekend. It would take one final run up the drag strip, and one of the most exciting finishes in V-Rod® motorcycle racing history, to answer the pending question of who would reign.
Our collective breath was held for the 9.521 seconds it would take to see in which lane the white finish lights would flash and decide the hard fought championship. Allen was first out of the box with a solid reaction time of .098 and gained a slight advantage at the 60 foot mark; it was enough for him to slide through the traps first and into his fifth consecutive Canadian Championship. Thomson gave it his all, but his slower reaction time would be his undoing; he crossed the line with a very good time of 9.544, only .023 of a second behind Allen. Both riders crossed the finish line at over 137 mph, the best top speeds of the day.
A disappointed Thomson commented after the race, “that was a really tough time for the sun to come out like that. I had trouble seeing the tree and I didn’t even see Nick’s lights at all. It was a good race though, and we did all we could do.”
Allen shared feelings of joy and relief, and clearly showed the strain of a hard fought battle after the race, saying, “this is the coolest thing ever. You know, we set out five years ago to go for five wins and we did it. We had a really tough year; we lost some races and we had to work really hard, so I’d say this victory is the one that will stand out.”
In the final Western event of the season, Saturday’s qualification turned out to be completely unpredictable with many of the top riders struggling and others rising to the occasion to show their mettle.
First round qualifications saw Allen’s protégé, Chris Perkins, also racing for Redline Harley-Davidson®/Volution Tune, slide to the top of the order with Allen close behind. Pete Thomson slid just ahead of Edge Harley-Davidson® rider, Rick Adams, while Rocky’s Harley-Davidson® rider, Dan Thomson, held a strong fifth, despite coming in under weight. Edge Harley-Davidson® rider, Jamie Moench, sat in a disappointing sixth overall. However, by the third round things began to shake up with Allen atop the leader board, just ahead of Perkins and the Heritage Harley-Davidson® rider, Shaun Rude, who made a dramatic rise into third. Moench improved his times enough to move up to fourth, while Pete Thomson slid backwards to fifth.
With the dramatic change of weather for Sunday’s elimination rounds, coupled with some long delays in the racing action, it was anyone’s guess as to the outcome of the finals.
First up was Nick Allen, who would eliminate Harley-Davidson®/Buell of Prince George rider, Kelly McCuaig, for the day’s action. Allen had a good run with an ET of 9.572 and a top speed of 136.77 mph. Next up was youngster, Chris Perkins, who dispatched the first of the Eastern riders when he sent Thunder Road Harley‑Davidson® rider, Paul Guerrieri, to the sidelines. Shaun Rude had a close battle with Mike Evanyshan and narrowly edged out the Sylvan Lake, Alberta, rider. Edge Harley-Davidson®-sponsored Rick Adams sent the second of the Eastern riders to the sidelines when he beat out MotoSport Plus of Kingston-sponsored Mitch McCallum. Jamie Moench then relegated Eastern import, Dan Thomson, to spectator status. Pete Thomson became the only rider from the Eastern contingent to move into round two when he displaced Pido Productions and Harley’s Hardrock Saloon racer, Jeff Pitre.
In the second round of eliminations, Allen beat out Rick Adams, who fouled out at the light, while Pete Thomson advanced ahead of Chris Perkins. Shaun Rude backed up his first round run with an ET of 9.693 and a top speed of 134.89 mph with a holeshot win to narrowly beat out brilliant young rookie, Jamie Moench.
Round three of eliminations saw Nick Allen with a bye run of 9.600 even and a top speed of 135.99 mph. Shaun Rude continued his torrid pace and sent the final Eastern rider, Pete Thomson, to the sidelines with another good run of 9.620 and a top speed of 135.99 mph, earning himself a well-deserved chance in the final.
As the day drew to a close, Allen and Rude lined up for the final race of the Western V-Rod® Destroyer Series. Once again, Allen showed his poise and charged to victory with an ET of 9.56 and a top speed of 136.67 mph to Rude’s run of 9.65 and top speed of 135.66 mph. Despite the loss, Rude was excited and proud of his run into the final saying, “I had a great weekend and I left nothing on the table. A great way to end the season.” The newly retired Allen has now won the Western V-Rod® Destroyer Series Championship for five consecutive seasons and looks ready to do so for many years to come.
