Team News 2010
2011
Well its been a long cold wet winter and spring is here. Which means race season is here too. The WFO Race Team has finally got the bike all fixed back up after blowing up 2 motors at the last race of the year in Las Vegas. We had some issues with the trani slipping which caused it to put a hole out on the hit of the throttle consequently blowing heads off, breaking crankshafts, blowing up cylinders, etc., etc. etc... But after lots of labor and even more money everything is ready to go. The bad economy has finally caught up to our main sponsor Seacomm Erectors Inc. which is bad news for the WFO team because Seacomm gives us the money to go race. The WFO team will be on a limited race schedule this year as we don’t have the funds to travel around the country. We will be hitting the local races this year mostly NBRA races. You can check out the NBRA schedule at www.nitrobikeracers.com . In these tuff times we want to thank our loyal sponsors for their help NGK Spark Plugs and Mickey Thompson Tires. WFO doesn't take our sponsors for granted and we really appreciate their continued support. See ya at the track
2010
Las Vegas, NV - November 5th - 7th
Things started off good in Vegas. First round of qualifying we ran a 6.41@ 214.66 mph to qualify number 1 for the first 2 rounds. The third round we ran a 6.47@199mph . Fourth round we blew the motor so we put the spare motor in for eliminations on Sunday. First round on Sunday we blew the motor again on the hit of the throttle to end our 2010 season. It was an exciting season for the WFO Team. We want to thank all of our Sponsors for their very generous help this year during a very tough economy. We really appreciate it. We are not sure about next years race schedule as we are starting to feel the effects of this economy. We will keep you informed.
AHDRA San Antonio, Texas - September 11 & 12th
We did the kick off party at Greens Harley Davidson on Thursday night. It is customary to have the bikes displayed, during the party John did a burn out and the crowd loved it. The kick off parties really gets people fired up for the weekend of racing, plus fans get to know the racers and the sponsors.
It was super hot this weekend and the problem that plagues us was back!! We really struggle to get the bike to go fast in the heat. We qualified 4th on Saturday and Sunday we ran a 6.80 @ 201 mph and lost. What a bummer. WHRA has one last race in Vegas November 5, 6, & 7th the team is hoping to make the trip and get one more race in this season.
AHDRA WOODBURN, OR - August 28 & 29
We had a fun weekend lots of family, friends and fans. The stands were packed & we had lots of people coming by the pits buying shirts, asking questions, getting posters and sponsor brochures. We qualified 4th with a 6.59 on Saturday, on Sunday we won the first round and lost in the semi’s. WFO is 4th in points and still have a chance for the number one spot if things go well inSan Antonio.
AHDRA - Sturgis, SD August 14th & 15th
Saturday was a tough day for the WFO team we struggled all day. First round John crossed the center line. Second round the bike put a hole out in the water box and John had to shut it off at the start line. That left the third round to get in the show. The bike sounded ok but when John hit the throttle it blew both heads off and made a 12 foot ball of fire. The crowd went wild & the crew knew they were in for some work. Luckily it gave the bike enough momentum to cross the finish line at 18 mph and get John in the show for Sunday in the last qualifying spot.
The crew went to work and put the spare motor in and fired it up. Sunday we made it into the finals against Steve Dorn for another very close race. Dorn won on a hole shot.
It was a fun weekend with Connie, Jeneen, Brandi, Angel, Julie and Susie there having fun in Sturgis for the 70th anniversary of Bike week. It was great talking to Larry with Barnett Clutches. We would like to thank our sponsor Wally with Ed’s Hydraulic Jack repair, his son and Paul for stopping by and saying hi, also my cousin Vicki fromMontanafor visiting the pit with her family.
Woodburn is our next race August 28th & 29th, this is the closest race AHDRA has toSeattle so make the trip and watch us race!
AHDRA - Bristol Tennessee - August 7th & 8th
On Saturday we qualified 5th with a 6.64 in the third round. It was a little scary as Armon came over in our lane and he and John touched feet as John went by him.
On Sunday John took out Jay Turner first round then Tracy Kile in the Semi's. In the finals John did a killer reaction time .008 and had Steve Dorn all the way down the track but had to get out of the throttle…. he was headed towards the wall! Steve passed him right before the finish line. It was a close and exciting race
NBRA- Mission, BC - July 23rd, 24th & 25th
The WFO team had a fun weekend in Mission, B.C. Good weather and an awesome crowd. Did some testing on Friday, smoked the tire both times with the Top Fuel bike but got some good data.
