Electric motorcycle makes history

From Infineon Raceway

SONOMA, CA — Santa Rosa, CA’s Mike Swallow made history at Infineon Raceway, powering his electric motorcycle to victory during the track’s weekly Wednesday Night Drags program last week.

The win marked the first time in the 20 years of Wednesday Night Drags that an electric-powered machine took the victory. Swallow piloted his 2008 custom 102 volt AC motorcycle to the win in the Motorcycle Class.

Swallow, who works for ThunderStruck Motorsports in Santa Rosa, was testing the company’s latest battery-powered dragbike down the Sonoma Valley drag strip. They use the quarter-mile to find the right parameters around which the batteries run most efficiently. He defeated Petaluma’s Ron Love in the final round.

“I get to come out to races because I’m the lightest guy at the shop, so it was great to get a win,” said Swallow, 28. “I went up to the press box after the race, and the guy told me I’m a part of history at the track. This is the biggest trophy we have at the shop so far.”