National Trail Raceway has been in the news a lot lately, but this weekend it will be for action ON the track.
The sights and sounds coming from the classic Hebron, Ohio drag racing venue won’t be from a Midwestern, May thunderstorm. Those flashes of light and thundering sounds will be coming from the pipes of Nitro Harley-Davidsons at the PennGrade1 AMRA Ohio Nationals on May 16-18.
The Ohio-based team of multi-time Circle M Ranch Top Fuel champ Ryan Peery and Buddy Johnson will be on the leading edge of the nitro storm. Peery won the opening race of the year in Louisiana on his unpainted, carbon fiber bodied “Eleanor.” Johnson has finally gotten back on track with his “Lagatha”—the same bike that won multiple championships in the hands of Jay Turner and Tii Tharpe.
Jay “Bulldog” Turner will be there himself along with his formidable team of riders John “JT” Toth, Randal “Fast Coon Ass” Andras, and “Nashville” Chris Smith.
DayStar Machine and Cycle Concepts’s Tim Kerrigan runner-upped in Louisiana and looks to seal the deal in Ohio.
The hard working Bad Apple Racing team of Tracy Kile and Jimmy “Mac” McMillan are hungry for wins, as is the Chris Stewart Racing team of Jordan Peterson and Finland’s Samu Kemppainen.
Speaking of Finland, Juha “Sushi” Hintukainen and his ProCharged bike are fresh off of a runner-up finish at an AHDRA race.
Jason Pridemore and his one-of-a-kind, Ohio homebuilt supercharged Nitro Harley will make one of his rare appearances to assault the 5 second barrier.
Pennsylvania’s Michael Balch will be there, and more as the big dogs are coming to hunt.
The slightly smaller dogs are the Nitro Funnybikes, but their bark is just as loud. Louisiana winner Jordan Peterson is back on his Romine Racing prepared, Phil Lower-owned mount looking to capture another bone.
He will have to get past defending champ Cameron “Flash” Gunter of the formidable Bad Apple Racing team, Universal Fleet and Tire’s “Racin’ Ray” Robinson, former champion Jim Doyle, and more.
The Hawaya Racing Pro Fuel carbureted bikes don’t exactly yap, but their bark is somewhat sharper and less threatening than the other two classes. There are a lot of dogs in this pack and they are all fighting for the alpha position.
There is no more of an alpha dog in this field than “Bad Apple Mary” Dangrow, who is on a serious roll after a great late season run last year segued into a Louisiana win.
She’ll face the gnarling pack of two-time defending champion Sam White and his White Lightning Racing team, Universal Fleet and Tire’s Jason Leeper, Louisiana runner-up Kenneth “Stubby” Hultman, Jim “Bad Influence” Martin, Curt Sexton, John Jenkins, Rocky Jackson, Mike Blair, Brian Conley Jr., Loren Potter, Darren Brinkman, and more.
If they weren’t compared to their outrageous nitro brothers, gas Harleys would be considered thunderous, and National Trail will be full of them. Pro Outlaw, Zipper’s Performance Pro Bagger, Thundermax Street Bagger, Zipper’s Performance Modified, Super Gas 9.90, Axtell Cylinders Hot Street, Top Eliminator 9.30, BK Electric Super Pro 10.30, Pro Eliminator 10.90, Thundermax Street Eliminator 11.50, and Baker Drivetrain Eliminator Dial-in will all compete.
The Nitro Harley competitors look forward to seeing the Harley-Davidson drag racing family, riders and fans at National Trail!
The Nitro Harley racers thank Bad Apple Racing, Chris Stewart Racing, DayStar Machine and Cycle Concepts, Jay Turner Racing, White Lightning Racing, P and C Johnson Trucking, RP Motorsports, Hawaya Racing, and Johnny Mancuso’s Circle M Ranch.
This story was originally published on May 14, 2025. 
