{"id":97052,"date":"2024-08-05T11:30:47","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T18:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=97052"},"modified":"2024-08-05T11:38:07","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T18:38:07","slug":"pro-stock-motorcycle-gets-more-weight-adjustments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/pro-stock-motorcycle-gets-more-weight-adjustments\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro Stock Motorcycle Gets More Weight Adjustments"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There they go again!<\/p>\n

NHRA\u2019s rules makers are fiddling with Pro Stock Motorcycle – again – despite the fact that Gaige Herrera\u2019s hold on the class and his record-setting 11 consecutive victories, performed with his Vance & Hines Suzuki Hayabusa3, has been severed twice this year, first by 2023 NHRA Rookie of the Year Chase Van Sant\u2019s Suzuki outside Seattle, WA and, one race later by six-time champion Matt Smith\u2019s Buell in Sonoma, CA.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s likely the weight gain for both Suzuki 4-valve and Buell-powered 2-valve bikes was in the works well before Herrera and his team gave up thoughts of a perfect season, it just doesn\u2019t seem the right thing to do at this time. No doubt whiners within the class brought plenty to bear on this decision.<\/p>\n

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Gaige Herrera and his Vance & Hines Suzuki Hayabusa3 are gaining 15 pounds – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On August 1, NHRA released a letter to all Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors stating, shortly after Sonoma Raceway\u2019s DENSO Sonoma Nationals won by Matt Smith on his Buell, new weight strictures, effective immediately. The new rules affect Buell Gen 1 2-valve pushrod bikes; they must weigh 625 pounds, up from 615; Gen 2 2-valve Buells go from 625 to 640 pounds; Vance & Hines 4-valve Suzuki engines add 15 pounds, from 645 to 660 pounds race weight. There were no changes to Suzuki motorcycles running the Monster 4-valve heads and \u201call other combinations stay at current weights.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rules committee also stated that Sunoco SR18, a yellow fuel, remains as the sole approved fuel for Pro Stock Motorcycle, at least through the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Finals in November. \u201cFuel will be evaluated again at the end of the 2024 season.\u201d Today\u2019s rumor is that the class, and possibly the entire Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series, might change from Sunoco to VP fuels for 2025.<\/p>\n

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Kelly Clontz called the changes “ridiculous” – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The moment this letter appeared, comments began all over social media concerning it. One competitor, Kelly Clontz, called the rules changes \u201cridiculous\u201d shortly after they appeared. A Vance & Hines Suzuki Hayabusa3 rider, she reminded that Hector Arana Jr. and Marc Ingwersen race Gen 1 Buell motorcycles; of that duo, Arana Jr., the first Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor to reach 200 mph, is the smallest, weight-size and also the more successful of the riders. As Clontz pointed out, all of them ride over the weight limit so this change might actually help them. Ryan Oehler, mentioned by Clontz as a Gen 1 rider, confirmed he’s using Gen 2 Buell equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis also helps the MSR (Matt Smith Racing) new entry rental program,\u201d she said, as Smith does not normally provide Gen 2 engines (the \u201cfast motors\u201d) for rentals, unless they\u2019re sandbagging to help Matt and Angie.\u201d All regular Matt Smith Racing riders, Matt, Angie Smith, John Hall and Jianna Evristo, ride Gen 2 Buell motorcycles, which have gone from 625 to 640 pounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cJianna and Angie proved at 625 that they could run with Matt! Matt has said – out of his mouth – he is at least .05 better than Angie! So if they add 15 pounds to Angie and Jianna\u2019s bikes, it will help Matt since he is already at that weight.\u201d After his Sonoma victory, Matt Smith said he\u2019d put some weight on his Buell to effect better 60-foot times. \u201cMind you,\u201d Clontz stated, \u201cit\u2019s the same combination that he went 205 [with] in 2021. All the crying, he\u2019s definitely going to make sure he\u2019s on top.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Veteran Steve Johnson’s Suzuki uses Monster heads, so no weight gain for him – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Matt Smith proclaimed, after his Sonoma win, that he\u2019d retire if he won his seventh championship this year. No comments about retiring in any other year, just this one!<\/p>\n

It seems obvious that NHRA erred by taking weight off the twins at the start of the 2024 season, as well as stopping use of a red Sunoco fuel, noted for its efficiency at high rpm levels, which NHRA saw as an advantage for the four-valve motorcycles. According to Parker Miller, working with Marc Ingwersen, who currently runs a Gen 1 Buell (but has two Gen 2 cases in preparation stages), \u201cIt didn\u2019t seem to make a difference for us,\u201d he said of the red vs yellow fuel controversy. Clontz disagrees: \u201cTaking the \u2018red\u2019 fuel from every team other than MSR because they never used it!! Majority of the class wants the red fuel back!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Marc Ingwersen currently rides a Gen 1 Buell – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clontz, of course, isn\u2019t pleased with the plans for four-valve Suzuki engines, because hers are prepped by Vance & Hines and now must be heavier than she has been running. , but she feels secure that Vance & Hines\u2019 Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec will \u201dfigure it out for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The V&H 4-valve has gone from 645 pounds to 660 pounds, while Suzuki engines using the Monster head remain at 625 pounds. Clontz noted, in her Facebook post, \u201cNHRA basically said, Steve J (Johnson) GET TO WORK!!\u201d Johnson uses Monster heads with his Suzuki engine; that helped him last year but he\u2019s been behind the eight-ball in 2024 with that combination.<\/p>\n

Now that NHRA has made these decisions, the riders of lighter physical weight values might not need to eat as much broccoli for maintenance (Steve Johnson). There\u2019s been plenty of whining about the loss of \u201cred\u201d fuel and now there\u2019s whining about the new rules.<\/p>\n

When Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors unload for the 70th annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park later this month, we can bank on one thing for sure. There will be plenty of whining before they arrive and, likely, plenty more when it\u2019s time to leave.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Once again, the NHRA is messing with the Pro Stock Motorcycle rules and everyone has thoughts!<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":97058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3465,4802,3470,5029],"tags":[9322,10128,10617,7,74,6695,5759],"class_list":["post-97052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drag-racing","category-motorcycles-and-powersports","category-news","category-racing","tag-buell","tag-mission-foods-nhra-drag-racing-series","tag-monster","tag-nhra","tag-pro-stock-motorcycle","tag-suzuki","tag-vance-hines"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Steve-Johnson-action-Gators-min.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-pfm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97052"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97087,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97052\/revisions\/97087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}