Corrales, New Mexico- 7/1/2008- This week the Dawgs flew back east to attend the last leg of the All Harley Drag Racing Association’s eastern swing, the Northeast Nationals at Cecil County Dragway in Rising Sun, MD. They flew back to Ohio where they had previously left the rig at Mike Robert’s house. With so many flight delays, cancellation, another one put on stand by, then the lost luggage (with parts inside), taxi cab scams and lastly finding worn down batteries in the motorhome when they finally arrived, it was a wonder they ever made it to the track.
Finally, the Dawgs arrived at the track too late for Friday’s Test ‘n’ Tune but perfect timing to enjoy the pouring rain…Greg Krenik sighed “It just feels good to be here after the 36 hour adventure and then we added just a few wrong turns to find the track.” Now they had to see IF the ‘promised’ luggage would arrive, tonight. Steve Allstaedt, ‘engine Builder/tuner extraordinaire’ was also delayed coming in from North Carolina and arrived at 1 am…amazingly… with the ‘lost luggage’ that was found in a back room somewhere!
Saturday’s Qualifying started out with blue skies, high humidity and another new track to figure out. But first they had to set up their pit and Steve had to replace the broken parts before the first round. The first round of Pro Mod Greg ran an 8.663 at 150.21 mph to continue his streak of 8.66’s from Norwalk and put him in the #1 Qualifier spot. His 2nd pass was a bit slower at 8.674 but 151.00 mph. The 3rd pass he ran a 8.623 at 154.25 mph which put him in the #1 Qualifying spot for the weekend. The first round of Pro Stock, Greg ran an 8.419 at 164.33 mph. “We still have to figure out the clutch. We put more clutch in it in Norwalk but not enough for this track. We’re also having a small shifting issue.” said Greg. The 2nd round he ran an 8.410 at 156.05 mph. “We just don’t understand what went wrong on that run.” said Allstaedt. “Like Greg said, it may be the tranny acting up.” he added. On the 3rd pass, the fuel line came off one of the carbs and they had to act fast to stop the flow and get Greg to the line. They made it to the line, but as Greg staged, he ran out of fuel just as the tree activated. He pulled the kill and they backed the bike off the line. He ended the day in the #3 Qualifier position.
Sunday was Elimination Day and the Dawgs were ready to go. Greg was on the PS first and racing the current points leader. Greg ran an 8.252 at 165.17 mph taking the win light and the points lead…at least for one round. Greg had a bye run on the PM in the first round because of an odd number of bikes. He ran an 8.553 at 158.33 mph breaking the AHDRA ¼ mile ET and MPH record. He had already backed up the ET record with his 3rd qualifying pass so this was now the New AHDRA record. Now, he just had to back up the MPH. “I love it when a plan comes together!” said Steve. We had a chance to use the bye run to try something different. We changed a bunch of stuff we normally wouldn’t have and it worked…the conditions were right on that pass and we broke the record.” he added.
In the PS semi finals the Dawgs thought they were on the right path. They had lane choice over the #2 Qualifier and they made some changes that should work. The run started out with Greg red-lighting, taking himself out of the race with a –0.009 light. He didn’t know he redlit and was running the bike to win but it didn’t shift into 2nd. “Man, just when you think things are going great, wham!” said Greg. “We almost broke the MPH record in the first round and got the bike running as fast as the two guys ahead of us. We made some changes that should’ve worked but the bike didn’t shift. I guess we didn’t follow our check list and change out those gears after four races….that’s my fault.” he added. In the PM semi’s, Greg ran an 8.604 at 153.44 mph taking the win light but still not backing up the MPH record. That put him in the finals against Randy Borho again! At this race, Greg had the faster bike and Randy tried to get him on the tree and took off too fast, red-lighting and giving Greg the win. Greg ran an 8.606 at 152.61 mph but not good enough to get the MPH record. “We had the PM running great today but the weather went away. We made some changes but with Greg and Randy waiting in the rain before their final I knew the record wasn’t going to happen….we just wanted the win.” said Steve.
“What an unexpected surprise breaking the record was!” Greg said. “I had no idea until one of my competitors crew came down and announced it. Then the riders from the next class stopped by to congratulate me…HOW COOL!” he added.
This weekend, the Dawgs spent some time with some of their Sponsors, John Magee-Bandit Machine and Mike Hager from Regina Chain. They also had some good friends, Scott, Vicki and Jamie Furber stop by to visit…and cheer Greg on to win!
2008 AHDRA Points Chase:
Pro Stock:
Shaun Reno- 567 pointsp
Greg Krenik- 531 points
Bruce Beltramini – 525 points
Pro Modified:
Greg Krenik- 764 points
Randy Borho- 621 points
Donnie Huffman- 326 points
YES, we are going for the 2008 AHDRA Championships in BOTH Pro Classes and we could really use some help with Diesel Dollars...any donations are gratefully accepted! THANK YOU!
Up next for the Desert Dawgs:
August 5-6, Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts Race at the Rally, Sturgis, SD
August 8-10, Rush Thunder in the Valley Nationals, Bristol, TN
Krenik WINS BOTH Pro Stock & Pro Mod and takes the Pro Mod #1 Qualifying Spot in Norwalk!
