2/13/2025
Bunker Hill Dragstrip
Doug Fisher was Born to Ride
Horsepower measures the power that an engine produces in a given amount of time. In the world of drag racing it is a term that is used a lot. Racers know what it is and they understand how it works. For Fisher Body Shop Motorcycle racer, Doug Fisher, the word horsepower has multiple meanings.
Fisher, who grew up in Michigan, was raised taking care of 13 horses. His introduction to horsepower came in 1971 at the young age of 11, when he started racing quarter horses. Quarter horse racing is similar to drag racing in the fact that they both run quarter and the eighth miles. Other than the obvious difference of racing a vehicle vs riding a horse, quarter horse racing differs from drag racing, because the horse and rider are racing against the clock instead of the guy in the lane next to them. In the 4 years the young Fisher spent racing quarter horses, he would also become a 4 time Grand Champion in the sport.
Never straying away from the idea of riding his race vehicle vs driving it, Fisher would transition from racing quarter horses to motocross and flat track. In 1979, he would discover racing drag racing bikes, which he has continued to race to this day. Over the years, Fisher would find success in other forms of motorsports, like asphalt snowmobiles, where he currently holds the aspirated quarter mile world record of 7.86 at 166 mph set 7 years ago on Jamie Bellman’s Skidoo, but he always came back to his love of drag bike racing.
In 2024 after realizing that there were several motorcycle racers, that would appreciate the chance to race against other motorcycles (rather than cars), with an opportunity to earn points and chase a track championship, Bunker Hill Dragstrip added the Fisher Body Shop IHRA Motorcycle Class, presented by Miami County Metals to the lineup of classes that allow racers to compete for track points.
Fisher, whose success in drag bike racing includes an NHDRO Championship, many race wins and runner up finishes including a number 2 place in Prostar, a race that started with 350 motorcycle racers, signed up for points with a quest to add IHRA Motorcycle Track Champion to his list of racing accomplishments.
Surrounded by support from his family, which includes wife Donna, son Tyler, granddaughter Alexis Baker, and grandson NHRA Pro Stock racer Richard Gadson, Fisher did exactly what he set out to do in 2024. He won the track championship in the Fisher Body Shop Motorcycle Class presented by Miami County Metals. If that wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, at the IHRA World Finals, racing the best motorcycle racers in the country, Fisher would finish 5th solidifying his life’s story that no matter what type of horsepower it has, Doug Fisher was born to ride.
Submitted By: Cori McMillen