Tim Kerrigan Racing with DayStar Machine kicked off the 2024 race season at the AMRA Cajun Nitro Nationals, No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana, on April 5 – 7. 

As with any season opener, teams typically work on getting the cobwebs out and their bikes tuned-in.  This was not the case for Team Kerrigan.  We ran our first test pass on Friday night and right out of the trailer, we picked up where we ended last season with a run of 6.42 @ 212 mph.   We felt very comfortable going into the qualifying sessions on Saturday. 

For Q1, we made a few fuel system changes and ran a 6.43 for Q1.  After servicing the bike after Q1, we ran into some issues with the throttle body linkage.  The decision was made to sit out the next round to handle some readjustments.  We went back out for Q3 but were unable to better our time from Q1 which put us heading into race day as the #2 qualifier with a time of 6.43.  

Round 1 Eliminations, Team Kerrigan faced-off against Randall Andras, who is always a worthy opponent.  TKR Tuner, Steve Vickers, stepped up the fuel system for E1, but it was a little too much as air quality on Sunday diminished.  As a result, Tim’s bike dropped a hole, but as luck would have it, Randall dropped a hole first.  This allowed Tim to push through to the win.   

For E2, we made some adjustments and were ready to face Jimmy McMillian.  Tim hammered down, but turned on the red light, simultaneously turning on the win light for Jimmy.  However, Tim not realizing the red light, ran it through to the end, clocking his personal best, along with the quickest pass of the entire event with a 6.36 @ 212.17 mph. 

While it was a disappointing to go out after E2, we counted it a win as we celebrated Tim’s accomplishment of his new personal best time. Awesome Job, Team Kerrigan!

We are looking forward to the next race at the season opener for AHDRA in Rockingham, May 3-5.  Hope to see y'all there!