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The Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazine
29th Jim McClure All-Harley Nitro World Finals AMRA At The Rock
Story and photos by Alan Dockery
he professional sanctioned
Armon Furr
2020 Harley-Davidson drag racing season ended the middle of November at Rockingham Dragway with a beautiful weekend and a great race. Steve Earwood, track owner, told me months ago that he was going to make every effort to make that a great weekend for racers and fans. I was worried with it being late in the year and possibly cold. But everything fell into place for the American Motorcycle Association’s 29th Annual Jim McClure All-Harley Nitro World Finals featuring the Ray Price Top Fuel Shootout. Fans of nitromethane-fueled Harley race bikes were thrilled by more than two dozen roaring, flame belching machines. I think this was probably the biggest and best nitro motorcycle race of 2020. All three classes had eight-bike fields of awesome race machines. Ain’t many better ways a biker can spend a fall weekend than at the Harley Drags. The camping crowd was down but still enough old buddies there to sit and talk with. I think lots of Saturday ride in folks showed up to at least watch qualifying. I tell folks if you can only make one day, come for qualifying since everyone runs a few times. There are lots of races at The Rock, but the Harley Drags are special. Saturday morning was cool and clear. Great racing conditions and lots of bikes ready for a morning test and tune session. Qualifying started at noon with some cool machines in the staging lanes. I was glad to see so many folks in the stands for qualifying. They got to enjoy the gas bikes and wheelies down the strip. Some of the machines that compete in the National Hot Rod Association Mickey Thompson Top Fuel Harley series were there. Randal Andras, from Louisiana, is the 2020 NHRA champion riding a Jay Turner Racing bike and was having a good time hanging out with fans. And at the Harley Drags fans can walk the pits to check out the machines up close. Qualifying went smoothly with very few oil downs and issues that needed clean up. The Rock is an awesome drag strip but racing late in November meant it was going to get dark and cold early with a chance of dew on the strip. The fans who hung around until sundown got a cool show. The evening glow makes beautiful photos. The fans love watching fuel bikes shoot flames as they roar off into the darkness. After qualifying the Straightwire Band played down the main gate. We love The Rock.
Too Many Good Stories There were so many great stories at The Rock. I could fill this magazine with stories about the people and machines there. Phyllis McClure and family and friends were at The Rock remembering Jim for whom the race is named. Ziggy Stewart, Jim’s nephew races the last bike from Jim’s stable of Top Fuel Harleys. Armon Furr who still runs Orangeburg Cycles, the shop made famous by his Dad, Bill Furr, was on the strip running Top Fuel and working with other teams. I remember when he was a teenager first on a fuel bike and racing in Bill’s giant shadow. Chris Smith from Tennessee was riding a Jay Turner Racing machine in Nitro Funny Bike. He was maybe 12 years old and in the first class 25 years ago when we were teaching kids how to drag race. Yes, we ran a Junior Drag Bike series, but the tracks and insurance folks didn’t like seeing kids drag race. Now he competes in the NHRA. At The Rock Chris ran the quickest time ever in Nitro Funny Bike, 6.473 seconds. Kersten Heling came down from Wisconsin to race in Pro Fuel. I remember when she was 15 years old and I asked if her Dad, famous Harley-Davidson dealer and nitro racer, Doc Hopkins, was going to let her race a Sportster the next year since she would be eligible. She told me she was getting his nitro race bike and he was building a new one for himself. I think Kersten may have been the youngest person ever licensed to race a nitro-fueled Harley drag bike. That is all she knew, and she had hours of seat time riding the bike back to the pits under tow. For a couple summers, long ago, the fans were thrilled by races between Armon and Kersten. At The Rock we told stories about races over the years. And how about that electric Harley. Donnie Huffman is a famous Harley racer from Lakeland, FL, who brought a new
