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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. Meet their Sponsors and their products:
Thunderbird Harley-Davidson: New Mexico, Harley, Harley-Davidson, Buell, Motorcycle, Dealer, Thunderbird Harley-Davidson/Buell
SA Racing Inc.: 828-674-6225 Steve Allstaedt
Unique Services Inc.: www.uniquesvcs.com
Mark Goodwin & Associates: Providing quality engineering services for residential and commercial development in our community.
Leading Edge Customs: Welcome to Leading Edge Customs
Custom Coating: 505-626-2605 Erin McGonagle
CP Pistons: CP Pistons - Home
Mickey Thompson Tires: Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels
Outlaw Race Fuels: 775-690-3488 MacMonagle Family
Lyndall Race Brakes: Lyndall Racing Brakes
Regina Chain USA: Welcome to REGINA USA
Bandit Machine Works: Bandit Machine Works: Clutches and Belt Drives and Related Parts, Tools, and Accessories for Harley Davidson Motorcycles
Synergy Coatings: Team Synergy Coatings: Automotive & Industrial Performance Ceramic Coatings
Boot Guard: 866-547-2668
And the Martin Family!
Plus a Big Thanks to all the AHDRA Contingency Sponsors!
More at AHDRA All Harley Drag Racing Association
Desert Dawg Greg Krenik Wins both Pro Stock & Pro Modified and Qualifies #1 in both classes!!!
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. Meet their Sponsors and their products:
Thunderbird Harley-Davidson: New Mexico, Harley, Harley-Davidson, Buell, Motorcycle, Dealer, Thunderbird Harley-Davidson/Buell
SA Racing Inc.: 828-674-6225 Steve Allstaedt
Unique Services Inc.: www.uniquesvcs.com
Mark Goodwin & Associates: Providing quality engineering services for residential and commercial development in our community.
Leading Edge Customs: Welcome to Leading Edge Customs
Custom Coating: 505-626-2605 Erin McGonagle
CP Pistons: CP Pistons - Home
Mickey Thompson Tires: Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels
Outlaw Race Fuels: 775-690-3488 MacMonagle Family
Lyndall Race Brakes: Lyndall Racing Brakes
Regina Chain USA: Welcome to REGINA USA
Bandit Machine Works: Bandit Machine Works: Clutches and Belt Drives and Related Parts, Tools, and Accessories for Harley Davidson Motorcycles
Synergy Coatings: Team Synergy Coatings: Automotive & Industrial Performance Ceramic Coatings
Boot Guard: 866-547-2668
And the Martin Family!
Plus a Big Thanks to all the AHDRA Contingency Sponsors!
More at AHDRA All Harley Drag Racing Association