Saturday we ran a 6.62 in the first round, then a 6.60 in the second. In the final round we ran our quickest ET to date with a 6.402@ 217 mph which is also a new track record. This also qualified us #1.
In the first round of eliminations on Sunday we ran a 6.41@ 218mph which backed up our record :) and put us in the second round. Dean backed the bike down a little bit as he was worried about the track loosening up in the second round but it wasn’t enough and we smoked the tire just after 60'. It was a bummer to lose that way but it was great running two of our best ET’s in a row and putting on a good show for the large crowd in the stands
The Pro Fuel bike sounded a lot better and we think we have some problems sorted out with it; both bikes will be on the track in Bristol.
It’s off to Bristol, TN. next weekend and in two weeks Sturgis.
Check out the front cover page of Speed Magazine at www.ahdra.com click on speed magazine in the lower left of the web page.
AHDRA - Kansas City, MO - June 26th & 27th
It was a hot humid weekend in Kansas City.
Because of track conditions AHDRA decided that the race would be only 1/8 mile. The WFO team qualified 4th on Saturday. Everyone was struggling to get down the hot track. Sunday we lost in the first round. The bike put a hole out on the hit of the throttle. We are going home and lick our wounds and be ready for Mission in July 23rd, 24th & 25th.
WFO would like to thank our sponsor Kris Zdral with NGK Spark Plugs, NGK has been a WFO sponsor since inception and we have never been disappointed in the product. If you’re racing, or riding a street bike you should be using NGK plugs! Check out NGK’s web sites at www.ngksparkplugs.com & www.artoffast.com
HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!
CMDRA - Grand Bend,Ontario, Canada - June 19th & 20th
We did several test passes Friday to try to get our clutch to start working properly. Saturday we struggled in the first and second round but in the third round things started to come together. We ran a 6.79 to qualify 4th.
Sunday we won the first round with a 6.60 @ 221.62 our highest mph to date! In the semi's John cut a good light and was out on Damian all the way down the track when the front exhaust pipe broke off and the bike lost power. Damian passed as they were crossing the finish line.
It was a fun weekend and the grandstands & pits were full of fans. We would like to thank Ron Bowen from Metzler for the new front tires we really appreciate it. Also thanks to Mike and Patti Romine for letting us stay at their place and get things fixed up forKansas Cityrace.
AHDRA - Norwalk, OH - June 5th & 6th
Not much to report this week, the weather in Norwalk just did not want to cooperate. Saturday we only got two rounds in due to weather; didn’t do bad we qualified fourth with a 6.54. Sunday more rain delays we won the first round, in the semis we smoked the tires and lost.
We are heading to Kansas City, MO. for an AHDRA race June 26th & 27th.
Update on John ...from the Numidia, PA. Race
I am doing OK. I got a little bruised up but will live. What happened is that the shut down was too short and instead of a sand trap there was hard packed dirt with large humps, big chunks of randomly scattered concrete and very tall weeds. When I crossed the finish line I was a little out of shape so I couldn’t get right on the brakes. I couldn’t make the turn out as most people that ran a number had the same problem. When I hit the end of the track I was going about 20 mph hit a big dirt hump went flying in the air and then the bike ran over me. I appreciate the Vreeland putting on the race and know Craig is doing the best he can but safety has to be made more of a priority. I know Doug’s crash was also caused by the short shut down. That’s why his hand came off because he was in a hurry to get the brakes on.
AHDRA Commerce, GA - May 1st & 2nd
Back in the saddle!
It was a great weekend for our first race after the crash in Valdosta, Ga.
Very weird that our first race was back in Georgia again but this time we did it RIGHT!
We did a test pass on both bikes Friday. It went good except the throttle turned in my hand as I don’t have full strength back in my right hand yet. So we taped a drill bit onto the grip under my knuckles so it couldn’t turn unless I turned it. This worked prefect and we had good full throttle passes the rest of the weekend.
The crew had the bikes tuned and it showed. We qualified 3rd in top fuel with a 6.49 @ 196.79mph and 4th on the pro fuel bike with a 7.1@177mph. In eliminations with the top fuel we ran a 6.567@186.46 to win the first round then a 6.521@209.23 to win in the semis, then a 6.546@216.03 to win the race. We won in the first round with the pro fuel bike and smoked the tire in the semis. It was the best way to return to the track and after missing 2 races. The WFO Team is in 3rd place in the Top Fuel standings.
Next race is Numidia, PA. for the AHDRA sanction hope to see you there!
