Extreme thrill-seekers are born, rarely created.
Their gravitational pull toward daredevil activities is hardly understandable to the normal bystander.

Don’t even begin to try and measure their abnormal kick of adrenaline.

That has been Dana Meeks’ nature since he was a teenager. He once was so awestruck reading about a world record-holder’s experience on the ski slopes, he took up the sport just to try to replicate the feeling.

Meeks ended up being a world-class skier, but he tried other adventuresome activities such as parachuting, hang gliding and ski-jumping – until he blew out his knee on a run.

His latest endeavor is in a class by itself. The 54-year-old from Enumclaw races nitromethane-powered, fuel-injected motorcycles on the All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) circuit.

Meeks was named the 2008 Pro Fuel rookie of the year in December.

“Tuning these things is really important,” Meeks said. “If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can blow them up – and they do blow up.”

When the time had come for Meeks to stop skiing, he focused most of his energy into a bustling mortgage-lending and real-estate development career in Federal Way.

Six years ago, a friend asked Meeks to join him at the National Hot Rod Association’s Northwest Nationals event at Pacific Raceways in Kent. Meeks wandered through the pits, where he saw a Top Fuel Harley bike about to be fired up.

“It was like standing next to a Funny Car,” Meeks said. “It took one second to know this was for me.”

So, he began experimenting with motorcycles. He attended the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School in Gainesville, Fla., in 2006 and made runs that reached 170 mph.

He began following the AHDRA, even contributing articles for its publication. And one day, he contacted one of the drivers he wrote a story about – Top Fuel’s Joey Sternotti – to express his interest in joining the circuit.

“We got to talking, and you could tell he was in love with these things,” Sternotti said.

Sternotti put Meeks in contact with D.J. Johnson, the owner of New Jersey-based American Cycle. Johnson built Meeks a Harley bike that cost nearly $60,000. And Sternotti promised the rookie he’d transport and tune the motorcycle at different stops.

“The first day we got out there, he tested the bike. I kind of liked the guy,” said Sternotti, a 15-year veteran. “He had some talent, and he listened well. When I told him something, he did it over and over again.”

A few weeks later, Meeks got his license, and he ran the second half of the AHDRA schedule. It didn’t take long for him to make a quarter-mile run in 6.888 seconds, going 198 mph.

“It takes a lot of guts to get on one,” Sternotti said.

The biggest show of fortitude was Meeks approaching his wife, Carol, about joining the tour and traveling around the country in a motor home to get to races.

“He never really sold the idea (of drag racing) to me,” said Carol, a former personal trainer who’s now an artist and jewelry maker. “But we’ve been married 20 years, so I could sort of smell a stinky thought coming.”

Like they did last year, the couple and their three dogs will drive to a handful of races. Dana does the bulk of the driving, and Carol has taken up photography, even volunteering to take pictures at the races for magazines.

The trips are relaxing and interesting, both admit, and well worth the investment.

“We’ve spent a lot of nights in Wal-Mart parking lots because they are RV-friendly,” Dana Meeks said.

“On the road, we pretty much stop for everything,” he added. “It’s a whole lot more fun when you’re traveling with somebody.”

Meeks estimates the cost to run the entire seven-race series this season is $30,000 “as long as I don’t blow up the parts.”

“There are guys on tour who’ve been riding for 10 years who aren’t as good as he is,” Johnson said. “These things are a big step up in speed and performance. I build them, but you wouldn’t catch me on one of them.”

Todd Milles: 253-597-8442

todd.milles@thenewstribune.com">todd.milles@thenewstribune.com

THE NEWS TRIBUNE’S TOP NORTHWEST RACES TO WATCH THIS SEASON

ASA’s NORTHWEST LATE MODEL TOUR

Site: Wenatchee Valley Super Oval, Wenatchee

Date: May 2

Event: A much-needed merger between the defunct NASCAR Northwest Tour and the Late Model Challenge Series has become a reality this season for an 11-race schedule in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Even though the tour kicked off March 28 in Monroe, this stop signals the start of spring and summer stock-car racing for 30 teams in the Northwest.

JIM RAPER MEMORIAL DIRT CUP

Site: Skagit Speedway, Alger

Dates: June 18-20

Event: This has been the premier independent sprint-car race to come to this track in its 55-year history. And it’s always widely-hailed when a local driver comes out on top, like Everett’s Jayme Barnes did a year ago for the first time since 1992. The lucrative $25,000 winner’s paycheck draws the best in the West.

NHRA’s NORTHWEST NATIONALS

Site: Pacific Raceways, Kent

Dates: July 17-19

Event: No event this season will see the raw power the National Hot Rod Association’s nitro-fueled cars bring. As a safety precaution last season, the NHRA had just shortened Top Fuel and Funny Car races to 1,000 feet. The side-by-side racing was so good, it remains the distance. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Tony Bartone (Funny Car) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) won last year.

NASCAR WEST SERIES

Site: Portland International Raceway, Portland

Date: July 19

Event: The West Coast’s top stock-car tour is hitting three road courses this season, including Portland – six weeks after hitting the short track at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Ore. This stop replaces the longtime race at Evergreen Speedway, which held its 50th tour race last year. California’s Eric Holmes is the defending series champion.

AMA LUCAS OIL MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Site: Washougal MX Park, Washougal

Date: July 25

Event: Last season, the nation’s top motocross arenas became James Stewart’s playground. The Florida native won all 24 races on the schedule, including Washougal, to nab a perfect season. He’s signed up to race a partial supercross schedule this season, opening the door for a new champion this summer.

ABRA’s CHEVROLET CUP AT SEAFAIR

Site: Stan Sayres Pits on Lake Washington, Seattle

Dates: July 31-Aug. 2

Event: Auburn’s Dave Villwock loves this race, and he won his ninth career Chevrolet Cup last year, matching Bill Muncey for the all-time lead. The circuit is at seven races, including an exhibition in Kelowna, B.C. (Aug. 8-9) and a season-ending stop in Doha, Qatar (Nov. 12-14). The longtime San Diego race was dropped in April because of lack of funding.

AHDRA’s NORTHWEST NATIONALS

Site: Woodburn Dragstrip, Woodburn, Ore.

Dates: Aug. 23-24

Event: Truly one of the grass-roots national circuits touring the country, these are non-paying, thrill-seeking motorcycle enthusiasts. Oregon is the closest this eight-race series comes, and the nitro-fueled bikes reach speeds well over 225 mph. Sixteen divisions are represented at national events.

WORLD OF OUTLAWS’ WILD, WILD WEST

Site: Grays Harbor Raceway, Elma

Date: Sept. 7

Event: The kings of sprint-car racing come to the Northwest only once, and will hold a four-race-in-five-nights stretch starting Sept. 4-5 at Skagit Speedway in Alger and ending Sept. 8 at Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon. Last season, North Dakota’s Donny Schatz joined 20-time series winner Steve Kinser as the only racers to win three series points titles in a row.

FALL CLASSIC

Site: Yakima Speedway, Yakima

Dates: Oct. 1-4

Event: The region’s best late-model stock car drivers certainly have this all-star event circled on their schedule. Last year, Yakima’s Mike Longton completed the rare three-peat – winning the main races on all three days, including the 200-lap championship that netted him a $10,000 paycheck. Rain has postponed this event three times since 2005.

Todd Milles, The News Tribune