Desert Dawg Krenik - Personal Best & Pro Mod R-up

Corrales, NM - May 4, 2008

The Desert Dawgs finally returned to the Dawg pound in Corrales, New Mexico after spending over 3 weeks and traveling over 4450 miles on the road to 2 AHDRA National events and the other days in the World of Medicine-Hospitals and Hospice, watching, wondering and praying for Greg’s Dad’s recovery.

After parking the Motorhome, also known as ‘IT’, at numerous places in Minnesota with the Dawgs in constant vigil over Dad Krenik’s medical decisions and healing…Jim Krenik did pass away after just one day in Hospice, but over 3 weeks in the hospital. His head trauma had taken him down as far as he wanted to go and then he ‘slipped out the door’ quietly.

After the Mass/Funeral and Full Honors Military Burial, the Dawgs once again hit the road and landed safely for the AHDRA Lonestar Nationals in Ennis, Texas. The change in weather was enough to cheer up the Dawgs, they had not felt warmth or seen blue sky in weeks.

The Texas sky was blue for Friday’s Test ‘n’ Tune and Greg ran his Personal Best on his Pro Mod, an ET of 8.602 seconds giving his tuner, Steve Allstaedt hope that the weekend would be good. Then on Saturday it was the other kind of Blew -WIND. Saturday winds were so hard, that the Fuel teams decided to race on the 1/8 mile during Qualifying. Greg Krenik’s Pro Classes- Pro Stock and Pro Mod stayed at the ¼ mile and Greg worked hard to secure the #1 Qualifying spot in Pro Mod with an 8.613 pass. Mission Accomplished!

The track prep was not good, at least for the Pro Stock. The Dawgs could not take enough clutch out, to get the tire to hook up. All three qualifying passes Greg broke the tire loose and ended up in the #4 Qualifying position. On a positive note, Greg’s changing of the transmission gears in fellow PS competitor Bruce Beltramini’s driveway on Wednesday seemed to have fixed the shifting problem. Thank you Bruce!

Sunday, Elimination Day, much to everyone’s surprise the track prep had improved to what it should have been on Saturday. This made for a lot of upsets and threw everyone for a curve. The Dawgs took a lot of clutch out of the PS thinking the track would be similar to Saturday. Not so. In the first round, Greg burned through the clutch resulting in no hope of winning the round. “I can’t believe it, the track should be similar for both days.” said Krenik. “That’s four clutches we’ve gone through this season, that’s more than all of last year, but, at least it shifted.” he added.

After the Pro Stock fiasco, the Dawgs put the Pro Mod on the lift and put clutch back into it. It worked, Krenik ran an 8.63 for the win. The PM was running great, the only thing suffering was Greg’s concentration, his reaction times were his absolute worst. In the final, Greg finds himself, once again up against Randy Borho. Greg had the faster bike all weekend so the final was to be another good race. Randy got Greg on the tree, 0.027 to .061 but Greg was running him down, an 8.65 to Randy’s 8.68. But there was not enough track for Greg to pass, Randy took the stripe by 0.004 seconds. “Man, that was disappointing, close, but disappointing.” said Greg. “We’ve raced in the finals three times this season and all have been real close, 0.003, 0.007 & 0.004 win margins…..a good show for the fans.” he added.

“These two races were really tough for us.” said Steve. “I don’t think I’ve had a clutch apart so many times in such a short period of time in my life. We just couldn’t get a handle on the track. Greg did well by riding the bike straight while the tire broke loose, well, except for that first run where he almost crossed the centerline. We’ll just have to put the PM losses behind us and get ready for the Eastern swing beginning in Atlanta.” he added.

As you can see, the Desert Dawgs are aggressively pursuing the AHDRA National Championship in Pro Stock and Pro Mod and also the Western Championship in both classes. At this time, to accomplish that goal…ANY monetary help is accepted to put diesel in the rig to get them to the races. Would you like your name on these race bikes and on their trailer too...call now!