Sponsor packages should be sent within the next two weeks, our supplier for the WFO hats had back order problems so it took longer than expected. Sorry for the delay.
AMA Valdosta GA. March 6th& 7th
With the first win under our belt, but still needing to time to test out the top fuel with the new transmission and Dean’s newly built pro fuel bike, the team decided to go to the AMA race in Valdosta GA. The track was open Friday for testing so we thought it would be a good opportunity to get some track time in.
Dean’s bike broke the belt on the first run, so we took the top fuel out. First pass we ran a 6.73@ 218, second pass 6.54@218.38. On the third pass we ran another 6.54@218.94. We hadn’t noticed that the wind had come up because the grandstands blocked it at the start line but once you got past the grandstands there was a very strong wind going from left to right. When I chopped the throttle the bike went to the right toward the wall. I started grazing the wall just as I was starting to get it off the wall the front end washed out and the bike laid over and threw me off. I then went on a never ending tumble. I just kept rolling and banging into stuff, I tried to keep my arms tucked in as much as possible. I rolled about 800 feet it felt like FOREVER! I actually had enough time to say to myself “am I ever gonna stop rolling?” When I finally did stop and try to get up Tommy Grimes rolled up on his bike and told me to stay down. I sat up and leaned against the wall and waited for the aid car. The medics checked me out, let me get up and released me. My right wrist and my left foot were hurting so we got a ride to the hospital. There I had X-rays and found that I had a broken wrist and foot. The doctor put the cast on, stitched up my left ring finger and said I was good to go. All an all I came out pretty good no road rash and no bruise, just two fractures that require no surgery.
The bike faired a little better, Steve and Dean stopped by Weekend Chassis on the way home and John Storace repaired the frame so now we just need a few new parts and it will be like new. We will miss theLouisianarace but should be ready forPhoenixrace in April.
Thank you to everyone who has called and emailed me, I really appreciate it.
AHDRA - February 27th & 28th - Orlando FL
We headed down to Florida early to test out the Top Fuel bike at the Palm Beach raceway last Tuesday and Wednesday. We ran a 6.50 and it shut off at 5.1 seconds. It started raining so we decided to pack up and head to Orlando. It rained all day Saturday so there was no qualifying. AHDRA went by last years points to determine the ladder. First round we had Tommy Grimes both of us smoked the tire on the hit, it was a peddle fest to the end and we won. The track was extremely poor and it was pretty cold. Second round we had Armand Furr. We both put a hole out about half track and one lunged it to the finish, talk about close I barely beat him. In the finals we had Ziggy. He had been running well all day, our motor was hurting with a torched exhaust valve but we didn’t have time to fix it so we just went with it. After the burn out Ziggy's bike was puking oil so they shut him down and we had a solo pass. Everyone said the bike made some strange colored flames going down the track, Yellow, Orange then Green. I think the green was the exhaust valve burning up and going out the exhaust because most of it was gone when we took the motor apart. We got pretty lucky this weekend with the new transmission in the bike, but we have a lot of learning to do.
The new pro fuel bike Dean and Steve built did great, we won first round but got put out second round when we smoked the tire. I think its going to be a fast little bike. Check out the web site www.wfodragracing.com for photos of the bike.
Thanks to my sister Brenda and her husband Pete for coming down to cheer us on it was fun having them in the pit. We are heading to Valdosta, GA., for an AMA race March 5th, 6th & 7th.
Just a reminder we are getting ready to print our T-shirts, posters and hero cards for the 2010 season. There is still time to become a sponsor! If you have any questions please call Connie at (360) 793-6564 or email at
wfodragracing@hotmail.com
2009
WHRA November 13, 14 & 15 Las Vegas, NV
Well we made a last ditch effort to make the high gear thing work. We changed the spring length, the number of disks and the pressure plate for our last race of the season. Basically we were starting over. Dean figured it out pretty quick, by the fourth lap we did a 6.69 @ 210mph to qualify 7th out of 13 bikes. First round of eliminations we did a 6.71 @207mph to go to the second round. We ran a 6.71 @ 206mph in the second round and lost. Dean was making huge changes to the bike with no change in performance. After a lot of debate and deliberation we have decided to put a tranny in the bike for next year and build another pro fuel bike to experiment with the high gear thing some more.
Peter Calvert from CP Pistons stopped by our pit it was really good to meet him, check out their web site at www.cppistons.com they have a great product for the Harley enthusiast. We had a great time in the pits during the weekend, along with my parents, sister, kids, Powers Concrete Construction & the Seacomm crew we had about 30 additional people cheering us on all weekend. All the cooking for the weekend was provided by Derek but he out did himself with Saturday’s dinner of Steak and Lobster it was awesome.