Corrales, New Mexico- 6/16/2008- The Dawgs flew back east to attend the All Harley Drag Racing Association’s Roeder Harley Davidson Ohio Bike Week Nationals in Norwalk, leaving some of the driving (and fuel costs) for later. Flying into North Carolina to pick up Crew Chief/Engine Builder, Steve Allstaedt and the rig then they all hit the road North, where the first evening was spent with Deb & Bill Bader and Steve LeTempt for dinner and desserts aplenty, at their home. This was a GREAT time to catch up with them and makes plans for more time together in the future.
Friday Test and Tune was rained out and even though the Desert Dawgs loved hearing the pitter patter on the roof, they really needed to get on the track and see how the bikes would work. The Pro Stock’s clutch has been giving them trouble for the last three races and they were anxious to solve the problem.
As the Dawgs travel all over the USA, each track is different and they were anxious to see what the Bader Family & Team had in store for the riders-track preparation wise. It is always an issue…BUT they proved to know the business better than most. Jeff and Timothy and the Norwalk Team presented the AHDRA riders with a track that PS & PM could take. “Every time I went to find Greg’s launch spot on the starting line, I was pleasantly surprised. The Starter Jeff, always watched ‘what I was looking for’ and he saw the immediate results when Greg made his pass. They made my job easier!” noted Karen Raffa.
The 3 Qualifying runs on Saturday gave Steve the information he needed to put Greg in the #1 Qualifying Spot in Pro Mod with an 8.666 and #2 in the Pro Stock Class! Steve mentioned “Racing without Test and Tune puts SO much more pressure on us. By the end of Qualifying Saturday, we still didn’t have the PS clutch dialed in…we were still breaking the tire loose…I was very frustrated. After talking with Greg we decided to take the clutch and the motor back to nothing…make it so soft that there would be no way to spin the tire, of course our 60’ times and ET would suffer but then we have the horsepower to get some ET back on the top end.” The pressure was on Steve and Greg to make the right decisions!
The Pro Stock dinner was hosted by KW Seneca’s Red Dragon Racing and was a very relaxed time, they are a great bunch of riders, family and all around good people. Down the pit lane a bit was the louder and wilder side of the AHDRA with a Top Fuel Band and the all out Fagan Party which rocked the house until Midnight-GREAT FUN!
Sunday-Race Day-was another incredibly beautiful day, but was threatening rain, so the show had to move quickly. Greg started the day on the starting line with the other #1 Qualifiers, for cheers and jeers and a HUGE crowd that made plenty of noise to make them feel special!
Eliminations- first up was the Pro Stock. “We had to add a little bit to the tune up a little at a time.” said Krenik. “We were racing the points leader in the first round. Steve and I were both trying to figure what to change without going too far…we were so nervous.” he added. With the good track prep provided by the track personnel they were able to change the tune enough to get the win. The first round on the Pro Mod went perfect. Greg had a bye run due to an odd number of qualifiers and ran an identical 8.666 that had earned him the #1 Qualifying spot.
The second round of PM had Greg running a 8.668 (an 8.66 three times this weekend) taking the win and getting a quick nickname from the tower of ‘Agent 66’.
With the semi-finals next, the Dawgs were still changing the tune on the PS…adding a bit more to see if the track could take the power that they were putting down without breaking the tire loose. It worked, they took the win with an 8.33!
The PM run was flawless, Greg ran an 8.68, just shy of the previous three 8.66’s. “We were so close to the edge with that clutch that we tried a ¼ pound more air pressure in the rear tire to prevent driving through it.” said Steve. “It had the opposite effect, we had a slower 60’ and it showed at the top end but still taking the WIN Light!” he added.
Now the rush to get the bikes ready for the ‘Double Finals’. The Pro Mod seemed ready, just take the ¼ pound out of the rear tire. Greg’s run was perfect, running an 8.65, saving the best for last, his fastest time of the weekend while taking the win from Bruce Chandler. Now to quickly ‘get towed’ back to the starting line to run the PS in the final, where he was up against the #1 Qualifier, Shaun Reno. The Dawgs adjusted the tune- yet again- to see what they could get out of it. Reno had the faster bike but Greg had him on the tree with a 0.016 reaction time and beat him down the track with an 8.31. This was also Greg’s best PS run of the weekend. “Man, the PS hooked up, that was our best 60’ time since Phoenix.” said Greg. “We still had way too much fuel in it but it got us to the line first.” he added. “It feels so great to win… and to win twice in one event AND at Norwalk is so fantastic I can’t describe it…awesome!”
Seeing her husband Greg WIN Both classes at the Bader Family Track was EXTRA special for Desert Dawg Karen, she had worked for IHRA from 1998-2002 and had an opportunity to have some laughs with friends-Debra Sue, Bobbie, Jaime & Billy Bader and all the many familiar track faces and local friends. Plus they rode their pit bike up to the IHRA offices to see Pam & Jim Marchyshyn. Also ‘deep down’ Greg celebrated and dedicated his DOUBLE WIN to his Dad –on Fathers Day- who passed away in April! Happy Dad’s Day!
