Houston, Prerace: It’s been four months since Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, David Hope has been in the heat of competition on the Vroom Racing Buell, and that amount of time can seem like an eternity to a passionate racer. So after this seeming endless interruption, Hope and the team are more than ready to immerse themselves in the action this weekend at the 22nd annual O’Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Motorsports Park in Baytown, Texas.
But the time between the last race of 2008 and this weekend didn’t go to waste. Both Hope and team owner, John Hammock were focused on preparing for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season. Hope used the time to get himself physically and mentally prepared for battle and Hammock made sure the beautiful Buell was also in peak performance condition.
“The team spent the off season looking for ways to improve our performance,” said Hammock. “David spent it working out and getting physically and mentally ready and I spent it on the engine program. I went over everything with a fine tooth comb and got together with some new ideas on what we needed in order to get our program more competitive.”
With this being the first full season Hope will be part of the team, he understands the importance of the role he plays. He used the off time to work at being his best, not only for the team but also for his life.
“My expectations for myself are very high,” Hope said. “I lead my life expecting success. I work hard and I look for results on and off the track. There is so much in life that comes our way that I try to prepare myself for what I can control. I am a very active person, so my natural tendency is to stay busy, especially when I have a little extra time during the off season. I have a full time job so that occupied most of my time during the day. I consistently worked out in the evenings to stay physically and mentally sharp which balances me for my pivotal role on the race team and for life.
“Along with that, John and I were in constant contact regarding upcoming plans and actions that were taking place for the bike and the teams focus this year. It’s all work that we hope shines through in our performance this year.”
For the Pro Stock Motorcycle class the season began a few weeks ago in Gainesville. But the Vroom Racing team decided to miss the first race of their season. They felt they could use the weekend to better prepare for the year ahead of them.
“We decided to miss Gainesville,” explained Hammock, “and go to the dyno to test our engines. We needed to find out where we were in horsepower and compare our new engine program against the old engine we ran last year. We feel our time was well spent. The dyno showed us why we were off on performance last year with the old engine and it also showed us the gains we have made with our new program. The increase in horsepower we have built should give us the opportunity to be very competitive this year.
“We also did some on track testing with the old program and it showed us the same results as we saw last year. So, the dyno testing of the new engine showed us a good increase in horsepower and torque and a much better power curve. And even though we haven’t been on the track yet with the new engine, we are hopeful that with four qualifying runs this weekend; we will be ready for eliminations on Sunday.”
As for Hope he has set lofty goals for the year ahead and he is ready and anxious to begin on that exciting journey that he has been preparing for all winter.
“My first goal for this year is to qualify at every race I attend,” expressed Hope. “I feel we are putting the components in place, mechanically and personally to achieve this goal. From there I believe Vroom Racing and I have the potential to become a top 10 team. I am aware that there are challenges ahead and I am fully prepared to face those challenges head on.
“I am looking forward to racing in Houston. I have never had the opportunity to compete at Houston Motorsports Park, however I feel it will offer myself and Vroom Racing the opportunity to begin our race year on a fresh note.”
But the time between the last race of 2008 and this weekend didn’t go to waste. Both Hope and team owner, John Hammock were focused on preparing for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season. Hope used the time to get himself physically and mentally prepared for battle and Hammock made sure the beautiful Buell was also in peak performance condition.
“The team spent the off season looking for ways to improve our performance,” said Hammock. “David spent it working out and getting physically and mentally ready and I spent it on the engine program. I went over everything with a fine tooth comb and got together with some new ideas on what we needed in order to get our program more competitive.”
With this being the first full season Hope will be part of the team, he understands the importance of the role he plays. He used the off time to work at being his best, not only for the team but also for his life.
“My expectations for myself are very high,” Hope said. “I lead my life expecting success. I work hard and I look for results on and off the track. There is so much in life that comes our way that I try to prepare myself for what I can control. I am a very active person, so my natural tendency is to stay busy, especially when I have a little extra time during the off season. I have a full time job so that occupied most of my time during the day. I consistently worked out in the evenings to stay physically and mentally sharp which balances me for my pivotal role on the race team and for life.
“Along with that, John and I were in constant contact regarding upcoming plans and actions that were taking place for the bike and the teams focus this year. It’s all work that we hope shines through in our performance this year.”
For the Pro Stock Motorcycle class the season began a few weeks ago in Gainesville. But the Vroom Racing team decided to miss the first race of their season. They felt they could use the weekend to better prepare for the year ahead of them.
“We decided to miss Gainesville,” explained Hammock, “and go to the dyno to test our engines. We needed to find out where we were in horsepower and compare our new engine program against the old engine we ran last year. We feel our time was well spent. The dyno showed us why we were off on performance last year with the old engine and it also showed us the gains we have made with our new program. The increase in horsepower we have built should give us the opportunity to be very competitive this year.
“We also did some on track testing with the old program and it showed us the same results as we saw last year. So, the dyno testing of the new engine showed us a good increase in horsepower and torque and a much better power curve. And even though we haven’t been on the track yet with the new engine, we are hopeful that with four qualifying runs this weekend; we will be ready for eliminations on Sunday.”
As for Hope he has set lofty goals for the year ahead and he is ready and anxious to begin on that exciting journey that he has been preparing for all winter.
“My first goal for this year is to qualify at every race I attend,” expressed Hope. “I feel we are putting the components in place, mechanically and personally to achieve this goal. From there I believe Vroom Racing and I have the potential to become a top 10 team. I am aware that there are challenges ahead and I am fully prepared to face those challenges head on.
“I am looking forward to racing in Houston. I have never had the opportunity to compete at Houston Motorsports Park, however I feel it will offer myself and Vroom Racing the opportunity to begin our race year on a fresh note.”
