Pics from North-South Dragbike Challenge

I will continue posting pics on here as I have time. But I know many of you want to see all the photos not just he ones I pick and choose. So here is a link to the Photobucket album. Enjoy!

http://s217.photobucket.com/albums/cc288/bumblebeezx/North%20South%20Dragbike/

North-South Dragbike Challenge - BIG EVENT DAY!

SUNDAY, JUNE 15th: Finally, the big event we've been waiting for and working so hard to promote. We were at the track by a tad after 7am and to our dismay there was not a long line of racers/spectators waiting to get in as we had hoped. As we pitted we kept our fingers crossed that the attendance (racer & spectator) increased. Unfortunately, that did not really happen and they opened the track up to run time only passes. We opted not to do any, but watched several people do all but hot lap their bikes.

We decided to run the 9.20 Index (Pro Gas), which is pretty dam impressive for a stock wheel base, stock motor hayabusa with minor modifications. So as we got into the show Joey was on me about finding a good spot (because I'm still learning...HAHAHAHA). Unfortunately, I didn't do very good his first qualifying pass.

• .099 R/T 2.29 60' time 12.39 ET 88.07 MPH (Oops, sorry babe...not a very sticky spot as she spun like a mofo)
• .131 R/T 1.62 60' time 9.64 ET 146.61 MPH

Now we are in the first round of eliminations and we pair with Joe Cabral.

• .128 R/T 1.60 60' time 9.29 ET 152.91 MPH (WooHoo, winner winner)

Now on to the next and last guy in our class Trace St. Germaine.

• .081 R/T 1.62 60' time 9.36 ET 151.61 MPH

Unfortunately, this was one of those times that NO racer/spectator wants to experience or be witness to. As Joey and Trace got to top end, from those at that end they say they saw Trace sit up and it appeared as if he just grabbed too much front break. All I saw from the start line was Trace wash out and go down, hard. I was freaked out, from my perspective it looked like Trace went down right in front of Joey and I know at that speed there is no way to stop or avoid something like that. Fortunately, Joey had passed him moments before Trace went down. The track officials did their job in getting to top end to take care of Trace. From what I understand he broke is leg and ankle but will be ok and back! Trace did take the win on that run, but somehow I think he may have some other things on his mind right about now! Get Well SOON Trace!

Here are the results from the race for each class:

Top Alcohol

Win Mark Risseling .038 R/T 7.42 ET

R/U Scott Pollacheck .144 R/T 7.33 ET

Outlaw 1 Power Adder

Win Mike Fields Sr. .062 R/T 8.14 ET

R/U Chris Phipps .053 R/T 8.52 ET

Outlaw 2 N/A

Win Augustine Herrera .052 R/T 8.62 ET

R/U Lloyd Gilbreath .223 R/T 8.47 ET

Top Gas 8.20

Win Don Tanklage .034 R/T 8.17 ET

R/U Roger Pearce Broke

S/C 8.90

Win Jerry Stinson .084 R/T 8.99 ET

R/U Nate Brown .172 R/T 8.64 ET

Pro Gas 9.20

Win Trace St Germain .004 R/T 9.42 ET

R/U Joe Faria .081 R/T 9.36 ET

S/G 9.80

Win LaMarr Wallace .231 R/T 10.16 ET

R/U Joe Giribaldi DQ

Super Bike 9.50

Win Jacob Petzke .106 R/T 10.14 ET

R/U Michael Powell .182 R/T 13.00 ET

Pro E.T

Win Randy Monte .089 R/T Dial: 11.05 Ran: 11.08

R/U Kenneth Machost .055 R/T Dial: 10.47 Ran: 10.46

Street E.T

Win Red Collins .060 R/T Dial: 10.70 Ran: 10.82

R/U Steve Gold .068 R/T Dial: 11.00 Ran: 11.13

Ladies

Win Melody Kho .071 R/T Dial: 10.70 Ran: 10.84

R/U Katie Sullivan .109 R/T Dial: 9.64 Ran: 9.80

Pitbike/ATV

Win Hans Shulz .545 R/T Dial: 20.00 Ran: 20.27

R/U Jessica Watson Foul Dial: 12.70 Ran: Foul

CONGRATULATIONS to all our winners and runner-ups. Y'all did a great job!

Despite the lower then anticipated turnout, the weekend was wonderful. SO MUCH FUN! Thank you Big Charlie for organizing the event and giving us a venue on the West Coast to play in. Y'all missed it, it was a great weekend! No better way to spend Father's Day in my opinion!

I'll post pics in a separate post soon! Till next time BEE safe and have fun!

