Even Rockingham Dragway’s famed concrete, hillside bleachers will roll and rumble from the thunder of Nitro Harleys when the annual AMRA Jim McClure Memorial Finals hit the Richland County speed plant on October 24-26.
There’s no better two-wheeled, Nitro Harley-Davidson drag race on the planet—the fitting memorial to the late, great Jim “Da Judge” McClure. V-Twin and nitro junkies from literally all over the planet will descend on The Rock for this fabulous event.
Practically every Johnny Mancuso’s Circle M Ranch Top Fuel racer from across the USA and many from overseas will be at Rockingham to race for an AMRA record purse of $10,000 to win and $4,000 runner-up. NO ONE will miss this one!
Many points leaders are close to championships, but none are willing to declare victory early.
Finland’s Samu Kemppainen has a commanding Top Fuel lead, but former champ Ryan Peery still has a chance and will be applying the pressure. Will Samu crack? His Chris Stewart Racing teammate Jordan Peterson will also be looking to add to his win total.
North Carolina Hall of Famer Jay “Bulldog” Turner may not be in line to repeat as champion this year, but he will be fighting to the end to defend his home turf. JTR riders Chris Smith and John “JT” Toth will also be in the fight, and will either of the former NHRA champs Tii Tharpe or Randal Andras find a bike for them under the JTR awning?
Recent IHRA winner Tracy Kile of Bad Apple Racing and his teammate “Jimmy Mac” McMillan have their bikes tuned-up to finish the season out strong. After all, it’s apple season!
Californian Tim Kerrigan will be back on track aboard his Stephen Vickers built and tuned mount.
Byron number one qualifier Paul Anderson is ready to take the next step up to race winner, while Peery’s teammate Buddy Johnson is seeking to get some good competitive passes in and finish off the season on a high note. Ditto for Finland’s Juha “Sushi” Hintukainen, Michael Balch on Red Rhea’s bike, Robert “Ziggy” Schwartz, Jason Pridemore and more.
Armon Furr Nitro Funnybikes are high gear only and a touch smaller displacement than their Top Fuel cousins, but every bit as loud and gnarly.
Jordan Peterson qualified number one at Beech Bend on the Phil Lower-owned Funnybike tuned by Mike Romine. He’s also the points leader and should have this championship in the bag.
Bad Apple Racing’s Cameron “Flash” Gunter qualified number one at Byron but blew up on his very first qualifying pass at Beech Bend and was done for the weekend. As the defending class champ, Flash is hungry for the winners’ circle.
Former champ Jim Doyle knows he has the right tool for the job and is homing in on the winning tune-up.
Universal Fleet and Tire’s Racin’ Ray Robinson gains more experience and courage with every pass. Remember, Ray moved straight from a Buell streetbike to this big tire, nitro monster! “We’re working with the Romine team to make upgrades and get more consistent getting down the track,” said Universal Fleet and Tire’s Mike “Big Train” Terry. He’ll also have Jason Leeper out there getting licensed and in the field.
More Funnybikes, more nitro, more fun for everybody.
The Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel class already has a qualifying bump spot, but keep the loud little carbureted nitro bikes coming!
“Bad Apple Mary” Dangrow is the runaway Pro Fuel points leader this year, but will have her hands full getting the Rockingham win.
Curt Sexton thought he had something to compete against Mary at the Bowling Green rainout, and he was right. He’ll get his chance at The Rock.
Hot Rod Carlisle is right there too on Mike and Harriet Ann Blair’s bike, and Illinois’s Jim “Bad Influence” Martin is tired of being shut out of the conversation.
Defending class champion Sam White won’t repeat that title this year, but his White Lightning Racing “Terminator” has its bugs worked out and ready to win.
Belle Rose runner-up Ken “Stubby” Hultman, White Lightning’s Darren Brinkman, “Nitro Bums” Al Balice, Louis “Angry Bird” Sansone, and Kyle Rogers, Brian Conley Jr., Jay Beasley. Walter Halonski, Keith Kelley, John Jenkins, the legend Rocky Jackson, Loren Potter, and more will all be there to grab some nitro glory.
Gas classes will also be fighting for their season championships.
Billy Doherty has the Pro Outlaw lead, Bert Baker leads Zipper’s Performance Pro Bagger, Kimberly DeShields leads Zipper’s Performance Modified, Jason Crisp leads Axtell Cylinders Hot Street, Jimmy Maikranz leads Thundermax Street Bagger, Chris Hoppe leads Top Eliminator, Joe Petersen leads Huffman Performance Super Gas, John Shotts leads BK Electric Super Pro 10.30, Jim Clarke leads Pro Eliminator 10.90, Austin Hughes leads Thundermax Street Eliminator 11.50, and Steve Lacy leads Eliminator.
You won’t want to miss the Big One! Test and tune is Friday from 1:00pm to 6:00pm, Qualifying starts at 10:00am on Saturday, with Eliminations on Sunday starting at 11:00am.
Tickets are $25 per day, $40 for two days or $50 for three.
Can’t make it to Rockingham? Watch it all live on https://motormaniatv.com/
The Nitro Harley competitors look forward to seeing the whole Harley-Davidson drag racing family, riders and fans at the Jim McClure Memorial AMRA World Finals at North Carolina’s Rockingham Dragway on October 24-26, 2025.
The Nitro Harley racers thank Bad Apple Racing, Chris Stewart Racing, DayStar Machine and Cycle Concepts, White Lightning Racing, P and C Johnson Trucking, RP Motorsports, Hawaya Racing, Road Rage Motorcycles, JT’s Auto and Cycle, Universal Fleet and Tire, and Johnny Mancuso’s Circle M Ranch.
This report was prepared by Tim Hailey. Enjoy everything there is to read, see and watch about motorcycle drag racing and more at https://www.eatmyink.com ;
This story was originally published on October 20, 2025. 
