McBride Faces Major Explosions at Topeka

Larry "McBride" McBride arrived at the recent Topeka NHRA event ready to blast big exhibition runs before big crowds. When he first hit the throttle on a brand new engine, it missed, and then exploded. The explosion took a toll in parts, but fortunately not human parts as Larry is okay. Rick Stewert, the chief starter for the NHRA, told Larry later, "That scared me. I must have jumped three feet."

Still, Larry came back launching. On the next run he ran a 6.19 at 212 mph, but shut it off early because the bike was running hard and missing.

The McBride team responded to the mechanical problems again. Larry followed the run with a 6.14 at 199, stopped only by another engine explosion. Larry ran an incredible 199.9 mph in the eighth mile. The incremental times were a 1.04 for 60 feet and 2.30 at the 330 foot mark.

The numbers match up to his best time ever, the amazing 5.89 run.

"It was hauling," Larry added. "I had to keep clicking it off. When I stayed in it…it exploded."

After Topeka, back in Virginia at their Newport News shop, Cycle Specialists, Larry and brother Steve were busy doing an engine autopsy to diagnose the problems.
The intake manifold disintegrated a part Steve spent 140 hours fabricating. It will take longer hours to catch up. Larry and Steve are looking to work long into the night to put their top fuel bike back to peak performance. Larry has sent specifications to Byron Hines in Colorado to fabricate crucial parts as fast as possible.

The McBride team is thrashing. The lights in the Larry 'McBride' McBride Specialty Cycles Shop in New Port News, Virginia are burning overtime to get all the right metal back into the incredible two wheel rocket that owns the world record ET.

"When we get this figured out," said Larry, "I'm going to run a five-seventy on this bike."

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