North-South Dragbike Challenge - Day 2

SATURDAY, JUNE 14th: What a fun, full day! With some roll-over from Friday’s TNT, there were still plenty of people around to Test-N-Tune Saturday . The best part was TNT was not advertised as an open TNT, so the field was nearly all bikes. This allowed us to make as many passes as we wanted. Now for many this was exactly the time they needed to learn our track… while others (like us) used the time to dial in for Sunday’s event. It was the only real comparable we would have for our set-up (similar heat, track prep, etc.). We zero'd out the power commander and ran some MR11. We ran (once again) our best times on the bike:

• .048 R/T 1.59 60' time 9.31 ET 151.67 MPH
• .090 R/T 1.55 60' time 9.33 ET 151.46 MPH
• .119 R/T 1.55 60' time 9.24 ET 152.71 MPH (AMAZING!)
• .098 R/T 1.57 60' time 9.32 ET 151.87 MPH
• .069 R/T 1.58 60' time 9.29 ET 152.33 MPH
• .129 R/T 1.56 60' time 9.25 ET 153.08 MPH
• .091 R/T 1.59 60' time 9.31 ET 152.55 MPH

Seriously, this bike is amazing and what makes it more impressive is how great of a rider Joey is on it, really brings out the best in BOTH of them! While you look at those numbers remember he is still foot shifting, that is dam good!

In addition to our own best times, we watched Russell Neidigh (Big Rob's son) finally get that elusive 8 second pass. Now most people when they are achieveing a number that they have long awaited, scratch the surface of that number and then gradually make big jumps... not Russ. He jumped in with both feet and a quick ass 8.76. WOW, nice work! Did I mention he is only 17. We got to see the next generation of racers in full swing this weekend, with Russ (17yo), Katie (17yo), and Auggie's son (just turned 16yo). Simply cool!

I had my opportunity to finally test on Katie’s bike. I have so much fun helping Joey and learning from him, he gives me the confidence to do well or at least try. He was great and jumped right in to help me line up and get ready for each of my passes. Thank you honey, it was beyond wonderful to have your help again!

After talking to Charlie Sullivan about the bike (details like: how hard does it launch, does she go straight, what size is the engine, what do you launch at, what tire pressure do you run...etc) I was ready (theoretically). I have to admit I was a little nervous on the first pass, new bike, little different set-up then what I ran with Eddy, but overall let's go have some fun!

• .419 R/T 1.73 60' time 12.23 ET 126.94 MPH (I was in no hurry off the line, wanted to get a feel for the bike. Once I got out there I had to find the shift button and just overall get familar with the bike)
• .138 R/T 1.40 60' time 9.52 ET 135.13 MPH (Alright, I got this now... let's go!)
• .054 R/T 1.37 60' time 9.50 ET 136.89 MPH
• -.012 R/T 1.60 60' time 10.03 ET 135.26 MPH (Don't even ask...total brain fart)

I am super happy with my passes, after talking with Katie she seemed pretty jazzed and said her best pass to-date was a 9.43 and she's had that bike for awhile. Not to take anything away from Katie, because she rides the heck out of that bike. I'm just happy to have gotten a 9.50 on my third pass ever out on the bike! Plus it felt so good to jump back on a bike and felt even better with Joey there by my side. Huge huge thanks to the Sullivan Family for giving me the opportunity to ride your bike, I had a blast!

Now we transition into Grudge Fest, things start coolin down including the track.

• .074 R/T 1.60 60' time 9.34 ET 151.95 MPH
• .099 R/T 2.13 60' time 10.01 ET 151.98 MPH
• .144 R/T 1.63 60' time 9.45 ET 150.46 MPH

Throughout the day Russ continued to kick butt and pull out many 8 second passes, not sure his head would fit in his helmet anymore (HAHAHA) the bike humbled him out and threw in a few 9 second passes for good measure! Overall, there were lots of quick bikes out many with no wheelie bars putting down some crazy good numbers. I am always impressed to see these guys get out there and ride those monsters. Seriously they have balls of steel.

Now on to tomorrow for the BIG EVENT!

North-South Dragbike Challenge - Day 1

Race ready… that is a good phrase to describe the weekend!

FRIDAY THE 13th: The “race” weekend started on the day that typically seizes the “bad luck” connotation, however, it was anything but. We were really excited to get out to the track and try out the new additions to the bike, some synthetic oil & a carbon fiber seat - allowing Joey to get 2” lower in the bike. We were confident this will allow him to achieve a low 1.5 60’ time. Sara even got to participate this weekend by working at the track, wow she's working...my baby is working. I feel so old! I'm glad she had the opportunity to learn and work in a place she is familar with, Thank you, Lisa! Next I want to get her more involved in racing, I want to teach her how to line Joey and I up. Show her what to look and feel for; she wants to race bikes so she needs to learn from the ground up (literally)!






























When we arrived at the track there were several people there, mostly bikes (even better). We saw plenty of new faces along with some familiar ones too! We had a full evening of racing for a simple Test-N-Tune. It was great! We were not mistaken with our instincts on the new seat, although Joey did mention how incredibly uncomfortable it was (a few times). It was a wise investment. We ran the following:

• .097 R/T 1.59 60' time 9.55 ET 124.02 MPH (First pass with new stuff)
  
• .096 R/T 1.59 60' time 9.33 ET 152.42 MPH (Bogged out of the hole, adjusted shock to hard compression)
  
• .128 R/T 1.56 60' time 9.30 ET 151.75 MPH
  
• .140 R/T 1.55 60' time 9.43 ET 150.28 MPH (Wheelie)
  
