NHRA Announces Partnership with Harley-Davidson
Written by Jory Elliott · January 24, 2006
With the big announcement between the NHRA and Harley-Davidson motorcycles made recently, one can’t help but wonder where the Nitro Harley class fits in with all of this. Could this mean the return of the Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel Harley’s to the NHRA schedule?
The Nitro Harley’s have flipped & flopped their way between the IHRA and NHRA in recent years. The class itself when run at the IHRA national events was one of the most exciting and crowd pleasing next to the top fuel class. As a keen observer but not having much interest in motorcycles, I witnessed the marketing potential of these wild machines during their stint with the IHRA. The NHRA obviously saw this potential as well, luring the class away from the IHRA for a season only to see the two parties go there separate ways at the end of their contract. However the recent announcement by NHRA stating that they have joined forces with Harley-Davidson as a major marketing partner gives no indication as to the role these nitro drinking, fire breathing, wheel-standing machines will play in the overall picture. It is my understanding that the group who runs the Nitro Harley circuit is quite content with where they are now, after all of the uncertainty that has surrounded the class and its involvement with different sanctioning bodies in the past.
Although it’s not clear whether the NHRA could fit them into their national event schedule, it would be a great asset to have an 8 bike field run at selected national events throughout the season. Perhaps running the Nitro Harley’s at the events that currently do not host pro stock motorcycles would be a good starting point to see what the crowd reception is like.
I for one wouldn’t go across the street to watch a pro stock motorcycle make a pass but I would gladly watch a man attempt to wrestle one of those crazy nitro methane powered Harley-Davidson’s down the quarter mile any time!
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We NHRA fans who love Harleys are forced to attend and support the IHRA simply because there is no nitro Harley class in the NHRA.Come on,if you’re gonna watch a bike do the quarter mile you wanna see the fastest most mind-blowing two wheeled machines in the world doing it.Ray Price for President!
Hey Tim thanks for your comments. I appreciate your contribution to our site. Be sure to tell your friends about us here at fastmachines.com. We need more drag racing input from regular race fans like you on this site. I look forward to posting more opinion type pieces like this in the future and having more people read them.
Thanks again,
Jory