Team News 05-06
November 16 - 18, 2006
Las Vegas Race Update
This was one of the biggest races of the year for our team. We are so close in the points standings to catching the National Points Leader. That was our focus as we pulled into Las Vegas. We attended the Nitro Kick Off Party at the Las Vegas Harley Davidson. It was a fun evening where we met a lot of fans and talked with some of our sponsors.
On Friday we ran some test and tune runs to make sure the bike was dialed in for the weekend. It gave us some really promising and exciting insight into the weekend.
Saturday was great. It is always so hot in Las Vegas and it is one of the best races of the year because so many competitors come to this race. This is definitely the weekend to see a lot of really competitive racing. At the end of the day we ended up qualifying 2nd behind Chris Streeter.
Sunday was very exciting and the bike was running great. We went into the morning very optimistic that we could earn the points we needed to grab that title! In the second round of eliminations, John clocked a new ET record at 6.553! (This record had also been broken during Testing on Friday, but they are only officially recorded during qualifying and eliminations) The crew was so excited because they had all worked so hard to tune the bike to perform at it's best. During the Final run, the track personnel had shut Armon Furr down (the current national points leader) which would have given John the win and launched him into the National Championship Seat, but Armon ran anyway narrowly beating John. It was tense to say the least. We were unable to run the 6.553 again to establish the record, so that will have to wait until next season.
At the end of the day, the WFO Team finished 2nd in Las Vegas which gave us the 2nd place National Finish and 1st on the West Coast in the ProFuel Division which is awesome for our first year in this class, especially considering the painful start we had. Next year will be our year!
John and the team would like to thank Barnett for their great clutch plates and all their help. It also takes great lubricants to keep a nitro motor alive and Bardahl is the best! The spark plugs we use from NGK are very superior and we appreciate the support we received from them as well. We also welcome Metzeler Tires to our team this season as well. The high quality tires provided really make a difference in the way the bike handles.
We hope you have enjoyed being a part of our team this season and look forward to teaming up with you again next year for a great year.
October 14 & 15 2006
Rockingham, NC
The season is winding down quickly but the team is still hot. We had a great weekend in Rockingham, North Carolina. Qualifying on Saturday was very good with our best run at 6.735 and 210.4 MPH. Unfortunately Jay Turner was having a better day and bumped us out of the number one spot down to two by the end of the day. Still, it was a good position going into the eliminations on Sunday.
Sunday we started out up against Chicago Joe. We had an awesome run and Chicago Joe crossed the line and was disqualified, taking out a foam block. Our run was 6.687 at 208.9 MPH. Our second match up was against Armon Furr, the ProFuel Number One points holder this season. We beat Furr in the semi-finals with a run of 6.606 and 200.8 MPH to move into the finals against... you guessed it! Jay Turner. But today was not Jay's day. John got the win over him with a 6.658 run at 209.1 MPH run. WFO takes first place in the finals. It was a really good weekend over all.
Our next race is in Las Vegas on November 11& 12. This is also the final race of the season. John went into Rockingham in 3rd place spot nationally running very close to the 2nd place Chris Streeter. Armon Furr, The number one national points leader, is not that far ahead of John and Chris. Las Vegas will prove to be a very exciting weekend. You won't want to miss this season finale race!
September 23 & 24, 2006
Richmond, VA
we qualified 5th on Saturday . During eliminations on Sunday in the first round John whacked the throttle and went right at the wall and had to let off so he lost. We were out much too early. We were able to run in the Barnett Nitro Outlaw Class and made 2 nice passes and won the division. It was nice seeing Larry from Barnett.
Also we did the Kick off party @ Colonial Harley and had a blast. We want to thank Ron for all the hospitality.
September 16 & 17, 2006
Mission, BC Canada
In Mission we raced top fuel and Qualified 4th out of 15 top fuelers. In the first round, John beat Mike Scott. After they passed the finish line, Mike came into John's lane and ran over his wheely bar and almost knocked John off the bike! John was able to separate from Mike's bike and unfortunately Mike hit the wall and slid on the track beside John. John stopped and helped him until the ambulance arrived. Mike shattered his left femur and broke both ankles. Our best wishes go to Mike Scott. Second round we ran a 6.77 @ 214.67mph ; Third round we ran a 6.74 @ 214.89mph which qualified us 4th. We then won our first two rounds during eliminations and had a buy into the Finals where we got rained out. Not a bad weekend overall. Had some new personal bests.
