Larry 'McBride' McBride

By: Jack Korpela

Five-time AMA/Prostar Top Fuel champion Larry McBride's uncanny consistency continued as he collected his 17th consecutive event win at the AMA/Prostar Schnitz Memphis Blues Nationals, October 2nd-3rd.

"It was an awesome weekend," McBride said. "Everything was very smooth. The bike was very easy to ride. It was a great race track and it was real nice to see Chris Hand step-up. He had an awesome event."

McBride defeated Hand in the final with a rapid 6.11 at 235 mph to Hand's wounded 7.14 at 130 mph.

"We dropped a cylinder on the launce," McBride said. "It relit and we were still able to go pretty fast, but it could have been better."
The win was McBride's 16th straight AMA/Prostar victory and 17th straight event win including the 2003 BIR Big Race. McBride hasn't lost a round of racing since November 2002.

"It's an incredible streak. It's so hard to put into words," McBride said. "I'm very superstitious and I don't like to talk about it. I am so afraid to say something that might come back to bite me."

"Totally unbelievable," brother and crew chief Steve McBride said of the streak. "We're just focused on going through all of our checks and heading to Gainesville with all the bullets."

"The key is all in the work we do at home," Larry McBride said. "We take every nut and bolt out between races and come to the track with fresh equipment. At the track I have a great crew that I constantly rely on. Without my wife and her family feeding us we wouldn't eat."
"We also have great sponsors. Without their support and parts this record would not be possible. Without Pingel, Trim Tex, Drag Specialties, Parts Unlimited, and Red Line this wouldn't happen. The Vance and Hines head has really taken our consistency to the next level."

En route to the win the crew had to make some repairs on the bike, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"We hurt some valves but that's normal," Steve McBride said. "When you run enough power to run 240, you're going to break some parts."

McBride now heads to the tour's final race in Gainesville, FL, November 5th-7th, where he looks to complete an unprecedented second consecutive undefeated season.

"We're coming with our six-shooter loaded," McBride said. "I'm not focusing on the perfect season; I'm just focusing on winning the race. I'd really like to be able to get into the fives for the first time at Gainesville."

McBride expects a great turnout and hopes to see all of his sponsors and friends at the race.

"The race in Gainesville should be fantastic," McBride said. "We're expecting a great turnout. We hope to see Tommy Smith, Jeff Pollard, Jay Upton, Ron Webb, Chris Hand, and some Harleys there."

McBride thanked; Pingel Enterprise, Trim-Tex Drywall Products, Drag Specialties-Parts Unlimited, Red Line Synthetic Oil Corporation as well as his other sponsors:

Vance & Hines Motorsports, Muzzys Performance, Web-Cam, Kibblewhite Precision Machine, Vanson Leathers, Performance Machine, Kawasaki USA, Belt Drives Ltd, Street & Competition, Trac Dynamics, Simpson Race Products, Nitrous Express, APE, EK Chain, Arias Pistons, R&D Spring Corp, Autolite, MSD, Protect ALL, Whipple Industries, Cometic Gaskets, B&J Transmission, Carolina Cycle, L.A. Sleeve, PJ1 Nology Engineering, Mickey Thompson Tires, Corbin Seats, Stark Masonry, and Valco.