Allen opens season with win

From Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada

EDMONTON, AB – In the wake of a host of new talent that is emerging in the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada-sponsored V-Rod Destroyer Drag Race Series, one man still stands out as the one to beat. Nick Allen, racing for Redline Harley-Davidson, is fully aware that his rearview mirror is filling up with riders looking for a shot at dethroning the king of the Western Series.

The season opener at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton saw an epic battle that went down to the wire. In a precursor of how tight the race would be, the qualification round saw all seven riders finish within a quarter of a second, from first to last. Allen recorded the best run with an ET of 9.589 and a top speed of 137.09 mph.

Allen again bested the field in the first round of eliminations posting a solo run at 9.511 and top speed of 138.20 mph, bettering his morning run. Next up, it was rider Rick Adams supported by Edge Harley-Davidson with a narrow victory over fellow Alberta rider, Shaun Rude, racing for Heritage Harley-Davidson. Adams beat Rude to the lights with a meagre .009 of a second to spare.

Newcomer Jamie Moench, riding out of Edge Harley-Davidson made an immediate impression in his very first outing on a V-Rod Destroyer motorcycle. Lined up against the very talented Jeff Pitre, riding for Harley’s Hard Rock Saloon, Moench left no doubt in what his intentions were. With a reaction time of only .023 of a second and ET at 9.820, he crossed the line ahead of Pitre who ran a respectable ET of 9.956.

The next match-up saw last year’s Redline Harley-Davidson-sponsored contender, Chris Perkins line up against Kelly McCuaig and Perkins did not disappoint. His run had the second fastest ET of the first round with a 9.647 and 139.20 mph top speed sending McCuaig to the sidelines.

In round 2 of eliminations, rookies Perkins and Moench squared off at the tree. With almost identical reactions times they broke the beam at the end of the quarter almost simultaneously with Moench at 9.756 and just a wheel spoke ahead of Perkins, who ran a 9.767, which launched Moench into the final. That left champion Allen to test his metal against Adams. Adams was quicker on the trigger, but the cagey Allen broke the beam at the end of the run with .182 of a second, setting the stage for the veteran to go up against Moench, who was in not only his first V-Rod race, but also his first challenge for the weekend win.

The rookie remained calm as both bikes left the tree together. However, once again, Allen managed to squeeze a little more throttle out of his V-Rod Destroyer motorcycle for the race win, starting the season just where he left off, in the winner’s seat.

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