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NHRA Drag
Racing Series and ATV / SxS Industry Connections
KYMCO USA Official ATV of the
NHRA Series
Pomona, CA - While we were
in California for the final round of the Yamaha
/ Quad-X ATV motocross series, HiPer Wheel’s
Glenn Merchant invited us to join him for a day
at the races, and he wasn’t talking about
another ATV or SxS racing event. We were going
to the final round of the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series in Pomona, California, which
was held on November 8-11th.
The 2012 NHRA 23 round series kicked off on February
9th, and the series made stops in eighteen different
states spread across the country over the past
nine months, which is nearly double the amount
of events for any ATV or SxS racing series.
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The NHRA
Series offers a wide range of classes
for those with the need for speed &
the top fuel cars race down the track
reaching speed over 300 mph in less than
a 1/4 mile
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While NHRA racing doesn’t offer any ATV
or SxS classes, there are several companies and
people heavily involved in both communities, and
there were an abundance of SxS vehicles in use
as pit vehicles.
KYMCO USA is the official ATV of the NHRA Series,
and they had a large display of SxS, ATV, and
scooters in the vendors.
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KYMCO USA
is the official ATV of the NHRA Drag Racing
Series & KYMCO had a nearly full line-up
of ATV, SxS & Scooters models on display
at Pomona
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Also, a KYMCO MXU 375 4x4 IRS utility ATV was
used to pull a Buffalo Turbine on a trailer up
and down the track to dry any moisture from the
track in between runs when it needed.
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The 2011 AMA ATV Motocross 450 A Class champion,
Dalton Millican, is the son of NHRA Top
Fuel Driver, Clay Millican |
NHRA Top Fuel Driver, Clay Millican, has been drag
racing for the past 12 years, and he has impressive
resume with six straight IHRA world championships
from 2001 to 2006, and while Clay is out tearing
up the rubber on pavement, his son, Dalton Millican,
prefers dirts. Dalton Millican is only a teenager,
but he is quickly making a name for himself among
the AMA ATV Motocross Series. In 2011, Dalton won
the 450A class and finished second in Production
A, and for 2012, he moved up to the highly competitive
Pro-Am Production and Unlimited class. Dalton had
a season of ups and downs in his Pro-Am rookie year,
but he has time on his side and it won’t be
long before he will be racing once again for a podium
finish.
Also, Wayne Hinson (Hinson Racing), Mike Walsh
(Walsh Racecraft), and Jeff Cernic (Cernic Racing)
are all big fans of NHRA racing, and it was awesome
to see Clay Millican’s running stickers
on his car and helmet. Clay also added an ATVriders.com
sticker to the side of his car for the weekend
as well, which was greatly appreciated.
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Plus' Clay Millican races in the Top Fuel
class & it is great to see his drag
car sporting some Cernics, Walsh, Hinson,
and now ATVriders.com stickers |
“It’s amazing how many aftermarket
companies that you deal with in ATV racing that
are involved in drag racing,” said Clay
Millican.
On Friday, Clay had a great run, which moved
him into seventh in qualify with a 3.80 second
run at 320 mph, and it crazy how tight the racing
is among the top fuel drivers. “The best
time tonight is 3.76 at 324mph. We’re dealing
in thousandths of a second,” said Clay
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