To start the week, Greg had to re-build the tranny outside Bruce Beltramini’s place. (Raffa photo)

Greg runs his Personal Best! (Raffa Photo)

Analyzing and trying to figure out how to overcome the racetrack surface (Raffa Photo)

Coming Events:
Thunderbird Harley Davidson Tent Sale, May 10 - 12, Albuquerque, NM

AHDRA Eastern Swing:
Stone Mountain Harley-Davidson Southern Nationals in Commerce, GA May 23 – 25.
Roeder Harley-Davidson Ohio Bike Week Nationals in Norwalk, OH June 13 – 15.
Northeast Nationals in Cecil County, MD on June 28 – 29.

The Desert Dawgs would like to THANK their ever important sponsors for making this all happen. Meet their Sponsors and their products:

Thunderbird Harley-Davidson www.thunderbirdhd.com
SA Racing: 828-674-6225 Steve Allstaedt
Unique Services Inc. www.uniquesvcs.com
Mark Goodwin & Associates: www.goodwinengineers.com
Leading Edge – The Motorcycle Paint Pros www.leadingedgecustoms.com
Custom Coating: 505-626-2605 Erin McGonagle
CP Pistons: www.cppistons.com
Mickey Thompson Tires www.mickeythompsontires.com
Outlaw Race Fuels- 775-690-3488 Jim MacMonagle
Lyndall Race Brakes www.lyndallracingbrakes.com
Regina Chain USA www.reginausa.com
Bandit Machine Works www.banditmachineworks.com
Synergy Coatings www.coat-this.com
Boot Guard: 866-547-2668
And the Martin Family!

PLUS a Big Thanks to all the AHDRA Contingency Sponsors!

Back to Back AHDRA wins for Winters Racing!!

May, 2008

Kevin qualified Saturday as 15th out of a field of 16 motorcycles. During Sunday eliminations, everything clicked for Kevin and Winters Racing is on a roll. Kevin won his second national event in the 2008 AHDRA season in Ennis TX. This time it was SEP, the 11.50 index class.

Kevin fought through the field of drivers to meet Reggie MacKay in the final. Kevin got the win with a double breakout, Kevin's 11.44 to Reggie's 11.27. Kevin said "This weekend was awesome! When I qualified so far down in the field on Saturday, I was ecstatic to get the win on Sunday."

"I would like to thank all of my competitors for some great racing, my sponsors DP Brakes, F&S Enterprises, McHenry Harley Davidson, O'Leary's Pub, Hal's Speed Shop, Miller Motors and my wife".

See you at the strip, www.winters-racing.com

Desert Dawg Greg Krenik Race Report

April 23, 2008, Bloomington, MN

The Desert Dawgs are in transit from the All Harley Drag Racing Association’s (AHDRA) Gypsy Rendezvous Nationals in St. Louis, MO where everything from earthquakes, rain and ‘close calls’ dominated.

The trip from Corrales, NM to St. Louis started a week sooner than expected. Greg’s Dad, Jim, had a bad fall and was in the hospital. It was not a good week as his health deteriorated and they had to move him to a care facility without much hope of him recovering. Then the ride from Bloomington was smooth for about 130 miles before the transmission on the motorhome started having issues. The Dawgs made the trip in 4th gear…making it in 16 hours instead of the normal 10 hours. Then, a half hour after being parked in the Allison Transmission dealer’s parking lot the ground started to shake with the rare 5.2 earthquake. Karen commented that someone could be breaking into the trailer or walking on the motorhome…Greg was so tired, he just claimed it was the wind.

Making it to the track to set up the pit and finish the reassembly of the two bikes for TNT. The rain had other ideas and Greg’s Friday was a day spent in the cramped trailer with Steve Allstaedt, as the two of them tried to get the bikes ready. Steve said “We had a few new things we wanted to try and get set during TNT & Qualifying but it wasn’t meant to be.”

Saturday started a little late because the track needed to be dried due to another early rain shower. Greg’s concentration on racing was nowhere to be seen. On his first launch of the day he looked like it was his first time on a bike, it sat him straight up and sent him over to the right. For as bad as it was, it was his best run on the Pro Modified at an 8.640 which was good enough to be the #2 qualifier. The Pro Stock had what seemed like a terminal case of transmissionitis in addition to blowing through the clutch. No matter what they did they could not get it to shift correctly. Greg ended the day as the #6 qualifier. Back to work on the two bikes...take everything off that they put on Friday and go back to where things were in Phoenix. Then find some new clutch fibers…thanks to Jordan Cruz, a fellow PS rider, they got a new set on Sunday morning.