August 26 & 27, 2006
Woodburn, Oregon
This weekend we had great weather. Very hot and dry both days. Great weather for racing. The bike was running great and the team discussed it and decided a test & tune run was not needed on Friday. We were ready for qualifying on Saturday once all the fine tuning was done.
Saturday morning we got started right on time. John's first run was 6.90 and after all competitors made their first run, John was holding the first place spot. Since we were fine tuning the bike, we still made an additional two runs and finished up the day still in the number one spot for Sunday's eliminations.
Sunday we had a buy first round, then went against Streeter in the semi's. John took him at the tree and was ahead to 1000' when the bike went fat and shut off. Streeter went by John at that point and that was the end of our day.
The team is heading to Mission to give some new things a try before heading to Richmond, VA on September 23rd.
August 12 & 13, 2006
Bristol, TN
We were able to get all the parts needed to get the blown engine back together and were ready to race in Bristol, Tennessee. We were bummed to miss the action in Sturgis, however they experienced a lot of thunder storms, rain and long delays, so it all worked out.
We have been running dome top pistons all year and decided with the help of some expert advice to go to flat top pistons and see how that worked for us. It didn't go as expected and our tune went away! We managed to qualify 4th with a 4.06 on Saturday. Not where we wanted to be at all. On Sunday, we got put out right away by Steve Simmons in the first round. It was a close race, but Steve got John in the end. We were able to run in the Barnett Outlaw rounds and finished runner up under Tommy Grimes. The good news is we went quicker with each round, but we couldn't quite get back to the times we had been seeing in previous weeks. We are planning to make some changes for sure!
Next race is in Woodburn, Oregon on August 26th & 27th. We are looking forward to moving to the top again and we'll be ready.
A quick note to Marc Schiller of Bardahl�..we at WFO Racing wish you a speedy and full recovery and are keeping you in our thoughts. Thanks for sharing your story with us. It was amazing.
See you all in Woodburn!
July 22 & 23, 2006
Earlville, Iowa
The Earlville weather wasn't too cooperative causing some delays during qualifying but by the end of the day it all worked out. John came away with the only 6 second run in first round Pro Fuel qualifying. His 6.808 at 198.47 mph put him in the #1 spot in front of defending National Champion Chris Streeter and this year's point's leader Armon Furr. Overall the crew was upbeat at the days end with the results.
Sunday John took Chris Streeter out in a close race in the 1st round. WFO then had a bye run and ran a 6.95. In the finals we were up against Jack Romine so we bumped up the tune a bit and smoked the tire about 40 feet out, loaded the motor up and it blew the front head off, disintegrating the intake manifold. John was hit by part of the manifold, but was checked out and deemed ok by the EMT's at the track, he does however have a few bruises to show off. A big thanks to our sponsor NGK for the high quality spark plugs WFO received for the 2006 season their dependability makes a difference.
We should have the bike back together by the Bristol, TN race, but WFO is going to have to sit out Sturgis (waiting on parts) which is a bummer! John is featured on the Sturgis poster again this year and WFO is disappointed were going to miss our fans and sponsors that are planning on attending Sturgis. We were especially looking forward to seeing our sponsor Wally Hall from Ed's Hydraulics who was coming out from Montana to cheer us on.
All in all, we have been in the finals the last six races in a row which is awesome! Were not looking to bad in the points category either being second overall.
*Be sure to check out the website for the AHDRA to keep tabs on points standings for our ProFuel Class as the season progresses.
July 1 & 2, 2006
Mission, British Columbia
This holiday weekend in Mission, BC was beautiful as usual. We ran a 6.70 (a new personal best!) at 198mph in the first round of qualifying which was awesome. This enabled us to skip running the second round and just see what everyone else was running. We went out the third round and overpowered the track a little, having the tire get a little squirrelly. During the first round on Sunday Chris Gartman damaged his motor so we ended up with a bye run and ran a 6.97. In the finals we smoked the tire on the hit, loaded up the motor and bent a push rod! Tony won with a 7.79 at 149mph. Fate was not on our side, but still a good finish overall. We've been consistently running great the last four weekends.
