Results courtesy Rockingham Dragway
Photos by Tim Hailey

Kawasaki rider Jeremy Teasley began the 2011 Mickey Thompson Performance MIRock Superbike Series like he ended the 2010 campaign, beating Joey Gladstone of Townsend, Md., to claim the D.M.E. Racing Chassis Real Street title at the ninth annual Honda-Suzuki of Sanford Spring Bike Open at Rockingham Dragway.

It was Teasley’s ninth Real Street victory in three seasons, his sixth at Rockingham, and this one came with a bonus in the form of a new quarter mile performance record for the class.

Teasley, who held the record at 7.835 seconds, lowered it to 7.790 during qualifying for the season-opener.  He also was quickest during eliminations, covering the standard distance in 7.847 seconds against Gladstone, who had qualified second at a distant 7.926 seconds.

The only thing that kept it from being a perfect weekend for the Orient, Ohio rider was a final round loss to veteran Bud Yoder of Flint, Mich., in the featured Orient Express Pro Street class which denied him a rare double-up victory.

Although Teasley took out reigning series champion and No. 1 qualifier Rodney Williford of Rougemont, NC, in a semifinal upset, he was no match for Yoder in the final.  The Michigan rider, who won for the fourth time in the MIRock Series, was clocked in 7.489 seonds at 200.08 miles per hour.  Teasley trailed at 7.668 seconds, 188 mph.

Other winners in the event, which attracted more than 340 bike riders from 15 states and Great Britain, were Raleigh’s Ronald Procopio, a former series champion in Pro Street, who took his Suzuki to the winners’ circle in the new Mickey Thompson Performance Pro Modified class; Alfred Clark of New Orleans, La., who won in House of Speed Crazy 8s; Jim Shifflett of Waynesboro, Va., who won in the Motorcycle Tire Outlet 5.60 Pro Comp class; and Andy Baumbach of Fairfax Station, Va., who rode his Suzuki to a FBR Shop Top Sportsman victory over the BMW of D.J. Lockwood.

Wally Davis of Bealton, Va., and George Shriver of Glen Burnie, Md., were the winners in the two Nitrous Express Pro ET races while Michael Herman Jr. of Woodbridge, Va., and Clay Davies of Petersburg, Va., claimed the Cycle Connection Racing Street ET titles.

Baumbach earned a $500 bonus from Nitrous Express for winning the most racing rounds for the weekend in Pro ET and Top Sportsman.

Next race in the Mickey Thompson Performance MIRock Superbike Series will be the May 1-2 Fast by Gast Spring Nationals at Maryland International Raceway.  Next series race at Rockingham will be the FBR Shop Bike Week Nationals, May 20-22.