Sunday was a nice sunny day, a new start. Greg started on the Pro Stock against James Surber. The bike failed to make the shift the first 2 times but Greg stayed on it. At the 1/8 mile Surber’s clutch broke and he lost the piece holding it together. As his bike fell off the pace Greg was able to pull around him for the win. Lucky break! Back in the pits, the Dawgs noticed they shredded the teeth off the belt again. Another problem to overcome in the future. In the second round of PS Greg was up against the #1 Qualifier. The bike made the first shift and for a split second they thought they would get the win but then the tranny failed to shift into 3rd ending all hope. “I just don’t get it.” said Greg. “This was the biggest nightmare trying to figure out what is going on with this bike and we still don’t know what’s up. We don’t have time before Dallas to do anything with it so I don’t know what we’ll do.” he added.

Greg on the ever faithful Pro Mod.
Photo by Bret Kepner

The Pro Stock looks good but will it ever shift?
Photo by Bret Kepner

The Pro Modified ran great in the first round moving Greg on. He had his fastest run of the weekend in the Semi’s with an 8.63 which put him in the finals against Randy Borho, the #1 Qualifier. The final was another race for the books…a mere 0.003 separated them off the line, Greg was ahead to the 1000’ mark, but Randy taking the finish line stripe by 0.007 seconds with both riders running 8.64’s. They sure did give the fans a show. “Considering what Greg’s been through and what’s ahead of him in the next few days we think he did an awesome job.” said Steve. “Now we just have to figure out what’s wrong with the Pro Stock and fix it. I guess we know what we’ll be doing in Dallas while everyone else is running TNT .” he added.

Next up for the Dawgs is the Lonestar Nationals, May 1-3, 2008 in Ennis, TX

On a sad note, Greg’s Dad past away last night. God Speed Dad.

The Desert Dawgs would like to THANK their ever important sponsors for making this all happen. Meet their Sponsors and their products:

Thunderbird Harley-Davidson www.thunderbirdhd.com
SA Racing: 828-674-6225 Steve Allstaedt
Unique Services Inc. www.uniquesvcs.com
Mark Goodwin & Associates: www.goodwinengineers.com
Leading Edge – The Motorcycle Paint Pros www.leadingedgecustoms.com
Custom Coating: 505-626-2605 Erin McGonagle
CP Pistons: www.cppistons.com
Mickey Thompson Tires www.mickeythompsontires.com
Outlaw Race Fuels- 775-690-3488 Jim MacMonagle
Lyndall Race Brakes www.lyndallracingbrakes.com
Regina Chain USA www.reginausa.com
Bandit Machine Works www.banditmachineworks.com
Synergy Coatings www.coat-this.com
Boot Guard: 866-547-2668
And the Martin Family!

PLUS a Big Thanks to all the AHDRA Contingency Sponsors!

Corrales, New Mexico - 4/1/08

The Desert Dawgs headed to their closest (in miles) All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) National event, The Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts Arizona Bike Week Nationals in Wittmann, AZ and never thought it would turn out the way it did!

It was only a seven hour ride after working the day on Thursday, but the Dawgs were still wandering through the desert looking for the entrance of Speedworld’s Dragstrip at 12:30 am. Yes, the trailer and bikes were packed and coolers were full, but did any of them ever think of ‘calling’ the track and actually asking…how do you get in?…nope! So, the adventure added an extra hour to the evening, but that hour was gained back by crossing over the time zone, so no ‘time’ was really lost, just the Dawgs.

Steve Allstaedt (SA Racing), tuner and engine builder arrived Saturday morning just after Greg set up the pit…good timing Steve. They then looked closely to see how the bikes were prepared for Test and Tune in a just a few hours. In Greg’s first TNT pass on the Pro Modified he broke the tire loose so bad that the bike turned sideways, he let off the throttle but had so much forward momentum he crashed over the 60’ timing lights. “That was the worst launch I’ve ever had, I’m glad I was in the left lane or I would’ve been in the wall.” said Greg. The rest of TNT was uneventful by comparison.