*John & the WFO Team have been invited to race in Mission, BC again the weekend of July 15th with the NHRA. Come on out to support this invitational Top Fuel Race. It will be a blast!
June 24 & 25, 2006
Seattle, Washington
This was finally our weekend and it was great that it was at Home! It was really hot this weekend in Seattle and so was our Team. The first round of qualifying we did a great launch then hazed the tire a little bit and went toward the wall. John kept it pegged, pushed on the left peg and got his rear-end out of the seat and brought the bike back in the groove and ended up with a new personal best at 6.76 and 204mph! Because we were a good 2/10ths ahead of everyone we didn't run the second round and experimented with the third round. The experiment was not as successful as we hoped, but we learned a lot of good info.
Our first round on Sunday we had another great pass to move us on. Straight and fast at 6.78 and 201mph. During the finals we did our burnout and Pat Fenderson's bike died so we had a solo run. We dropped off a little because we were worried about the hot track so we pulled some fuel from it but still did a 6 second run for a First Place Finish!
Thanks to Pat and Joe from Barnett for stopping by our pit and re-supplying our clutch parts. Also a big thanks to all the friends, family and fans that hung out in the pits and cheered us on to our big win this weekend!
June 17 & 18, 2006
Edmonton, Alberta
This weekend we traveled up to Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. It was our first trip to Canada this year. We raced in the Top Fuel Class because they did not have enough ProFuel Competitors to run that class.
On Saturday, we fired up the bike before the first round and discovered a fuel leak and a short in a wire. The team worked hard and got them fixed and when we fired it up again, we had no oil pressure! We opened up the bottom end and
found damaged rod bearings. This caused us to miss the first round of qualifying, but we were able to get everything fixed and ready to run in the second round.
We were able to make two good passes and qualified fifth overall. Not bad after the way the day started.
On Sunday, we won our first two rounds and set a new Personal Best at 202MPH! We ran in the semi finals against Champion Ron Houniet. Ron beat us to the finish line but crossed into John's lane and was DQ'd moving John into the
Finals against Kevin Boyer. We were able to beat Kevin Boyer to the finish line getting our first Top Fuel Win!!! It was a great weekend and we are looking forward to racing in Seattle next weekend.
Be sure to come by and see us in Seattle to get a poster and see the new and improved Coach. We hope to have all our fans there to support us. See you at Pacific Raceway!!!
June 10 & 11, 2006
Norwalk, Ohio
This weekend we really came into our own.
The first round of qualifying we were running a new tire. It didn't get scrubbed in good enough and we smoked the tire. The second round the bike was acting up and wouldn't hardly run, so we brought it back to the pits. After last weekend, it was disappointing to say the least. The team went through the bike and checked everything out and found a rock in the injection nozzle! That did the trick. The third round we ran a 7.04 which
was good enough to qualify us in third.
The next day in the first round of eliminations we started off great. We ran a 6.87 at 188mph. That round moved us up the the semi finals for the first time with this new ProFuel Bike. In the Semi finals we ran a 6.80 at 200.88mph! We finally broke the 200mph barrier for the first time this season. It was a great run. John was a head up to 50 feet from the finish when the bike started inching toward the center line and Chris squeaked by him to take first place.
All in all it was a great weekend and the team is excited to get back to the track. This weekend was our best success so far this season. Stay tuned!
For those in Washington State, remember the Seattle Race is coming up on June 24th & 25th at Pacific Raceway in Kent. Come on out and hang with the team in the pits and enjoy the day.
May 27 & 28, 2006
Commerce, Georgia
This weekend we had a lot more success. We are learning something new every trip down the track with this new bike.
We were making a good run the first round of qualifying until the bike started nosing over. All racers this weekend were having problems with bad air and a slippery track. With a lot of work and perseverance, we were able to qualify for eliminations on Sunday.
Dean and Steve have worked hard to make the needed changes and challenging repairs so we can compete. Their efforts are very much appreciated.
During the first round of qualifying we got knocked out, but we had gotten through it all without having any parts damaged. A first this season! We dropped down into the Nitro Outlaw class and ran a 6.98! Finally a member of the 6 second club! It was a huge milestone for our team. The next round we spun the tire and put a hole out on the launch and putted down the track with a 8 second run. Not our best showing, but good enough to get runner up and receive the coveted Barnett jacket with John's name embroidered on it. Larry with Barnett, one of our great sponsors, was there to share this achievement with us.
