The Quick 32 Sportsman Series and Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) Championship Point Award Series for 2024 was determined over the weekend at Empire Dragway in Leicester, New York.
Charlie Emler Jr. from Spencerport, NY, secured the championship with his 738-cubic-inch Buck Racing Engines, nitrous-powered 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Top Sportsman entry by advancing to the final round of Top Sportsman Eliminator. Tony “The Shoe” Platania finished second, followed by Buddy Forrest in third, Tyler Rudolph finished fourth, and Craig Chadderdon rounded out the top five.
Lee Burgess’s Pro Bike 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa, a 1340-cc powered entry from Canton, PA, secured the 2024 Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) Championship while being closely contested by Josh Costa, who finished second, and Josie Brooks finished third. Bill Pippard finished in fourth place, and Drew Nearhoof in fifth. All racing was contested on the Empire’s eighth-mile surface.
Two first-timers to the Quick 32 Sportsman Series won Top Dragster and Top Sportsman, respectively, with John Vergotz Jr. defeating Lui Ramundo to determine the overall Quick 32 Sportsman Series event winner.
In the final overall run, John Vergotz Jr. from Erie, PA, ran a 4.5906 second-pass at 149.70 mph on a 4.59 dial-in, with a .0160 second reaction time in his BRE (Jim Bersani Racing Enterprises) Top Dragster, powered by a 615-cubic inch Brodix SR20 APD (Advanced Power Design) engine. In a close race he defeated Lui Ramundo’s 4.6407 second 150.75 mph run on a 4.64 dial-in with a .0265-second reaction time. Ramundo was piloting his Ramundo Racing 1996 Chevrolet Camaro with a nitrous-powered 598-cubic-inch big block Chevy engine from Welland, Ontario.
In the Top Dragster final, John Vergotz Jr. defeated Greg Kerl with a 4.6019 second, 149.45 mph pass on a 4.60 dial-in, with a reaction time of .0212 seconds. Kerl from Elma, NY, ran 4.6733 seconds at 146.34 mph on a 4.67 dial-in with a .0206 second reaction time.
Semi-finalists in Top Dragster were Tyler Rudolph from Hemlock, NY and Cody Reome from McGraw, NY.
In the Top Sportsman final, Lui Ramundo defeated Series Champion Charlie Emler Jr. Ramundo ran 4.6541 seconds at 150.10 mph on a 4.64-second dial-in with a .0299-second reaction time. Emler ran a 4.2243-second pass at 167.85 mph on a 4.23 dial-in with a .0465 second reaction time.
The Top Sportsman semi-finalists were Jon Schmid from Orchard Park, NY, and Allan Runions II from Lansing, NY.
In the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS), it was brother’s Nearhoof meeting in the final round run-off. Mike Nearhoof from Youngstown, NY and his 1986 Kawasaki LX10 1428-cc Pro Bike ran a 5.0847 second 133.33 mph run on a 5.10 dial-in, with a .0372 second reaction time, defeating a red-lighting brother Dick Nearhoof from Wheatfield, NY, riding a 1990 Kawasaki ZX10 1075-cc Pro Bike running 6.0455 seconds at 112.02 mph on a 6.09 dial-in.
In the semi-finals, Mike Nearhoof defeated Josh Costa from Retsof, NY, and Dick Nearhoof beat PBSS Series Champion Lee Burgess.
The final results in the Championship Point Award Series Standings were as follows:
Charlie Emler won the 2024 Quick 32 Sportsman Series Championship Point Award Series with 659 points, Tony Platania was second with 623 points, Buddy Forrest third with 599 points, Tyler Rudolph fourth with 596 points, Craig Chadderdon fifth with 593 points, Luke DeJonge was sixth with 579 points, Brett Bennett seventh with 569 points, Ron Szewczyk eighth with 565 points, Doug Lynden ninth and Gary O’Connell in tenth place with 553 points.
The 2024 Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) Championship Point Award Series was won by Lee Burgess with 645 points, followed by Josh Costa in second with 632 points, Josie Brooks in third with 600 points, Bill Pippard in fourth with 577 points, Drew Nearhoof in fifth with 564 points, Dick Nearhoof in sixth 541 points, Mike Puglia in seventh with 538 points, Nicole Albin in eighth with 534 points, Mike Nearhoof in ninth with 360 points and Bob Salerno in tenth position with 336 points.
The Championship Point Award Series, “Night of Champions” for the Quick 32 Sportsman Series and the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS), will be held in conjunction with the Empire Dragway Banquet at the Genesee River Restaurant and Reception Center in Mount Morris, NY on Saturday, January 25, 2025.
Visit the Quick 32 Sportsman Series at www.facebook.com/quick32, the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) at www.facebook.com/probikeandsledseries and the Empire Dragway at EmpireDragway.com for more information and event updates.
This story was originally published on September 19, 2024.