Saturday, a new day. Greg’s parents/in-laws stopped by to watch the entertainment as well as some close friends. It was time to see if everything worked and to try to get the #1 qualifying spots. Greg started out on the Pro Mod and ran an 8.78, 8.83 and an 8.76 on his 3rd pass which was good enough for the #1 spot. The Pro Stock was another story, the small shifting issue they found in TNT was growing. Greg’s first pass was only a 9.83…good enough to be last! Back in the pits, both Steve and Greg went to work to find the problem. “We just started from one end of the shifting system and worked our way to the other.” said Steve. “We went into the ignition, the cylinder, the tranny and it all looked good. We made some adjustments that would max out some things, leaving no more room for adjustment.” he added. On Greg’s second pass the bike failed to make the shift into 2nd gear but Greg managed to get it to shift on the second try and he ran an 8.34 which put him into the #1 position. For the third round, they waited to see if anyone would beat their time, no one did, so they backed the bike out of the water box and back to the pit to save ‘wear and tear’ on the unknown problem. “The track prep made the starting line real tough to find good spots for Greg to launch from. He likes to go to the right, well, not likes to, but if the tire spins he will go that way because the bikes are right-side heavy. We also have to remind him to move his butt over to the left, just before staging to help with that problem.” said Karen Raffa.

Saturday evening was the Desert Dawgs opportunity to feed the Pro Stock and Pro Mod classes. The spread was Burritos and all the New Mexican toppings you can think of. It was a fun time and everyone got to relax a bit.

Sunday, Elimination Day, where the classes are run opposite from Saturday. Greg is up first on the Pro Stock. The bike fails to shift the first, second and third try but on the fourth try it goes into second gear and he gets the win. “Can you say luck? That’s what got us the win, in addition to all the horsepower Steve put in this thing.” said Greg. “I was ready for it this time, I just had to let the rpm drop a bit so it would go into gear. I just didn’t think it would take that many tries.” he added. It was back to the pits to find the problem. The Pro Modified ran perfect and Greg advanced in PM.

Steve said, “We took the air shifter apart, modified the end, ground the lock nut thickness in half, changed a shifter fork and made more adjustments. We know we have a fast bike, it just needs to shift. The fact that the shift light is no longer working has added a little more excitement to our dilemma. It works when we switched it to the PM but not on this bike. We’ll check everything twice and then pray a lot.” With the number of bikes, Greg had a ‘bye’ in the semi-finals, so he only went up and broke the beam. They wanted to save the bike as much as possible.

The Pro Modified was up first for the finals, in dusk. Greg ran an 8.71 at 153.23 MPH taking the win. He broke the ¼ mile MPH record on the run but since it was the last run of the day for the class he could not back it up…darn! Up next was the Pro Stock. Greg cut a 0.017 light and the bike shifted and the light worked, he ran an 8.19 at 160.38 MPH for the win beating Bruce Beltramini. “A 160 miles an hour in these conditions, WOW!” screamed Steve on the starting line.

Time to rebuild the transmission and weld a few cracks for the next race. An Incredible weekend and the First AHDRA Points race that the Desert Dawgs went home with the double Win and Double #1 Qualifying Position. YIPEEE!

Up next for the Desert Dawgs will be:
The Gypsy Rendezvous Nationals in St. Louis, MO on April 18 – 20.
The Lonestar Nationals in Ennis, TX on May 2 – 4.

The Desert Dawgs would like to THANK their ever important sponsors for making this all happen. Our Sponsors and their products:

Thunderbird Harley-Davidson www.thunderbirdhd.com
SA Racing: 828-674-6225 Steve Allstaedt
Unique Services Inc. www.uniquesvcs.com
Mark Goodwin & Associates: www.goodwinengineers.com
Leading Edge – The Motorcycle Paint Pros www.leadingedgecustoms.com
Custom Coating: 505-626-2605 Erin McGonagle
CP Pistons: www.cppistons.com
Outlaw Race Fuels- 775-690-3488 Jim MacMonagle
Mickey Thompson Tires www.mickeythompsontires.com
Lyndall Race Brakes www.lyndallracingbrakes.com
Regina Chain USA www.reginausa.com
Bandit Machine Works www.banditmachineworks.com
Synergy Coatings www.coat-this.com
Boot Guard: 866-547-2668
And the Martin Family!

