Drag Illustrated Issue 140, January 2019 | Page 82

THE CHAMPIONS ISSUE NHRA Top Fuel Harley D rama was served up in spades as the 2018 Top Fuel Harley championship was decided be- tween Doug Vancil and Spev- co-sponsored Tii Tharpe in a final round run-off for at the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in India- napolis. Tharpe lit the win light at the finish line for his first NHRA national championship and Jay Turner Racing’s second straight—third if you include the last year the Harleys raced with the Lucas Oil series. Tharpe qualified second with a 6.25 behind teammate Jay “Bulldog” Turner’s No. 1, 6.22. Championship challenger Doug Vancil just bare- ly qualified. His seemingly solid 6.33 placed him on the bump spot—only 8th in the incredibly quick and tight field. “That’s for all the people who say Harleys can’t get down the track,” Turner said about the tight competition at the U.S. Nationals. “And it’s just gonna keep gettin’ better.” Well, it couldn’t get much better than what played out on race day at Indy. Turner had the opportunity to end the drama early, facing Van- cil in round 1. But Turner spun and Vancil won. When Rickey “Sharkey” House spun in the same lane right after Turner, Tharpe switched lanes to beat Chris Smith. Tharpe then beat Jason Pridemore in round 2 to face Vancil in the winner-take-all final for the race win and the championship. Tharpe and Vancil had identical lights and Vancil’s bike was making a stronger run early in the pass. But then Vancil dropped a cylinder and Tharpe thundered by for all the spoils. For those who’d been following the whole sea- son and knew that Tharpe and JTR had to miss the first race—a race that Vancil won—winning the championship from a race down was a big deal. It was a fitting end to the season for Tharpe and Turner, an unlikely team that made the most of a cutthroat Top Fuel Harley season. “I’ve known Jay for quite some time, but we really didn’t like each other,” Tharpe laughs. “He thought I was a brat and I thought he was an asshole. And both of those things are still true, but we get along much better. “I’m in a great spot now, and definitely the best place I could be. I’m grateful to all those people along the way.” - TIM HAILEY DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI KENNY HUBBARD MID-WEST RADIAL OUTLAWS SERIES X275 // KURT STEDING ASPHALT WARS PRO MOD 82 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com Issue 140 Tii Tharpe