Historic Harley Drag Bike at 2006 Food Lion AutoFair
They are the wildest, scariest rides in racing: Top Fuel motorcycles so powerful one can burn rubber
the length of a quarter-mile drag strip with a single rider holding on for
dear life.
One of the most famous of these "terrors on two wheels," the
Freight Train, will be among the featured attractions during the April 6-9 Food
Lion AutoFair at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Elmer Trett was to motorcycle drag racing what Richard Petty and
Dale Earnhardt were to NASCAR-an innovator, promoter, ambassador and,
above all else, one of the sport's most prolific winners. He was the first man
to cover a standing quarter mile on a motorcycle at 200, 210, 220 and 230
mph. Before his death during a 1996 exhibition run, Trett won eight national
Top Fuel championships under three different sanctioning bodies.
He began his racing career in the early 1970s and built a
twin-engine Harley-Davidson Sportster after reading about a similar bike
in a magazine. In 1976, Trett moved into the field of Top Fuel, where
competitors use volatile nitromethane in their engines, and won his
first championship with the dual V-twin Harley. Sponsorship dollars from
Harley-Davidson dried up in 1980, which forced Trett to accept an offer
from Kawasaki to pilot one of its Top Fuel bikes.
Frank Spittle, who raced drag bikes for more than 20 years,
purchased the Harley-Davidson from Trett in 1983 and named it Freight
Train for its locomotive-like amounts of pulling power. Spittle's best times
on the Harley were 7.63 seconds in the quarter-mile at 191.27 mph and 5.19
seconds on an eighth-mile strip at 147.56 mph. In 1985, Spittle wrecked
at 145 mph, retired from racing and sold Freight Train to his crew chief,
Jimmy "T-Bird" Yelton, who rebuilt it in 1990 in his Gastonia, N.C., shop for
Randy Milling to race.
Other than the name change and lettering, Freight Train is still
very similar to the bike Trett rode in the 1970s. The two 96-cubic-inch
Harley-Davidson V-twin engines funnel their combined power through a
two-speed transmission shifted by a button on the left handlebar. Fuel
is a mixture of 92 percent nitromethane and eight percent methanol. The giant
rear tire is a 14-inch wide racing slick mounted on an alloy wheel. The
large rear spoiler, wheelie bar and a lot of skill are all that kept the
bike on the ground during its drag strip blasts.
Freight Train was brought out of a decade-long retirement last
year as Yelton and Spittle showed the bike at several National Hot Rod
Association events, giving thousands of nostalgic Top Fuel fans the
opportunity to view what was once the "Fastest Harley-Davidson in the
World."
Spittle, who now lives in Cornelius, N.C., and collects rare
muscle cars and Race cars, appreciates the history behind the Freight Train,
but has no plans to get back in the saddle.
"T-Bird did a great job rebuilding the bike," said Spittle. "It's nice to see that it's race-ready again after so many years, but it's not what you would call competitive today because Top Fuel motorcycles are so much lighter now.
Food Lion AutoFair hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday through
Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Sunday. Tickets are $10 for adults.
Children under 12 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.
Parking for the event is $5.
For information, contact the speedway events department at (704)
455-3205 or visit www.lowesmotorspeedway.com.
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