PLUS a Big Thanks to all the AHDRA Contingency Sponsors!

Sadie wanting to be ‘IN’ the cooler, Steve and Greg in between rounds (Karen Raffa photo)

Sadie gets herself half way in anyway (Raffa photo)

Greg and the Pro Mod (Raffa photo)

Desert Dawgs ROCK the 2008 opening AHDRA event
One WIN, One Runner-UP and One MPH Record!

Corrales, NM 3/3/2008

The All Harley Drag Racing Association’s Screaming Eagle Performance Parts Bike Week Nationals, the first event of the season in Gainesville, FL was a Big start for Greg Krenik’s Pro Mod and Pro Stock Bikes tuned by Steve Allstaedt of SA Racing in North Carolina.

The 30 plus hour drive from the Desert Dawgs home in New Mexico to Steve’s Shop in Fletcher, North Carolina to put the refurbished motors in the bikes was pretty smooth. The trip was fun and knowing that warmer weather was on the horizon made it easier to get there. Arriving in NC on Sunday before the race, they first had to install the motors. Greg and Steve worked hard to get them in the bikes and thought maybe they would have some time to test...somewhere in FL? They tried, but Orlando Speed World advertised a test and tune and they decided to cancel it at the last moment, a big shock to us, after sitting in their driveway for 5 hours.

For 2008, both bikes have a new aerodynamic look. Greg and Steve knew they would need some bodywork to make the bikes go faster and with Brian’s (Unique Services) help, they attached the new bodywork in record time. Then Dave at Leading Edge Customs decided that Greg needed a new look to his helmet so he added the ‘rabid’ Desert Dawg on both sides of Greg’s helmet in addition to painting the bodywork the day before the Dawgs left!

The first race of the season always has the most unknowns. By adding the new bodywork, it really messed with the tune-ups on both bikes so the Dawgs struggled during qualifying. “We decided to radically change the tune-up because the bikes just wouldn’t run right with the new bodywork.”, said Krenik. “We changed the voltage on the Pro Mod so our air/fuel sensors didn't work during testing so we had to tune the old way, by reading the plugs.” he added. Greg qualified #2 on the Pro Mod with an 8.68 et, just behind Greg’s rival from last year, Randy Borho’s 8.63 et. On the Pro Stock he qualified #4 with an 8.28 et. “We just couldn't get that bike down the track.”, said Allstaedt. “We blew through the clutch, then it wouldn’t shift into second gear and on the 3rd pass we missed the jetting really bad. That makes for sleepless nights trying to figure out where we went wrong.” He added.

Sunday was a new day… Elimination Day! The Pro Stock was first to run and Greg won the round with an 8.42, which was way off the pace. The Pro Mod’s first round was a win- even though the tire spun really badly as Greg fishtailed all the way through first gear. This sent Greg and Steve back to the drawing board for both bikes, in between rounds…YIKEES!

In the second round of Pro Stock we witnessed Greg blasting down the track with an 8.17 et breaking the AHDRA Pro Stock MPH record at 166.35 MPH. Steve was jumping around on the starting line, knowing this was the 1st time they had broken a Pro Stock record and that had been in place since March 2006. A BIG WIN and Record for the Desert Dawgs!

In the Pro Stock semi finals Greg paired up against Reno, the #1 qualifier. Greg cut a 0.001 reaction time and outran him to the finish with a 8.18 to an 8.19 at 164.53 MPH. Next, Greg’s Pro Mod run was much the same as his second, spinning the tire but riding it straight to the end of the track, for the win. “We took a lot of clutch out each round on the Pro Mod but nothing seems to make a difference. We're at the same place we were when we drove through the clutch in qualifying.”, said Steve.

