Bradford Regroups
It's not easy for a veteran racer like Tom Bradford to make the decision to skip a race date. But after a disappointing third straight Pro Stock Motorcycle DNQ, Bradford pointed his rig east out of Denver's Bandimere Speedway. "I'm not going to the next race in Sonoma, that's how frustrating it's become," Tom said. "I'm turning the truck around and heading home. We're gonna work on everything at the shop and get this bike right. We can't go to the Brainerd race not knowing if we're going to be in the show."
Bradford has always pushed the edge of development, putting his own 60 degree V-Twin Buell together with engine builder Rob Schopf before the S&S powered Buell he rides now was available. When Blake Gann developed a new clutch system earlier this year, Bradford was the first to try it on a Buell. And when approached with a new prototype part several races ago, Bradford decided to give it a try. That part isn't working on Tom's bike as he'd hoped, so he's removing it in favor of the more dependable and proven part run by most of the Buell teams.
"We've all seen what my team can do when everybody has the same stuff," said Bradford, a member of the Mickey Thompson 6 Second Club and competitor in last year's Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle. "So we're gonna learn the new equipment and test with it. Maybe the problem is two fold, so we'll be going through the motors thoroughly to make sure they're generating the proper output. If there are some aging issues with the motors, then maybe that costs us 5 horsepower. Then maybe development parts cost us another 5 horsepower, then we're down 10 and that's a lot. I do not have any concerns about the actual building of the engines. Rob Schopf has been doing a great job for us and is the best in the business. It is more about not leaving any stone unturned. We are going down a list of potential areas that could be the problem and checking them off as we confirm that they are OK.
"We have the full support of our primary sponsor The Sportsman Channel on the decision to skip Sonoma. Minnesota is a very important market for them, and we need to get back in the top half of the field there where we belong. The Sportsman Channel is a competitive company. They're the best at what they do, and they want us to be the same on the track. So we're gonna get this program turned around before we get back out there. This team will get through this and be a better team because of it. This type of situation just makes us work harder and be better!"
Tom thanked The Sportsman Channel, Red Line Oil, Balbayis Asset Consulting, Stitch-it-Embroidery, Hal's H-D/Buell, CRD Inc., Bates Leathers, S&S Cycle, Buell Motor Co., T-N-S Machining, Autolite, Simpson, and EBC Brakes for their support of the Thunder Eagle/Tom Bradford Racing Team.
Find out more about The Sportsman Channel at The Sportsman Channel
Find out more about Bates Leathers at Bates Custom Leathers
Find out more about S&S Cycle at S&S Cycle Home Page - Welcome
Find out more about Buell Motor Co. at http://www.buell.com
Find out more about Red Line Oil at Red Line Oil
Find out more about Hal's at Hal's Harley-Davidson Inc., Wisconsin, Harley-Davidson, Buell, motorcycle, dealer.
Find out more about Autolite at Autolite :: Home
Find out more about Simpson at Simpson Racing, Simpson Performance Products, Simpson Racing Products, Team Simpson - Team Simpson
Find out more about EBC Brakes at EBC Brakes - Home of the worlds largest range of brake products
Find out more about the NHRA at NHRA.com
Contact Tom Bradford at, [email protected]
NHRA/POWERade Point Standings
13th Tom Bradford 266
Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle Point Standings
14th Tom Bradford 840
Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship Point Standings
11th Tom Bradford/Rob Schopf 128