We are on our way to Norwalk now. Our posters are finished and turned out great. You all should have yours by now. Be sure to keep an eye on the website for new photos and race results at www.wfodragracing.com.
For those in Washington State, remember the Seattle Race is coming up on June 24th & 25th at Pacific Raceway in Kent. Come on out and hang with the team in the pits and enjoy the day.
May 6 & 7, 2006
Another very tough weekend for Team WFO. The first round we had a pinched vent line on the fuel tank and starved the engine of fuel. We got that fixed and went out for the second round and torched a head in the first 60'.
We have been chasing "gremlins" but we are confident we have found them all. For the race in Commerce, Georgia we will finally have the new motor with the correct compression ratio and everything ready to rock and roll. WFO is a tough team and we are not giving up. We appreciate the support and encouragement of our sponsors during this trying few races.
Thanks to Larry from Barnett and his friend Bub for stopping by our pit and hanging out with us again!
April 22 & 23, 2006
Dallas, Texas
When we got to Dallas, we continued to struggle with chassis adjustments to get the bike to go down the track straight. All day during qualifying, the bike was heading left and we would get a great run going but had to let off at about 60' to stay in our lane. Since Pat Fenderson crossed over into our lane during one of the qualifying runs, we were granted a make up run at the end of the day. We were very optimistic since we had made the chassis adjustments and were finally tuned the way we need to be. During that make up run the bike went nice and straight and we were having a great pass. At about the 1/8 mile we had a large bang and serious fireball which torched the front head. Since we were using our spare motor and our main motor and spare heads were being repaired from the carnage in Phoenix, we were done for the weekend!
We are really getting a handle on this new bike and have figured out tuning and the chassis is straight so we will have much better results in St. Louis.
Thanks to Larry from Barnett for hanging out in our pit this weekend. Also, some of you may have heard that Steve Dorn hit the wall during a run and was air lifted to the Hospital on Saturday. We went to visit him on Sunday and he was in good spirits. He had surgery on his left arm for a compound fracture and his left pinky finger was pinned. He also lost his little toe in the accident. Could have been much worse. Steve is suppose to be able to go home soon and we wish him a speedy and full recovery.
April 8 & 9, 2006
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix was beautiful, sunny and hot as usual. The track temperature got as high at 127 degrees! It was a great weekend for racing. As you know, we had some engine trouble at the season opener in Gainesville, Florida. This weekend was frustrating for the WFO Team as well. We had put in a new engine since Florida and ran three test runs on Friday to get everything fine tuned, but really struggled to find what was keeping us from having a clean run. We worked on the bike all Friday and Saturday. During Qualifying we still could not get in a good run and ended up replacing nearly every part in the Engine to find the problem, but could not get a qualifying run in, so we were done for the weekend....racing at least. We continued to work on the bike until we were all totally exhausted, but we have this problem solved and are looking forward to Dallas.
March 11, 2006
Gainesville, Florida The first race of the season is so exciting. There is so much that goes into the preparation and anticipation of this first event. We worked all off season building motors and getting both bikes ready to go. Just 2 days before we were pulling out of Sultan to head for Gainesville, both bikes were in the trailer and ready when John got a call from Bear in Snohomish about the ProDragster. Bear made him and offer he could not refuse so he unloaded and sold the ProDrag Bike right before we left. Now we are down to just the new ProFuel bike to concentrate on this season.
This weekend we had great weather! It was warm and sunny with good air for racing. During qualifying in the first round we did a 7.50 in the right lane. The second round John went toward the wall and had to let off, so the time was not a true qualifying round. Third time is a charm! In the third round we did a 7.16 Qualified 4th overall for the first race of the season.
The next morning was warm and sunny again, and we were paired up with the National Champion, Chris Streeter, for our first run of the eliminations. Things looked grim to say the least. But we had a great first run and we took him out with a 7.16 . When John got back to the pit we discovered he had 40% leak down on front cylinder. He had torched a head. The crew had to put 2 new cylinders and heads on and we barely made it to semi's. With all the excitment, John was a little amped up getting to the line and was little late and rushed when he got there and he red lit. Our day was over. Not a bad showing for the first race on the new bike. T It was nice to have Larry from Barnett Racing hang out with us some this weekend. We always enjoy having our sponsors visit us in the pits!he crew will be putting in a brand new motor in for Phoenix.