Time for the finals. YES, both Bikes are in the Finals!! First up is the Pro Mod and Greg is racing against Randy Borho, the #1 qualifier. Randy gets Greg on the tree, a 0.025 to a 0.028. At the 1/8 mile Randy is at a 5.600 to Greg’s 5.606. At the 1000’ they are both at 7.330. Greg takes the win with a 8.826 to Randy’s 8.832. Margin of victory, 0.0034 seconds. WOW, what a race! Both bikes spun their tires as the track was in the shade as the sun was setting. Beating Randy at the first race of the year was a good ‘pay-back’ after loosing the Championship to him last season! “Greg really handled the bike well on those Pro Mod launches, the last three wins came because of him not letting the bike get away from him. We're putting a lot of power to the ground and we just couldn't get that 7” tire to hook up.”, said Steve.

Now the trick is to calm Greg down and get him on the Pro Stock for the finals… Greg is riding the faster bike. He’s racing against James Surber, the #2 qualifier. Greg trees James 0.017 to a 0.114 but at the hit of the throttle Greg shreds the teeth off the motor belt and James takes the win.

“What a way to start the season, Steve did an awesome job figuring the bikes out on Sunday, he'd work on one bike between rounds, then the other bike the next round, we just don't have the time to work on both between rounds on Sunday. We get a little more time before the finals because they reverse the order, but not much. We both completely forgot that our belts need to be replaced after 13 passes...this one ‘shredded’ on the 15th.” said Greg.

Steve’s afterthoughts, “When Greg told me that there was no R & D money for the new season and we would just have to run the same combination, I got a little worried. I knew we were going to have to refine what we already had to be competitive. We were able to make what we already had work to our advantage, without any major changes, using a little bit of creative thinking and a lot of prayer.”

“This was an incredible weekend and a great start to the 2008 Race season. As usual, Greg will race some of the toughest competitors in his 2 classes, which will make it hard and fun at the same time” said Karen Raffa –Greg’s wife. “ My job on the team is small, I am picking the spot in which my husband will launch his motorcycles and then reach speeds in excess of 160 mph in 1320 feet. So, I look and touch very carefully to make sure Greg has a solid spot to ‘take-off’ from and then it is his job to get down the rest of the track. He had some squirmy rides this weekend, not for the faint of heart!” Karen added.

The Dawgs take the next weekend off from racing and then attend the Albuquerque Super Bike Show on March 14-15…then 2 weeks later head to Phoenix for the first AHDRA Western Division race of the season.

The Desert Dawgs would like to THANK their ever important sponsors for making this all happen. Our Sponsors and their products:

Thunderbird Harley-Davidson www.thunderbirdhd.com
SA Racing: 828-674-6225 Steve Allstaedt
Unique Services Inc. www.uniquesvcs.com
Leading Edge – The Motorcycle Paint Pros www.leadingedgecustoms.com
Custom Coating: 505-626-2605 Erin McGonagle
CP Pistons: www.cppistons.com
Outlaw Race Fuels- 775-690-3488 Jim MacMonagle
Mickey Thompson Tires www.mickeythompsontires.com
Lyndall Race Brakes www.lyndallracingbrakes.com
S & S Cycle www.sscycle.com
Bandit Machine Works www.banditmachineworks.com
Regina Chain USA www.reginausa.com
Boot Guard: 866-547-2668

PLUS a Big Thanks to all the AHDRA Contingency Sponsors!

Greg on his way to Victory!

The Pro Modified Winner’s Circle!

The Pro Stock –The NEW MPH record holder with the new fairing

Steve and the Pro Mod in between rounds

Total miles = 4065 Diesel = $ 2303.03
We really need a diesel sponsor to help us WIN these 2 Championships…do you know of anyone?? We are on the US Highways 36,000 miles this year. What Great exposure. Plus, we win and look really cool !

Desert Dawgs Are Ready for the AHDRA 2008 Season

Corrales, NM 2/10/2008

The Desert Dawgs (Greg Krenik, Steve Allstaedt & Karen Raffa) are getting ready to race for the 2008 All Harley Drag Racing Association’s National Championship in both Pro Stock and Pro Modified! In the Dawg’s first full season (2007) in the Pro Classes they had SO much fun, plus they finished the year #2 in Both Classes, that they want to go for the #1 Plate in 2008!

