Eric McKinney Continues Reign in Drag965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle

PITTSBORO, NC – Looking at the last three championships in PDRA’s Drag965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle, one would assume that Eric McKinney has had complete and total domination. But that is only part of the story. While he walked away with the championships in ‘14 and ‘15, this year almost didn’t happen.

McKinney’s season started off well, with two final round appearances early in the year. But then, McKinney says, “We got a little sidetracked.” Chris Garner-Jones took over McKinney’s familiar number one place in points and stayed there for much of the year. “We’re always trying to be faster and progress the class,” McKinney explained. “We got behind and it was a struggle. It was quite challenging.”

Going into the final race, McKinney was still over two rounds behind Garner-Jones. “We drew it out on a piece of paper before the last race and said, ‘We have to do this to win the championship’,” McKinney added. “After the makeup race in Bradenton we were 206 points behind Chris. He had to go out first round and I had to win the race.”

And that’s exactly what happened. Garner-Jones made an uncharacteristic first round exit and McKinney went on to win the event, resetting the PXM National ET Record in the process – twice. Thanks to McKinney’s final round effort, the record now stands at a 3.986.

“This is by far the most satisfying season we’ve had. It was a struggle being down, you feel like you just lost your touch. But to come back in that way at the last race and to win was very rewarding and almost unbelievable. We were pretty fortunate to pull it off. It’s all my team. I can’t take any credit.”

After two previous PXM championships (‘12 and ‘13) and the AMA Dragbike championship in ‘09 McKinney’s total is up to six.

“It’s a pretty amazing feeling,” McKinney said, searching for words to describe the enormity of his feats. “To be so dominant like we have been, it’s pretty amazing. To able to do five in a row is unbelievable. I’ve got a good crew behind me. We keep plugging away. We work hard at everything we do, whether it’s work or drag racing. We give everything 150%. I’ve told people, never give up. We wanted to give up a couple of times this year, but we didn’t and we pulled it off. I’m still kinda speechless about it.This championship is my team’s. It’s theirs, not mine. I get the credit, but it’s them behind the scenes.”

With the 2016 world championship coming in a much different manner than his previous titles, McKinney and team felt the thrill of victory in a new way. “The first two seasons we had such an advantage on everyone, we put it in cruise control,” McKinney storied. “The class caught up. We were on cruise control too long. There were a lot of downs. There were times I didn’t even want to go. I thought we had lost our touch.”

The team recognized their mistake and went to work: “This last month we probably put in 50 test runs before Bradenton and Virginia, just trying to get our combination back. We had good help from the Vance and Hines guys. We went testing with them a week before the Virginia race and learned a lot of stuff we were overlooking. It makes for very good racing, and it’s very rewarding to win this way. We earned every championship we’ve ever won, but this one was very hard fought. It’s definitely more gratifying to win this way rather than to have the cushion over the competition like we have in the past. This year was by far the best championship. It’s gratifying to win this one. The torch is going to have to get passed on to someone else at some point, but it worked out again this year for us.”

Although McKinney and team pulled off their fifth championship in a row, he recognizes that the class has a new level of parity and expects several teams to post three second runs more often next year. One thing is sure, however, McKinney and his team are not about to let their guard down again.
“My mom and dad are the heart behind this thing,” thanked McKinney. “If it wasn’t for them I couldn’t do it. Dad’s been pushing me since I was little to be the best that I can. I try my hardest and he gives me good equipment. We pull it off. I want to thank my fiancee. She’s my rock and she pushes me, too. When we get down and out she keeps us going. My uncle Steve is at just about every race with us doing the clutch and in between round maintenance. Ashley Owens is the man behind the tune up and the chassis. That guy forgot more about all that stuff than anybody else ever knew. He’s amazing with what he knows and what he can do with that motorcycle. It makes it easier for me because I know it’ll be consistent every pass. I can do my job a lot better because I’m not worried about the motorcycle. If it wasn’t for him and dad we couldn’t do this. Their combined experience and knowledge make them almost untouchable.

“I definitely want to thank the guys in our shop, D&S Auto Parts. When we’re gone they take care of things. My counter man, Jaimie, keeps the place together. Fast by Gast, Paul Gast, he helps us with our motor. He gets repairs done in a timely fashion. Vance and Hines, Eddie Krawiec was actually helping us at the test session a week before the last race. I also want to thank Vance and Hines for helping to sponsor the class this year, and I want to thank the class title sponsor, Drag965. I definitely want to thank the PDRA. Everybody at the PDRA is just great to deal with; they’re awesome to be around. From the time you pull in the gate until the time you leave everybody is trying to help you out. We’ve raced a bunch of organizations. It’s good to go to a place where you feel at home and still treated professionally.”

In his young career, McKinney has already accomplished more than many do in a lifetime of drag racing. McKinney will celebrate his championship this offseason while also planning his wedding to take place next May, in between races of course.