It Sure Is Fun Playing In The Dirt

   Wow what a day! My buddy Junior, from Hampton Roads Harley, has been telling me for some time now he'd get me out on the dirt drags running his Buell. Well that came true today. We set out early this morning heading to Surry Virginia, home of Slade's Park.
   We met at Juniors and chowed down on some good ole Bo Jangles then we got straight to work. This little Buell has some serious character folks. For starters the motor is just some kind of crazy, we're not going to get into details ha ha. The swing arm has been stretched 6 inches and converted to a rigid, all done by Junior himself. We had to make a sprocket change and mount up the paddle tire and then we were on the road!
   When we arrived at Slade's there wasn't much time for screwing around. We off loaded the bike and I suited up for my one and only practice pass. Now just a little background, I've never raced in the dirt before. I get out to the line and stage. Bringing the bike to about 3500 rpms i throw the clutch out and off i go. Left, right, left again, this thing is a handful! Well to make a long story short my first pass was a little nerve racking, enough to where as I waited for junior to come get me at the end of the track my knees were shaking.
   With the first pass out of the way I realized there wasn't much to it. Yes it got to me some but at the end of the day it's still a motorcycle and I'm still the rider. The call for first round was made. This time I get to the line I have to go big or go home, because the Triumph in the lane next to me was a long time veteran. We stage, the lights fall and I'm off again! Floating the front tire and keeping it as straight as possible I cross the line for the win. What a rush! There's nothing like tearing down a dirt track on a Harley, it's just insane!
   Into the second and third rounds we ran into some technical issues. Second round we tried launching from second gear, which proved to be great until about 30 feet into the run. I caught some good traction and the motor just fell on its face. Third round I was ready to show these guys i came to do business. Again I staged up against an old pro. I killed the launch taking the hole shot! I was running it hard but when it came time to shift I kept hitting the button, but it was a no go.
   I may not have won this event but I secured a spot in that Buell's seat for the rest of the summer.

   I would like to make some special thank yous. First I want to thank Junior for the awesome experience. It's not often someone says, "Here take my bike and run the piss out of it!" Second I would like to thank Slade's Park for continuing to offer this great chance to have some fun. I would also like to thank Greg Mobley and all the great folks at Beach Ford for the amazing deal they got me on my new 2012 F-150. If it wasn't for them there's no way today would have happened! I saved the most important for last. I want to thank my wonderful girlfriend for being so understanding of the racing thing. She's a keeper!

Thanks to everyone!

See you at the track!!!

Its Been Too Quiet...

   Well its been a few days since I last made a post, so I figured I would check in. Its been pretty busy around here lately. My wonderful girlfriend of several years finally graduated from VCU, so a big congratulations to her. Me and some of the guys cruised up good ole route 5 to Richmond this past Saturday to see her walk and party.
   Today another wonderful semester of school started today, not really that exciting. I don't think I've mentioned it but I'm a designer and I am currently enrolled at TCC for my engineering degree. O well enough crap about my life let's talk a minute about racing.
   AHDRA will be in New Jersey this weekend! We all know Rockingham was a blast and I'm certain Jersey won't disappoint. As always The All Harley Drag Racing Association will be filled with fast bikes and good times! Cruise on up there and check it out. Unfortunately I wont make it to Jersey this weekend so I apologize in advance for no up close and personal pictures. Rest assured though I will definitely have some race coverage throughout the weekend.
   I would just like to say congrats one more time to my girl April, I love you lots and make me proud!
   By the way, I attached a picture of the bike in travel to the race track mode. Enjoy and have a awesome weekend!

I Guess Going This Fast It's Hard To Slow Down

   Wow, what a crazy day! The photographer who shot the picture of me found in my banner on the home page has asked me to help design his web page and do some reconstruction. It's been a little while since I've done any web design but I'm definitely excited to get in there and make it happen.
   That's only one half of the story. Upon leaving work yesterday I received a phone call from my buddy Reno. He was pretty stoked with the write up I did about myself here on the blog and he was interested in getting one together for himself and HeadBlade.
   What an opportunity, creating and running a blog for a pro racer. Needless to say I can't wait to see what kind of developments come of this.

Check out the blog for Shaun Reno here.

