Not only can Spiderman do whatever a spider does, the Peninsula’s version, Larry “Spiderman” McBride, again has proven he can do what no other human can.
McBride, 63, broke his own quarter-mile world record on a Top Fuel motorcycle dragster Saturday when he ran 268.38 mph in beating Dave Vantine in an exhibition match race in the NHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie.
That shattered his previous record of 265 mph, set more than two years ago in Valdosta, Georgia. McBride, a Poquoson resident nicknamed Spiderman for his knack of crawling around on his bike during races, broke his first Top Fuel motorcycle world record in 1999 and has reestablished it almost a half-dozen times since.
“To be able to do it here at home was incredible,” McBride told Phil Burgess, the NHRA National Dragster Editor, following Saturday’s race. “I’ve been treated like a king here; it has been awesome that all the Top Fuel car guys and Funny Car guys who have helped me and all the support that I’ve gotten.
“We just kind of hopped the bike up a little bit and calmed it down low and out in the middle. It got a little bit loose, and I had to pedal it a little bit — you know, just grabbed the rear brake — to get it caught back up, and, boy, really (ran) a good back half.
“I knew I went awful fast. I didn’t really realize I went 268, but I knew it was really fast.”
The race was McBride’s first at an NHRA event in 20-plus years and his first at Dinwiddie in a decade.
“It was my honor to be here and to be supporting NHRA because I’m a major drag racing fan, you know, right now into the sportsman guys,” he told the NHRA. “I just wanna do everything I can do for drag racing.”
Marty O’Brien, mjobrien@dailypress.com, 757-247-4963, follow on Twitter @MartyOBrienDP