WFO wants to thank all the sponsors and friends for all the support this year and we look forward to the 2010 season.
AHDRA – Rockingham, NC - October 9th, 10th & 11 2009
The team had a fun weekend in Rockingham NC which was the last race of the AHDRA season. We qualified 12th with a 6.661@207mph run. All season we have been struggling with our clutch which hasn’t been consistent. Before the first round of eliminations John noticed that there was interference with the clutch hat and the stands so we fixed it. In the first round we broke the rocker arm on the rear exhaust valve and lost the race. We finished the season 5th in the points out of 25 racers which is respectable for our first season with the TOP Fuel bike.
We are heading to Vegas for our last WHRA race of the season. We are currently 2nd in the standings and our strategy as always is win and to take the championship.
Hope to see you at the track!
AHDRA Woodburn, OR - August 22nd & 23rd 2009
It was a great weekend in Woodburn. We had lots of family, friends, fans, great weather and some pretty good racing. We spun the tire in the first two rounds of qualifying but in the third round it stuck and we ran a 6.658@208.05 mph which put us in forth position. We had Joey Sternotti first round and put him on the trailer with a 6.621@201.47 mph. In the semi's we beat Jay Turner with a 6.646@203.11 mph. In the finals we raced Phil Schmidt and were ahead of him when we spun the tire and put a hole out, Phil got by right before the finish line. We got runner up. We have a great returning fan base at Woodburn and want to thank them for stopping by the pit and supporting us. It was great having Mom, Dad, Brenda, Brandi and Dakota, Angel and Allen, Terry Frasier and last but not least Hank. Hope to see you at Edmonton which is the CMDRA finals September 12th, & 13th.
Check it out!!...Dana Meeks with Speed Magazine did a great article on John and the WFO team you can read it on line at www.ahdra.com the link is at the bottom of the page click on “Speed Magazine” the article starts on page 34.
AHDRA Bristol, TN - August 8th & 9th
We qualified 5thwith a 6.581 @ 200.67mph in a pretty strong 16 bike field. We won the first round with another 6.58 @ 200mph. Second round John wacked the throttle a little too soon and red lit. What a bummer because the bike ran another good pass and would have won the round. We still had a good weekend and the bike is really starting to come around and John is riding the hell out of it. It’s off to Woodburn, OR August 22nd & 23rd.
AHRDA Sturgis, SD - August 4th & 5th
First round of qualifying we ran a 5.0 and spun the tire. The track had a very narrow grove and if you got out of it you spun the tire. Second round we ran a 4.49 and spun the tire for the last 100' of the track. Third round it stuck all the way to the finish line and we got the number one spot with a 4.39 @ 167mph. Sunday we won all three rounds to win the race. John rode the bike under power back to the pit and the crowd went wild they loved it!. We had a great weekend and want to thank our sponsor Paul and Alyson Powers (Powers Concrete, Chelan, WA) for all their help, they did everything from sell tee shirts to helping get the bike to the line. It was great to see our sponsors Wally & his son Walter (Ed’s Hydraulic Jack Repair), Tim Hert (Global Bolting Tech.) and his gal Laurie, and Rooster from Montana make the bike trip. We want to thank them for coming to watch and really enjoyed having them in our pit all weekend.
WHRA Salt Lake City, UT - August 1st & 2nd
We struggled in Salt Lake coming from really good air in Mission to Salt Lake with an altitude of 7000', had to correct our tune which was way off as we had no data with the top fuel bike in this kind of air. Finally on the third pass we did a decent lap. This gave us a good starting point for Sturgis as the air is similar there.
WHRA Mission, BC - National Open July 25th & 26th
We had an awesome weekend!
Friday we did some test passes on our bike and Ron Houniet’s bike which went pretty well. Saturday we did a 6.746 @ 197.49 mph for the number one spot, we then got rained out. Sunday we made one more qualifying run and did a 6.616 @ 199.29 mph to clinch the number one spot. In eliminations we won the first round with a 6.65 @ 204 mph. In the semi’s we ran a 6.73 @ 202 mph which put us in the finals. When the finals came around all we thought of was winning and win we did! We ran a 6.65 @ 204 to win the race and receive our first Wally trophy. The bike was like a bracket bike with Dean, Steve, George and Chris tweaking the tune and John keeping it in the groove. What a great weekend and an honor to win our first Wally award from NHRA.
