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Tom Bradford and the Balbayis Asset Consulting/Hal's Speedshop team were working late Friday night, their Buell's rolling chassis sitting bare on the stands at 10:30 pm. The team had a good day, with Tom putting up the fifth best time in the first and only round of qualifying.
qualifying round 1
5th Tom Bradford left lane 7.098 at 185.61 mph
"It was a good, clean pass out of the box," said Tom. "One of the more interesting things was having to come here with an engine that was unassembled, which is very much against what this team is all about. But that's required by the NHRA for the Ringers Glove Battle."
The Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle is the NHRA's version of a Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star race, and Bradford is the only tour rookie in the field. The crowd at Friday's special press conference was stocked with fans, family and friends of the Hal's team. "I guess I'm the only one who gets all excited about that stuff," said Tom, as the other teams in the Battle were poorly represented. "That was the same group we had in Brainerd, minus my mom.
"So after going through a day of technical inspections and media relations involving the Pro Bike Battle, the team was finally ready for the 6:15 one run wonder. Talk about a long day."
The team did make a second pass, allowed to Pro Bike Battle competitors but not counting towards qualifying for the U.S. Nationals. Run just after the Hemi Challenge final, with thick strips of rubber on the line, Tom ran a quickest-of-the-round 7.12. "There may have been too much rubber. I think it bit too hard for what we had in it. The motor ran good and didn't fall off, but there's something not right in it and I don't want it to rear its ugly head in competition tomorrow. So the tech guys will have to come back tomorrow and drop the pan so they can look back in there and seal it up.
"It was tough to come down here with any motor other than 018 in it. That motor served us well for five races. I qualified number 1 on that motor, went 7.39 in Denver and qualified second, and made my 6 second pass. So we thought if we applied some of that tuning to 017, it would respond. But here we are putting 018 back in. The good thing is, we got two good laps in, one down each lane. So I'm confident no matter where we're going Saturday."
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Sept. 2, ESPN2 HD will televise one hour of qualifying
coverage at 5 p.m. (ET), highlight the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
Sunday, Sept. 3, ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute magazine
show at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 3, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage
at noon (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 3, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage
at 11 p.m. (ET).
Monday, Sept. 4, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of eliminations
coverage at noon (ET).
Monday, Sept. 4, ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations
coverage at 4 p.m. (ET).
Tom thanked sponsors Balbayis Asset Consulting, Hal's Speedshop, Hal's H-D/Buell, Vanson Leathers, Stitch-it-Embroidery, CRD Inc., T-N-S Machining, S&S Cycle, Buell Motor Co., Mustang Shelly's Roadhouse, Red Line Oil, MicroBlue Racing, Autolite, Simpson, Wiseco, Rinehart Racing, EBC Brakes, and The Carburetor Shop for their support of the Hal's/Thunder Eagle team.
Bradford Prepped for Battle
Tom Bradford and the Balbayis Asset Consulting/Hal's Speedshop team were working late Friday night, their Buell's rolling chassis sitting bare on the stands at 10:30 pm. The team had a good day, with Tom putting up the fifth best time in the first and only round of qualifying.
qualifying round 1
5th Tom Bradford left lane 7.098 at 185.61 mph
"It was a good, clean pass out of the box," said Tom. "One of the more interesting things was having to come here with an engine that was unassembled, which is very much against what this team is all about. But that's required by the NHRA for the Ringers Glove Battle."
The Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle is the NHRA's version of a Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star race, and Bradford is the only tour rookie in the field. The crowd at Friday's special press conference was stocked with fans, family and friends of the Hal's team. "I guess I'm the only one who gets all excited about that stuff," said Tom, as the other teams in the Battle were poorly represented. "That was the same group we had in Brainerd, minus my mom.
"So after going through a day of technical inspections and media relations involving the Pro Bike Battle, the team was finally ready for the 6:15 one run wonder. Talk about a long day."
The team did make a second pass, allowed to Pro Bike Battle competitors but not counting towards qualifying for the U.S. Nationals. Run just after the Hemi Challenge final, with thick strips of rubber on the line, Tom ran a quickest-of-the-round 7.12. "There may have been too much rubber. I think it bit too hard for what we had in it. The motor ran good and didn't fall off, but there's something not right in it and I don't want it to rear its ugly head in competition tomorrow. So the tech guys will have to come back tomorrow and drop the pan so they can look back in there and seal it up.
"It was tough to come down here with any motor other than 018 in it. That motor served us well for five races. I qualified number 1 on that motor, went 7.39 in Denver and qualified second, and made my 6 second pass. So we thought if we applied some of that tuning to 017, it would respond. But here we are putting 018 back in. The good thing is, we got two good laps in, one down each lane. So I'm confident no matter where we're going Saturday."
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Sept. 2, ESPN2 HD will televise one hour of qualifying
coverage at 5 p.m. (ET), highlight the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
Sunday, Sept. 3, ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute magazine
show at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 3, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage
at noon (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 3, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage
at 11 p.m. (ET).
Monday, Sept. 4, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of eliminations
coverage at noon (ET).
Monday, Sept. 4, ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations
coverage at 4 p.m. (ET).
Tom thanked sponsors Balbayis Asset Consulting, Hal's Speedshop, Hal's H-D/Buell, Vanson Leathers, Stitch-it-Embroidery, CRD Inc., T-N-S Machining, S&S Cycle, Buell Motor Co., Mustang Shelly's Roadhouse, Red Line Oil, MicroBlue Racing, Autolite, Simpson, Wiseco, Rinehart Racing, EBC Brakes, and The Carburetor Shop for their support of the Hal's/Thunder Eagle team.
