When qualifying concluded on Saturday morning at the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags IV at the Virginia Motorsports Park, you just knew it was going to be one heated and possibly record-breaking affair, and by the end of the night, one class had seen a long-awaited barrier shattered, while the national record was re-written in another category with authority.

In Pro Extreme Motorcycle, class frontrunner Ashley Owens from Decatur, Ala. had been knocking on the door of the first thee-second pass in class history for much of the season, and on Saturday, entered eliminations once again atop the qualifying sheet with a 4.02. But, that was only a precursor to what was to come, however. In the second round of eliminations, Owens uncorked a 3.989 at 177.42 MPH alongside reigning champion Kim Morrell, permanently inking his name into the record books as the first and only in the ‘three’s’. But he wasn’t done just yet, as a 3.977 in the final round put an exclamation on a dominating performance.

“That was the culmination of two years of work,” team owner Paul Gast said. “We never could have dreamed to have this much success, but with the work and effort we’ve put in, it really feels good. After so many 4.01 and 4.02s, we felt like it had to happen.”

Meanwhile, in Pro Nitrous, Mahana Al-Naemi rocked out a 3.78 to lead a stout field of sixteen – anchored by Steve Vick’s 4.01 –  into eliminations, where things picked up considerably right off the bat. In the opening stanza, Burton Auxier stunned the troops with a 3.746 on his solo pass – the quickest lap ever recorded by a nitrous-fed doorslammer. Like Owens, an encore performance was provided with a 3.754 in a second round defeat of Randy Weatherford that delivered the necessary backup to solidify the new national record.