• .141 R/T 1.55 60' time 9.29 ET 151.67 MPH (Missed a shift and hit the rev limiter)
  
• .102 R/T 1.59 60' time 9.36 ET 151.70 MPH (Wheelie)
  
• .195 R/T 1.55 60' time 9.25 ET 152.42 MPH (Adjusted power commander)
  
• .106 R/T 1.54 60' time 9.29 ET 151.10 MPH (Quick shift 1st to 2nd)
  
• .167 R/T 1.58 60' time 9.34 ET 151.17 MPH
  
• .097 R/T 1.53 60' time 9.30 ET 150.96 MPH
  
• .191 R/T 1.58 60' time 9.73 ET 131.18 MPH
  
• .119 R/T 1.59 60' time 9.34 ET 150.79 MPH (Adjusted power commander)
  
• .146 R/T 1.57 60' time 9.36 ET 150.22 MPH (Adjusted power commander)
  

In addition to achieving that low 1.5 60' time as we had anticipated, we got to see some pretty cool passes from other racers.






























As we were leaving Friday night, Katie Sullivan came by our pit and asked if I was still interested in testing on her bike. Well… OF COURSE! Now not only am I excited about racing with Joey all weekend; now I get to do a little racing of my own. I was very excited... I really am happy to that we can be there for/with each other again, to share in each other celebrations and help each other figure out our mistakes!

Reflection and Appreciation!

These are both great things and its important to take time out sometimes to do both and be humble about it in the process. This last weekend (June 7th) was great on many levels. I had the chance to help Joey and get to know some of our fellow racers a little better. I was pleasantly surprised with an opportunity to potentially test on Katie Sullivan's bike for North-South Dragbike Challenge. Big thanks to the Sullivan family for the offer. In addition, I got to know Roxanne Webber (yet another girl who rocks on a dragbike - pictured at the bottom), her set-up is a little different then what Katie or I have been on but rocks it none the less. Eddy asked me to take care of the race for him (Nitro Night of Fire), since he couldn't be there and I was more then happy to do that. It really was the least I could do for the Palmer's considering all the opportunity they have given me. I have to say I was a little nervous that I was gonna forget something or someone was going to be unhappy, but overall it worked out well and the day was fun! Sara even had an opportunity to work at the track and even made a little money!

I LOVE THIS PIC

Nitro Night of Fire typically means a tons of people and a ton of cars. Joey had an opportunity to get in the show and compete for the $1,000 prize money. When we got to the track there were hardly any cars but most of our class (short of 2) were there. The track delayed things as much and as frequently as possible due to the low number of racers. We started time trials around 11:30am (mind you we were there by 8:30am)... We got to know Big Rob's son (Russell) and boy let me tell you this kid is a natural born racer. NO JOKE! He has a great attitude and really enjoys the sport. Big Rob has done a great job raising him!

Joey's first pass of the day was yet another "best". He ran a 9.26 @ 153mph. WooHOO! What's important to remember about that pass is he was running pump gas. Which means that there is a teen in that bike, he just has to find it.

Joey and Russ challenged each other ALL day short of actual eliminations. I think they both had a great time! Russ was really trying for his first 8 second pass and got close enough to ache for it, running a 9.05. As with any pair of racers that know how to have fun with it and be competitive, Joey and Russ pushed each other!

Joey paired against Charlie Sullivan first round and Charlie pulled out the win on that run. The great part about these races is if you go out you can still make time runs (all day). So that's just what the guys did. Mona qualified with two red-lights on the first two runs, then we got another qualifing pass and she ended up qualifing #1 (winning herself $100 for #1 qualifier). I am super excited to see Katie make it to finals (after being off for awhile from a knee injury) against Mark Riessling, she was running low 9's all day and Mark was running 7.30's all day (with two red-lights)! They put on a great show at the end of the day! Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to test but for a real great reason... Katie was in the finals!

CONGRATULATIONS to Mark Riessling

for taking home the win and $1,000 purse!

As slow as the day started at the end of the day, there were tons of spectators enjoying a night of GREAT racing!

We are very excited for this weekend - racing ALL weekend! With Test-N-Tune (Friday night and Saturday day), Grudge Fest (Saturday night) and then... North-South Dragbike Challenge on Sunday.

***

Don't miss it, it will be an event to remember!

Looking back over the past several months and the weekend, I have learned a lot about myself, the person I love and miss, I continue to learn and move forward daily and I appreciate the people in my life! Thank you and I love you!

Test-N-Tune - May 30th, 2008

Test-N-Tune: $7.00
Tech Card: $50.00
Limited # of cars: Priceless!

We ran with pump gas and ran a 9.28 @ 153.1 with a 1.55 60' time! It was a great night! The bike loves the track and having a stock wheel base gives us an advantage when the track doesn't have the best traction. There were very few cars out, which makes for a great night of runs. I think we got 12 runs in all! WooHoo!





















We will be out at the next big event Nitro Night of Fire on June 7th at Sacramento Raceway!
Overall, it was another night of great racing! Lots of bikes out including a couple Nitro Harley's getting ready for Charlie's big race on June 15th.