Other winners in the two-day event included Vincent Demito of Collegeville, Pa., in the Orient Express 60-Inch Sport Bike class; Shane Ratliff of Roseville, Mich., who continued his late run for the Heavyweight championship by beating points leader Ehren Litten of Lousiburg, N.C., in the final; and Billy Deffendall of Burgaw, N.C., who used his starting line skills to win in the Honda-Suzuki of Sanford 5.60 Heads-Up class.

 

Chris Clontz of Mechanicsville, Md., and Mike Herman of Woodbridge, Va., wre the Saturday and Sunday winners, respectively, in the Nitrous Express pro bracket class; Norman Jackson of Upper Marlboro, Md., and Joel D. Berry Jr. of Mooresville, N.C., won in the street bracket; and Leslie Thomas of Frederick, Md., claimed the FBR Shop Quick 8 title.

 

The biggest surprise of the weekend was runaway points leader Mike Slowe's early exit from the 60-Inch Sport Bike competition by way of a foul start.

 

The No. 1 qualifier, Slowe posted the quickest time during eliminations (7.827 seconds) when he took out Warren Hall of Waldorf, Md., in round one.  In the second, however, Slow was guilty of a foul start that sent "L'il Butch" Thompson to the semifinals and eventually to runner-up honors.

 

Deffendall won his last three races at the starting line, using a near perfect .009 of a second reaction time in the final round to deny Debbie Knebel of Greer, S.C., who earlier had worked some starting line magic of her own, parlaying a .001 reaction time into an upset victory over No. 1 qualifier Alan Fields of Climax in the quarter finals.

 

In the Heavyweights division, restricted to riders weighing 240 pounds or more, John Vermeulen's hopes of claiming a second straight series championship ended in a first round loss to Gerald Cox of Smithfield, N.C.   Vermeulen, from Clarkston, Mich., needed a victory to keep alive his slim hopes of catching the five drivers behind whom he began the Autumn Nationals.

 

The 2004 MiRock Super Bike Series returns to MIR Oct. 16-17 before concluding back at The Rock with the Lee's Performance Fall Bike Nationals, Nov. 13-14.
 

 

Results from the A&J Performance Autumn Bike Nationals at Rockingham Dragway, sixth of eight events in the 2004 MiRock Superbike Series:

 

SCHNITZ RACING OUTLAW PRO STREET

Second round – Chris Moore, Greer, S.C., 7.587 seconds, 176.81 mph, def. Boo Brown, Potomac Falls, Va., broke; Dave Norris, Bryans Road, Md., 7.297, 192.66 mph, def. Corey Myers, Jacksonville, Fla, 7.440, 185.13 mph; Tony Girardi, Hollywood, Fla., 7.306, 191.70 mph, def. Matt Smith, King, N.C., 7.362, 192.82 mph; Barry Greene, Hinesville, Ga., 7.261, 195.62 mph, def. Dimey Eddinger, Winston-Salem, N.C., 7.261, 195.08 mph.
Semifinals – Girardi, 7.420, 183.74 mph, def. Moore, 7.786, 140.63 mph; Greene, 7.198, 192.82 mph, def. Norris, 7.199, 193.57 mph.
FINAL – Tony Girardi, Hollywood, Fla., 7.211, 192.91 mph, def. Barry Greene, Hinesville, Ga., 7.236, 188.25 mph.

 

ORIENT EXPRESS 60-INCH SPORT BIKE

Second round – Steve Knecum, Edgewater, Pa., 8.006, 187.29 mph, def. Michael Addison, Oxon Hill, Md., 8.326, 172.81 mph; Butch Thompson Jr., Blades, Del., 8.479, 151.09 mph, def. Mike Slowe, Bensalem, Pa., foul; Vincent Demito, Collegeville, Pa., 8.158, 180.00 mph, def. Ben Bozarth, Dennsville, N.J., 8.247, 176.97 mph; Doug Witt, Woodbine, Md., 8.074, 181.74 mph, def. Jeremy Tillman, Jeanette, Pa., 8.352, 176.77 mph.
Semifinals – Demito, 8.126, 180.28 mph, def. Kencum, 8.127, 183.77 mph; Thompson, 8.427, 175.32 mph, def. Witt, 8.503, 176.40 mph.
FINAL – Vincent Demito, Collegeville, Pa., 8.120, 177.49 mph, def. Butch Thompson Jr., Blades, Del., foul.