Meanwhile, the off-season has been a rebuilding time for Greg. Not only did he turn 50 years old, he also had both elbows operated on (an old windsurfing injury) and is getting himself in shape to hold onto the bikes without over doing his rehab. The rebuilding of the bikes has been limited to a refreshing of the cranks, heads and transmissions because of a loss of 2/3 of their cash sponsors. With the budget constraints, they are going to try for more speed by designing a more aerodynamic look for both bikes this season.

This season they would like to welcome back their sponsors: Thunderbird Harley-Davidson, SA Racing Inc., Unique Services Inc., Leading Edge – The Motorcycle Paint Pros, Custom Coating, OUTLAW Racing Fuels, CP Pistons, Mickey Thompson Tires, Lyndall Racing Brakes and Bandit Machine Works. And welcome their NEW sponsors that are joining them in 2008: S&S Cycle, Regina Chain and Boot Guard.

The 2008 season starts in Gainesville, FL for the “Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts Bike Week Nationals” Feb 29 – Mar 2. The Dawgs will leave Corrales, NM on Feb 22 to drive to Steve Allstaedt’s SA Racing shop in Asheville, NC. There, they will install the motors in both bikes, and head to the track to fire them up and start the 2008 Chase for the Championship.

The Desert Dawgs would like to THANK their ever important sponsors for making this all happen. Our Sponsors and their products:

Thunderbird Harley-Davidson www.thunderbirdhd.com
SA Racing: 828-674-6225 Steve Allstaedt
Unique Services Inc. www.uniquesvcs.com
Leading Edge – The Motorcycle Paint Pros www.leadingedgecustoms.com
Custom Coating: 505-626-2605 Erin McGonagle
Outlaw Race Fuels- 775-690-3488 Jim MacMonagle
Mickey Thompson Tires www.mickeythompsontires.com
Lyndall Race Brakes www.lyndallracingbrakes.com
S & S Cycle www.sscycle.com
Bandit Machine Works www.banditmachineworks.com
Regina Chain USA www.reginausa.com
Boot Guard: 866-547-2668

PLUS a Big Thanks to all the AHDRA Contingency Sponsors!

Upcoming Schedule:

Feb 29 – March 2, Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts Bike Week Nationals, Gainesville, FL
March 15 & 16, The Super Bike Show at the New Mexico Fairgrounds

Greg will go into the 2008 Season with the #2 Plate on BOTH his bikes.

Brian, owner of Unique Services Inc., has his hands full with both bikes needing aerodynamics.

Dave, owner of Leading Edge, will do the finishing paint IF we ever get him the parts!

Douglass Racing announces 2008 Schedule

January 29, 2008 Staunton, VA: Douglass Racing, a family oriented Harley Davidson Drag Bike Team is pleased to announce their 2008 AHDRA Race Schedule. We at Douglass Racing are anticipating another great year in 2008 and hope to see you at the races.

As the family team, father, Gary Douglass, 58, manipulates his vacation time as Service Manager at the Staunton Coca Cola plant, son, Charley Douglass, 38, is doing the same as Maintenance Technician at McKee Foods (Little Debbie snack cakes). Also, Jody, daughter/ sister of the team joins them. Jody adds, "We all enjoy our time together at the races. It means so much when you have your family by your side, especially when you are doing something you enjoy."

Gary Douglass has been racing for 7 seasons in the Syn3 ET, Pingel Super Eliminator and S & S Super Sport series and aspires to win a class championship in ’08 on his 1990 HD Sportster with a 2001 Buell motor.

Charley Douglass started racing his 1992 Harley-Davidson Sportster in 2000 in the AHDRA Syn3 ET class. He advanced to DragMasters Hot Street in 2003 and continues to run in that class. Surprises are in store for 2008......stay tuned for more info!

Charley will carry the #1 plate in the National DragMasters Hot Street class by winning the Championship in 2007. He also finished 4th in S & S Super Sport. And not only are their racing credentials outstanding but in ‘07 Douglass Racing placed 2nd in Best Appearing Sportsman team.