We want to welcome back our sponsors that have chosen to join our team again this year and thank them for their valuable support. Returning for the 2006 Season is Bardahl, Barnett Clutches, NGK Spark Plugs, Seacomm Erectors, JIMS, Pacific West RV, Evergreen Erectors, Ironworkers Local #86, Barmon Lumber and Retirement Solutions. New to our team this year is Ed's Hydraulic Jack Repair (Montana), J.C. Wright Sales, Co (Washington) and Powers Concrete (Washington). This will be a very exciting season and we truly appreciate the support of our sponsors. Check out our Sponsor Page on our website at www.wfodragracing.com and visit the websites of our Sponsors to show your support for them. Most can be linked from our site.
The next time we hit the track will be in Phoenix, AZ on April 8th and 9th. Be sure to check out our Website for new photos and news as the season progresses. Also, for the USA Races, you can go to www.ahdra.com. Click on the Live Update and get information while the race is still underway! It a great way to stay in touch if you can't attend the race. But if you can.......Attend The Race! There is nothing like it!!!!!
February 9, 2006
The 2006 Race Season is sneaking up on us very quickly.
It seems like the 2005 Season just ended and we had plenty of time to get ready for the new season, but time has passed very quickly and is getting very short. Our first race on March 4th & 5th is less than 5 weeks away!
We thank all of our Loyal Sponsors for teaming up with us again for this exciting 2006 Season and welcome some new sponsors as well. Our 2006 Sponsors so far are Bardahl, Barnett Clutches, NGK, JIMS, Seacomm Erectors, Ironworkers Union, Barmon Lumber, PacificWest RV, Industrial Fab, Evergreen Erectors, Powers Concrete & Ed's Hydraulic Jack Repair.
This season will bring many changes for WFO Racing. We have added a few new team members to our roster, made some changes to the ProFuel Bike, made some dramatic changes to the coach and trailer and the team will be sporting a new look.
Keep your eye out for updates again this season. We are looking forward to an action packed season for sure.
WFO Racing Team
Racing Update November 2005
Las Vegas, NV
It was awesome weather for racing in Vegas. Vegas is the city for big winners and the WFO team was ready to WIN and WIN they did!
Qualifying started out with a full throttle run. John ran a 7.432 with the Pro Drag bike, starting out on top. When the long day was done and over the WFO team qualified in second place with a promise of some great racing on Sunday.
Pro Fuel - Had some early challenges with the bike but got it taken care of and qualified 6th overall out of a field of 16 with an ET of 7.144 at 192.71 mph our best so far on this new bike.
Sunday was a clear and warm for racing. The WFO team couldn't wait to get on the track. It was a very competitive day with some surprises and upsets along the way. John had a fantastic finish winning the ProDrag class and setting a new personal best at 181.23 mph. A great way to finish the day and the season.
WFO thanks the large group of fans that participated in Vegas this year as well as the sponsors that were there, including Barnett Clutches, JIMS and Kresto. A special thanks to Barnett for the canopies to use at the pits. They were a life saver since our old ones had been laid to rest. All in all, it was a great season. We finished as the West Coast Champions and a Great Second in the Nation. We are already gearing up for our 2006 Season and look forward to having all of our fans and sponsors participate again next year.
Sponsor Packages will be going out very soon and we hope you will want to be a part of our exciting plans for 2006. It just keeps getting better!
News Update September 7, 2005
St Louis, MO
It was Hot and 98 degrees at Gateway International Raceway.
We qualified number 2 on Saturday. We had a good tune in the Bike the first round and had good air, but the Belt broke at the line. The air got worse as the day went on. (Damn! Must be the Ribs!)
In the eliminations first round we ran our best number all day and also got a new Mile Per Hour Personal Best at 180.55 mph. In the Semi Final round we got a hole shot win with a .078 reaction time. John had a 10th of a second on Phil at the tree but Phil beat us to the finish line.
The rumor has been confirmed! The photo used for the Sturgis poster is plastered on a BIG billboard on Hwy 205 in Oregon. Not only that, but we found another one in St. Louis, Missouri!! We wonder if there are more? Where is WFO? If you find another Billboard besides these two, email us and let us know by sending us a photo. This is amazing advertising for our loyal sponsors!