 

HEAVYWEIGHTS

Second round – Shane Ratliff, Roseville, Mich., 8.113, 182.77 mph, def. Gerald Cox, Smilthfield, N.C., foul; Ehren Litten, Louisburg, N.C., 8.198, 172.96 mph, def. John Kulcycki, Phoenixville, Pa., 8.504, 175.71 mph; Ronnie Mitchell, Redford, Mich., 8.353, 178.90 mph, def. Robert Johnson, Goosecreek, S.C., 8.348, 176.90 mph.
Semifinals – Ratliff, 8.329, 182.77 mph, bye; Litten, 8.298, 172.89 mph, def. Mitchell, 8.338, 180.19 mph.
FINAL – Shane Ratliff, Roseville, Mich., 8.162, 183.59 mph, def. Ehren Litten, Louisburg, N.C., foul.

 

HONDA-SUZUKI OF SANFORD 5.60 HEADS UP

Second round – Billy Deffendall, Burgaw, N.C., 5.646, 110.74 mph, def. Chris Clontz, NA, 5.686, 122.88 mph; Alan Fields, Climax, N.C., 5.650, 115.67 mph, def. Ronald Procopio, Waldorf, Md., 5.673, 118.86 mph; Debbie Knebel, Greer, S.C., 5.604, 121.23 mph, def. Mark Eckles, Statesville, N.C., 5.586 (breakout foul), 114.01 mph; Robin Procopio, Waldorf, Md., 5.577, 121.92 mph, def. Gary Clontz, Mechanicsville, Md., foul; Brad Hill, Asheboro, N.C., 5.647, 119.30 mph, bye.
Third round – Deffendall, 5.625, 113.34 mph, def. Hill, 5.624, 119.36 mph; Knebel, 5.608, 114.58 mph, def. Fields, 5.605, 122.23 mph; R. Procopio, 5.599, 121.51 mph, bye.
Semifinals – Knebel, 5.598, 121.44 mph, bye; Deffendall, 5.613, 115.63 mph, def. R. Procopio, 5.606, 121.47 mph.
FINAL – Billy Deffendall, Burgaw, N.C., 5.613, 116.31 mph, def. Debbie Knebel, Greer, S.C., 5.630, 120.62 mph.

 

BRACKETS

Nitrous Express Pro Saturday – Chris Clontz, Mechanicsville, Md., 8.817 on an 8.800 dial-in, 144.64 mph, def. Chris Waters, Denton, Md., foul.  Semifinalists – Mike Farris, Land Hill, Md., and Boo Brown, Potomac Falls, Va.
 

Nitrous Express Pro Sunday – Mike Herman, Woodbridge, Va., 9.417 on a 9.390 dial-in, 144.63 mph, def. Ronnie Procopio, Waldorf, Md., 8.857 on an 8.750 dial-in, 139.26 mph.  Semifinalists – Chris Clontz, Mechanicsville, Md., and Tyler Moon, Covington, Ga.
 

Street Saturday – Norman Jackson, Upper Marlboro, Md., 9.181 on a 9.100 dial-in, 141.09 mph, def. Mike Herman, Woodbridge, Va., 9.428 on a 9.390 dial-in, 146.72 mph.  Semifinals – Tyler Moon, Covington, Ga., and Debbie Knebel, Greer, S.C.
 

Street Sunday – Joel D. Berry Jr., Mooresville, N.C., 14.042 on a 8.950 dial-in, 78.58 mph, def. Debbie Knebel, Greer, S.C., foul.  Semifinalist – Baybay Yarbrough, Eatonton, Ga.

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