VANCIL AT OHIO BIKE WEEK NATIONALS

6/16/08 SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA - The Ohio Bike Week Nationals marks the midpoint to the 2008 AHDRA National Championship, where Doug Vancil and the Vance & Hines Top Fuel Harley team are in a bid to defend their 2007 title. With two wins in the first five events of the season, Doug currently sits in second in the point standings.

After rain cancelled Friday’s test and tune, the riders went straight into qualifying on Saturday without any practice runs. Doug struggled with setup on his first two passes, leaving him outside the top 16. In the third round, Doug was able to put together a solid pass running 6.932 seconds at 217.67 mph securing 12th spot for eliminations.

Almost every rider had problems with setup on Sunday, and Doug was no exception. In the first round against Dean Communal, both riders struggled off the line, but then Doug managed to pick up some traction to take the round and still post a respectable trap speed of 208 mph. In the second round, Doug faced off with Joe Timmons. Again both riders struggled with traction, but this time Timmons got the better of it. Number 2 qualifier, Tak Shigematsu, went on to win the event.

In terms of the championship, there wasn’t much change. Doug remains in second place right behind Mark Conner who was also knocked out in the second round of eliminations. This keeps the championship in close contention as the season heads into its second half. The Northeast Nationals are up next in two weeks time at the Cecil County Dragway in Rising Sun, Maryland, June 28 & 29.