We are off to Salt Lake City for the next WHRA race
Aug. 1st & 2, then onto Sturgis, SD August 4th & 5th.
AHDRA Kansas City, MO - June 20th & 21st
Saturday we qualified 7th, had a hard time keeping both holes lit down track. Sunday morning we figured out that half of our MSD ignition system was not working properly and we were not getting a strong spark on the left side. We didn’t have spare boxes so we just had to run it that way. John got by Mike Romine in the first round. The bike left good but put a hole out again about a 1.5 seconds out. In the semi's John beat Jay Turner on the tree but the bike put a hole out 1.5 seconds out again and John lost. We are pretty sure this has been haunting us most of the season so far and probably is why we have been struggling. Steve is getting new boxes this week and hopefully it takes care of our problem and the bike will run good again. It was great seeing Uncle Lynn and Julie at the race always nice to have family watch. Chris Martin installed WFO logo and our picture on the back of the trailer it looks awesome. (We will get some photos on the web site soon)
This weekend we head to Edmonton Alberta for the IHRA race.
AHDRA Norwalk, OH - June 6th & 7th
It was a long hard weekend for the WFO Crew. First round Saturday we scattered the motor. The crew put the spare motor in and went out for the second round and the fuel system failed. Third round we ran a 6.96@ 210 mph to get the number 11 spot. We had metal in the oil so we tore the motor down to find out we damaged the main bearing on the pinion side, we had to replace it. First round eliminations John red lit. We did a good pass in outlaw but the bearing went out again and that ended our day! Time to lick our wounds, regroup and head to Kansas City race June 20th & 21st.
WHRA – May 22nd, 23rd and 24th - Mission BC
What great weather for racing. We qualified Saturday with a 6.65 @ 204 the first round than ran a 6.60 @205 to get the number one spot. Sunday we won the first round, in the second we smoked the tire and had a peddle fest against Andy and lost! It was a fun weekend with lots of family and friends at the race.
Check out our web site www.wfodragracing.com for pictures of the race, our new race shirts, and newly painted golf cart to match the Top Fueler. This weekend was the first time we put the new bike trailer to work and it passed the test with flying colors, made it so much easier for loading and unloading the bike and equipment. It’s at the shop now getting the finishing touches put on when done we’ll snap some photos and get them on the web site.
We want to put a shout out to Marc Schiller from Bardahl to GET WELL soon!!! He had a visit to the hospital and will be out of commission for a few months.
Next race is June 6th & 7th in Norwalk, OH follow it at www.ahdra.com click on live update.
AHDRA - April 25th & 26th, Commerce, GA
Friday night we made two test laps a 6.71 @215.72 mph and a 6.76 @207.42 mph. Not bad but we were not getting the fuel pressure that we expected. We changed fuel pumps and that fixed the problem.
Saturday we struggled all day. Something was triggering our fuel and clutch system before the bike was staged. Finally after losing the first round on Sunday because the clutch was fully engaged before lighting the second bulb and causing me to red light we change the trigger system to the MSD.
This worked great and we were able to make two decent laps in Nitro Outlaw to win it. It felt good to redeem ourselves.
We are heading home to fix a bunch of stuff and get our new Wildside trailer that we will be putting to use at our next race in Mission BC on May 23rd. Hope to see you in the pits!
March 28th & 29th - AMRA Bowling Green
April 18th & 19th - AHDRA St. Louis, MO
Sorry for the delay in getting the results out, not much to report as we have had rain delays on the past two races. We are really getting antsy to get this show on the road and get some track time; it's been a long winter....and we need the smell of NITRO!!!!
We welcome back all of our Loyal Sponsors for teaming up with us again for this exciting 2009 season. Sponsors on board for the 2009 race season are Bardahl, NGK, Seacomm Erectors, Inc.,
Ironworkers Local 86, Pacific West RV, Industrial Fabrications,
Ed's Hydraulic Jack Repair, Retirement Solutions, Redline Motorcycles, Lyndall Brakes, Global Bolting Technologies, Inc., Delcon Crane, Powers Concrete, Inc., Metzeler, Mickey Thompson and S & S Cycle,
We know this has been a year for tightening the budgets, and want you to know we appreciate your support and sponsorship.
We have made some changes to the web site so check it out at www.wfodragracing.com and while your on the computer check out one of NGK's new web sites at www.artoffast.com it's a great site.
We race this weekend in Commerce GA, if you want to follow the race you can go to www.AHDRA.com and click on live race updates.
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