ADRL Pro Extreme Motorcycle Power Rankings

April 1st, 2011 by Drag Illustrated

Pro Extreme Motorcycle Power Rankings (After 4 of 8 Races)

	RANK (LW)	TEAM	RECORD	COMMENT
Ashley Owens	1 (1)	Fast by Gast Racing	11-0	Ashley Owens and his Fast by Gast Suzuki were no-shows at the Topeka event, but even in absentia the Alabama native remains the most powerful Pro Extreme Motorcyclist on the planet. Owens’ absence was the talk of the PXM pits, where some regretted not getting to compete against the best, while others expressed happiness in knowing there would be at least one other name in the win column this year. That’s a dominating presence and until someone can beat him on the track, the PXM points leader will also retain his hold on the top spot in the DragIllustrated.com Power Rankings.
Kim Morrell	2 (8)	Kim Morrell Motorsports	8-4	She may not have won the race, but defending class champion Kim Morrell proved she had the power in Topeka by qualifying 4th at 4.21 seconds, then improving her elapsed time each time in eliminations before bowing out in the semis with a 4.15 to a holeshot by Carlos Wilkerson. With John Sachs calling the tune-up Morrell unquestionably has a fast bike, but .100 lights at this level of competition just aren’t going to cut it.
Terry Schweigert	3 (4)	Terry Schweigert Racing	7-3	Terry Schweigert, the dairy farmer from Canada, is the one who stepped up to take the absent Ashley Owens’ place in Topeka, qualifying number one and taking his career-first ADRL event win, though he got lucky with a 5.98 in the PXM final when Carlos Wilkerson left a little too soon.
Carlos Wilkerson	4 (5)	TT Jones Racing	8-4	If not for going red by two thousandths in the final, Carlos Wilkerson would have been celebrating his first PXM win in Topeka instead of Terry Schweigert after Schweigert’s nitrous system fouled up on the starting line. Regardless, the Georgia-based rider showed some power in moving up to 4th in season points.
Dave Vantine	5 (6)	Vantine Racing	3-3	Dave Vantine had his ADRL career-best start in Topeka, qualifying in the number-two position behind good friend Terry Schweigert, but after just taking the tree in a first-round bye, he fell off a little in round two and went back to the trailer courtesy of Carlos Wilkerson.
Eric McKinney	6 (2)	McKinney Racing	5-1	It’s too bad Eric McKinney isn’t making it to all the races this year because he’s definitely got some power going on. The Ohio-based rider made it to the semis at Houston, missed the West Palm Beach event, reached the curfew-canceled final at Reading and was a no show again at Topeka. Hopefully he’ll repeat the pattern and will be back in action at the Martin, Michigan, race in July.
Casey Stemper	7 (NR)	Stemper Racing	1-2	Former Motocross rider Casey Stemper made it out to his second-straight event in Topeka, where he qualified an impressive 3rd and scored his first round win of the year. Unfortunately, Stemper left before the tree was activated in round two, but his bike looked fast and if he can put it all together there’s no reason to think he can’t go rounds at a future event.
Ron Procopio	8 (3)	Procopio Racing	2-1	It’s tough to fill the last few spots in the PXM Power Rankings with so few teams committed to a full schedule, so Ronnie Procopio gets to hang in the top 10 based solely on his lone ADRL appearance of the year at the Reading race where a fourth-place start led to a semi-final finish.
Paul Gast	9 (3)	Fast by Gast Racing	1-3	The other half of the Fast by Gast team with points leader Ashley Owens is veteran rider and team owner Paul Gast, who opted out of making the long tow to Topeka from his Buffalo, NY, base. Gast seemed to find his stride at the previous event in Pennsylvania, running an ADRL career-best 4.11, so the potential is definitely there for the taking.
Matt Smith	10 (9)	Matt Smith Racing	1-3	Following the loss of his Al-Anabi backing, Matt Smith didn’t even make the trip to Topeka. Smith apparently is turning his attention to driving his injured father’s (Rickie Smith’s) nitrous-boosted Pro Mod car, so his continuing participation in the Pro Extreme Motorcycle class appears doubtful at this time.