2008 Schedule
Gainesville Raceway - Gainesville, FL --- Feb. 29th, March 1 - 2
Speedworld Dragstrip - Wittman, AZ --- March 29 - 30
Gateway International Raceway - Madison, IL --- April 19 - 20
Texas Motorplex - Ennis, TX --- May 3 - 4
Atlanta Dragway - Commerce, GA --- May 24 - 25
Summit Motorsports Park - Norwalk, OH --- June 14 - 15
Cecil County Dragway - Rising Sun, MD --- June 28 - 29
Bristol Dragway - Bristol, TN --- August 9 -10
Virginia Motorsports Park - Dinwiddie, VA --- September 20 - 21
Rockingham Dragway - Rockingham, NC --- October 10 - 12 (Championship Finals)

Douglass Racing is supported by Shenandoah Harley Davidson www.shenandoahhd.com Energy One www.energyone.com and Muggs (more to come on this).

Hawaya Racing Moves Operation to North Carolina

Partners with CrossRoads Harley-Davidson in Harley Street Performance

January 23, 2008 Mark Cox and Johnny Vickers proudly announce the arrival of the Hawaya Racing operation to Millers Creek, North Carolina, a small township just minutes from CrossRoads Harley-Davidson. The new partnership will offer high performance options for race-oriented motorcycle enthusiasts, custom bike owners and the everyday rider looking for a unique, race-proven product. Cox and Vickers have worked together for years through Mark Cox Racing, a multi-race winner and National Champion in the Harley-Davidson Nitro classes.

“We have been working towards partnering up on this business venture for several years,” said Johnny Vickers, owner of Hawaya Racing. “It took some time to put all the elements in motion, but we finally have completed that process. We built a new state-of-the-art racing facility in Millers Creek to be able to offer Hawaya’s high-end performance services to our existing customers and new clientele in the racing country of North Carolina.”

“With Johnny’s Hawaya Racing operation, we will now be able to advance our service to the next level in regard to performance. CrossRoads Harley-Davidson will now be a unique performance headquarters, where you can get race-proven performance.” Vickers will continue to operate Hawaya Racing Products, specializing in building racing motorcycles from the ground up, clutch and fuel-management systems, drive-train components, fabrication and custom bike building. Through the new partnership, they will also be able to offer dyno tuning, horsepower packages, machine work and custom fabricated pieces.

“CrossRoads’ 33,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that we moved into in late 2005 offers a great location for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle performance enhancement business,” added Cox. “People are constantly riding in and wanting to upgrade their horsepower package or get some custom fabricated pieces for their bike. Through this business extension, we can now do it and do it right. Johnny is a legend in the Harley race bike building business and we are proud to be associated with him. His quality is unmatched. We are very excited for our customers because of the unique services we can now offer.”

Check out more news about CrossRoads Harley-Davidson at www.crossroads-hd.com or Hawaya Racing and www.hawayaracing.com now at 1333 North Minton Road, Millers Creek, NC 28651. Phone 336-973-5078, Fax 336-973-5079.

For more information, contact: Mark Cox, 336-667-1003, ext. 101.

Nitro Harley Champions and Mid-Continent Motorsports to Compete in 2008 Season

January 21, 2008 Mid-Continent Motorsports of Wichita, Kansas, has confirmed that two-time champions, Rick Moore and Tommy Grimes, have agreed to another year of competition. Rick Moore is the reigning 2006/2007 AHDRA Pro-Dragster Champion and Tommy Grimes is the reigning 2006/2007 NHRA Top-Fuel Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley Champion.

Moore obtained his 5.90s Top-Fuel license at last season's race in Pomona, CA. This year he will be entering AHDRA's Pro-Fuel class. Meanwhile, veteran Top-Fuel Harley rider, Tommy Grimes, has committed to racing his first full season with the Team.

I'm really impressed by the talent these two young men are bringing to the table," states team owner, Mike Bahnmaier. "Mid-Continent Motorsports is going to be a serious contender in both Nitro Harley Classes."

The Mid-Continent Motorsports team includes: Mike Bahnmaier, Joe and Neita Bahnmaier, Jody Dukelow, Dave Larson, and Drew Moldenhauer.

Mid-Continent Motorsports is sponsored by: Harley-Davidson of Salina, Mike's Metal Polishing of Ransom, KS., Gates Corporation, Saum Engineering, CP Pistons, and Nevada Auto Mall.

Follow Mid-Continent Motorsports race season at Rick Moore's website, www.mooreperformanceracing.com.