Time To Unwind And Relax

   This weekend sure put alot of stress on my body. Riding to the track, racing in the 90-100 degree heat, and then standing in the burn out box choking down nitromethane. Ahhhh the joys of racing.
   After my departure from the track Sunday instead if heading home I cruised on into to Richmond to be with my girl for the night. Monday rolled around to soon. We had an amazing breakfast at 821 Cafe and took the cats to get fixed. So now I'm just trying to cruise through the week and do as little as possible.
   Stay tuned because I can't lay around forever.
   Check out the little beasts and also I hope you noticed my new banner!

AHDRA Rockingham Saturday And Sunday

   Well the ride down went smooth and friday night I crashed in a Pro Fuel trailer that is owned by Mr. Sower. Saturday morning came quick and qualifying was right around the corner. After some breakfast with Ziggy, Top Fuel racer, and the guys it was time for my first pass.
   It was hot and humid as hell. The air was terrible and there wasn't one bike that wasn't affected by the climate. My first pass in qualifying went ok, I missed second gear but cut a .05 light and salvages a 13.45s run. The second pass went better with no missed gears but I red lighted and didn't really learn much from the run. My last pass of the day I got everything together, cutting a .021 light I hit every gear and ran a 13.22.
   Even though my times weren't great I qualified ninth out of 39 bikes thanks to the .021 reaction time. After my last pass I went into the pits to relax for a while and talk with the guys from Capone Racing.
   After some well deserved rest Saturday night in someone eldest hotel room I was ready to do some racing. Sunday morning was absolutely gorgeous, it was slightly overcast and the temperature only in the sixties. Today was going to a fast day.
   Opening ceremonies were held and then it was right into the Top Fuel Nitro Harleys. The air was great and some of the fastest passes of the weekend were made those first few minutes of racing.
   The E/T class was finally called and I was out on the line. My first race I dialed in at a 13.45. I wasn't sure what to do because I hadn't really learned anything from Saturdays runs. I was lucky and my opponent red lighted which opened the opportunity to see what I could do. I ran it as hard as I could and crossed the line at 13.05 running 100mph.
   The next race luck was on my side yet again. My opponent red lighted giving me another chance to run it hard. I set a new personal record at 12.87. I now had two rounds under my belt and was ready to send some more racers packing.
   After a good break and talking with the guys round three was about to start. I made my way to the staging lane and started to get focused. I found my opponent and we were off to the burnout box. After getting the tire warm we were pre staged. I brought the bike to 4500rpm and staged. The lights came down and off I went. It was my worst reaction time of the weekend, a shameful .221, but I was still in it because my opponents reaction wasn't much better. The time flew by, as I neared the finish line I checked behind me and saw I was being chased down. We crossed the line with him just a hair in front. When I got my time slip I was shocked to see I was beat by only 9 hundredths of a second.
   I may not have made it to victory lane this weekend but I did set a new record and learned an awful lot about the higher end Harley drag bikes.
   I would like to thank Reno, Kim, Ricky, Clarence, Ziggy, Junior, Pop, Nate, Gardner, the boys from Tennessee, all the great people at Capone Racing, and anyone I may have forgotten for a great weekend and the much appreciated support!

Day One: Carolina Spring Nitro Nationals

   Well my 300 plus mile ride from Hampton Va to Rockingham Nc went smooth for the most part. I had to make some minor adjustments along the way but nothing to serious.

   I got her in time to see some of the test and tune action. Just to make it quick, the smell of Nitro is heavy in the air. Besides the Nitro powered bikes there are numerous other very impressive bikes. The competition should prove to be fierce in every division this weekend. I have to admit there are alot of fast harleys out here.

   I've had the chance to make it around the pits and take some pictures. Enjoy.

See you tomorrow!

Sorry about the photos... They keep going in side ways i'll have to fix it later.

AHDRA Heads To North Carolina This Weekend

   Well I'm working on getting some interviews together to publish sometime in the near future, but on the other hand I'm gearing up to head down to good ole' Rockingham NC to participate in the second AHDRA event of the year. This will be my first AHDRA event so I'm not to sure what to expect. I am sure of one thing there's going to be some good competition in the Sportsman E.T. class. I'm pretty excited to head down, mainly because I'll be there with the man who built my motor, Shaun Reno. Reno used to race the Pro Stock division in AHDRA and is now on board with Capone Racing and Brancaccio Top Fuel. Reno is definitely an inspiration to me among many others. It will definitely be a special weekend to be racing with a legend in my pit.

   I'll definitely have some details up soon and some photos from the ride down. I might not have mentioned but the bike I race, i also ride it to the track. Rockingham is about 300 miles and 5 hours from my door step. I'll be riding my bike the whole way there, racing and then riding home.

See you soon!