Jupiter, Fla.-- Cyclepalooza 2009 kicked-off this weekend loaded with revving engines, smoking tires and pure motorcycle muscle. From the street to the strip, bike and riders of all styles saddled up and made their way to Palm Beach International Raceway for one of the largest drag bike competitions in North America. Offering more than just a leisure ride and the perfect setting to showoff the hottest and latest in motorcycle design, PBIR offered up the quarter-mile.

Street, Pro, Top Gas and Top-Fuel riders dropped it on the all-concrete surface, for pulse-pounding drag motorcycle action. And on Saturday night, that action came to a complete square off between two Top-Fuel riders: Joey Sternotti of Raleigh, North Carolina and Mike Lehman out of PBIR's backyard, West Palm Beach. Each rider approached the starting line behind the bars of the most recognized name in motorcycle history; Harley-Davidson. Sitting on over a hundred years of racing history, the riders were set to unleash these machines at speeds no one could have anticipated.

Behind a cloud of smoke, these American thunder machines took to the starting line waiting to strike. Building with anticipation, the riders eagerly watched as the lights turned from amber to green. And with a soul-stirring roar, the bikes shot off the line and down the strip in a battle for racing pride and glory. Fueled by nitro but driven by pure passion, these riders turned the quarter-mile into a quarter-mile thrill ride-resulting in the fastest side-by-side, two-wheel Harley-Davidson top-fuel motorcycles races ever. It was the definition of a photo finish when the two racers came rushing across the finish line. And after the smoke settled it was Sternotti who came away with Saturday's quickest time of 6.218 seconds at 231.7 mph and a new world record, narrowly defeating Lehman, who finished at 6.293 seconds and 221.34 mph. Sternotti bested the previous AHDRA Nationals record quarter-mile time of 6.22 seconds held by Doug Vancil on October 8th, 2008 at Albuquerque, New Mixico and speed record of 230.17 previously held by Tak Shigematsuon on April 2008 in Ehime Japan.

It was the fastest speed for Top-Fuel Harley-Davidson motorcycles recorded in the world and at Palm Beach International Raceway's all-new drag strip. And it was shared