McBride Avenges Atco Loss
by: Jack Korpela, CycleDrag.com

One event after being handed his first defeat of the year, Top Fuel motorcycle legend Larry "Spiderman" McBride reasserted his class dominance with a final round victory over rival Korry Hogan at the AMA Dragbike Fall Nationals from Norwalk, Ohio, October 11th-12th.


"When we got home from New Jersey the Atco loss was on our minds," McBride said. "There is no better way to erase what happened by going out and winning the next one. It felt great."

With the victory McBride clinched an unprecedented ninth Top Fuel Motorcycle championship - a feat even McBride never dreamed possible.

"When I started racing in 1978 I never thought I'd be in the sport for 30 years, let alone win nine championships," McBride said. "I've been very blessed. I have the greatest crew in the world."

During opening qualifying it was Hogan, the category's most recent winner and newest inductee into the MTC Five Second Club, who struck first with a 5.95 and record speed of 250.97 to seize the No. 1 position. McBride finished the day second with a 6.02 at 242 mph.

"We had an electrical problem we just couldn't seem to get to the bottom of," McBride said. "Ever since we blew a motor earlier in the summer in Bristol something wasn't right. On Saturday night we changed the entire electrical system."

Team Spiderman's electrical overhaul clearly appeared to cure the motorcycle's ailment as McBride posted a Norwalk motorcycle track record of 5.90 to defeat Hogan in the final. McBride, who stated before the race that he was leery of Norwalk's short shutdown area and doubted he would be able run sub-six second elapsed times there, admittedly pushed his own limits.

"We knew Hogan was running strong and we had to give it all we had. I really didn't think we would go that quick there but my competitiveness pushed me to it," McBride said. "Fortunately we were able to get stopped safely. Our Precision Machine brakes worked to perfection."

McBride will close out the season at the XXX Racing Fuel National Finals from Valdosta, Ga, November 7th-9th.

The team thanked; Pingel Enterprise, Trim-Tex Drywall Products, Drag Specialties-Parts Unlimited, Red Line Synthetic Oil Corporation as well as his other sponsors.

Vance & Hines Motorsports, PR Factory Store, Muzzys Performance, Web-Cam, Kibblewhite, Ferrea Valves, Precision Machine, Vanson Leathers, Performance Machine, Belt Drives Ltd, Street & Competition, Simpson Race Products, Nitrous Express, APE, EK Chain, Arias Pistons, R/D Spring Corp, Autolite, MSD, Protect ALL, Whipple Industries, Cometic Gaskets, B&J Transmission, Carolina Cycle, L.A. Sleeve, PJ1, Mickey Thompson Tires, Valco, and Carlisle Belts.

Photo by Matt Polito, www.dragbikephotos.com