An incredible High, this weekend and only 10 days to come down and hit the track in Maryland. The Team had some sponsors stop by to visit, Jerry Francis from Mickey Thompson and Mike Hager from Regina Chain, to give their support and encouragement…Thank you! Also, the Dawgs ‘THANK’ Mike Roberts and Amy for allowing the rig to rest in Ohio as the Dawgs fly back to New Mexico and will return to drive 8 hours to the East coast. Then, after racing in Maryland, they plan to spend some time with the McClain Family (Karen’s Maiden name) on Fire Island for the July Holiday…WOW…rest and fun, family and swimming in her hometown, Greg will be crazy with the New York accent within a couple of hours or will it be minutes!
2008 AHDRA Points Chase:
Pro Stock:
Bruce Beltramini – 491 points
Greg Krenik- 475 points
Shaun Reno- 449 points
Pro Modified:
Greg Krenik- 626 points
Randy Borho- 524 points
Bruce Chandler- 282 points
YES, we are going for the 2008 AHDRA Championships in BOTH Pro Classes and we could really use some help with Diesel Dollars...any donations are gratefully accepted! THANK YOU!
Up next for the Desert Dawgs:
Northeast Nationals in Cecil County, MD June 28 –29
McClain Mini Family Reunion Fun, Sun and Surf, Fire Island, July 1-4
May 28, 2008-Corrales, New Mexico - The Desert Dawgs- Greg Krenik, Karen Raffa, Steve Allstaedt and Justin Lail regrouped on the East Coast for the Eastern Swing which kicked off at the Stone Mountain Harley Davidson Southern Nationals in Atlanta, GA then leaving the rig in the East for the upcoming Ohio and Maryland All Harley Drag Racing Associations National events.
Packing the rig for 3 events and not having the bikes in New Mexico is tough, all around. You have to bring EVERYTHING! Every clutch plate, belt, shifters, and every spare part you have in stock, you just never know what you will need! The drive East was ‘windy’, again, they love the tail winds but those side winds just beat Greg up-especially with those ‘new elbows’. They stopped for the first time in Amarillo, TX to photograph and explore Cadillac Ranch. It was way windy and super cool and ‘graffiti’ was encouraged, hmmmm.
Steve and Greg got the bikes ready for Friday’s test and tune. They had their work cut out for them, they were putting a new clutch in the Pro Stock. Not just a new clutch but one made out of a different material. They had no data what-so-ever to set it up. They ran in the right lane and the Pro Modified ran very good, so good that they blew the MPH record away on both passes. It was odd that the ET didn’t get faster also. The Pro Stock only made one pass, they missed the clutch setup and drove through it, but the bike shifted and even with all the problems they still broke the mph record...odd, once again, that the ET was so slow and the mph was so fast. Maybe for race day things will be figured out. They were happy with the speeds but still questioned them.
Saturday’s qualifying was good and also frustrating. The Dawgs were about to find out how fast the left lane was, because Greg drew the left lane for the first and third runs for both classes. The Pro Mod was first, Krenik ran an 8.64 at 151 mph, that put him in the #1 spot. OK, a faster ET but almost 6 mph slower from Friday in the right lane.…interesting. The Pro Stock was next and he ran an 8.36 at 163.93 mph which was good enough to be #1. The 163 was very close to the AHDRA National record.
The second round was in the right lane and the PM broke loose and ran an 8.65 but at 153 mph. Greg still held the #1 spot. On the PS it also broke loose pretty bad shoving Greg close to the wall, he backed out of it to run a 12.69. He was in the #2 qualifying spot.
The third round of qualifying got worse. In the staging lanes just before Greg was to go to the water box on his PM he noticed cuts in his rear tire. Apparently the chain had been rubbing on the side of the tire and had rubbed it almost through. They opted to not do their last qualifying run with Greg holding on with the #1 Qualifier position. Once again, the Pro Stock had the tire break loose and Greg was off the pace with an 8.42. He had to settle for the #3 Qualifier spot. “Man, the track was a moving target.” said Krenik. “We’d make a run, get the data, make changes and the track would deteriorate and it would be like we did nothing. We have a really fast bike, but you’d never know it by watching us today.” he added.
Sunday, the day that counts. “We made our clutch changes for today based on best guesses.” said Allstaedt. “After the last two races we now know you have to account for less than adequate track prep. Many questions go through your head before the elimination rounds begin…Did they prep before the Pros start? Did they do a better job than Saturday? We have a narrow window with the PS clutch…with a good consistent track, we will be hard to beat. One that is not, you see what has happened these last three events. We slip the clutch to avoid breaking the tire loose but either we go through the clutch or the fingers lock up too fast and we spin the tire. A very fine line. Also, if we break the tire loose at the hit of the throttle the tranny won’t make the first shift, it gets bound up until the rpm drops.” said Steve.
The Pro Stock is up first on Sunday and Greg took the first round win and set the ¼ Mile MPH record at 165.48 mph while running an 8.39…in the left lane! In Pro Mod, Greg had a bye run because of there being an odd number of bikes. The Dawgs used the bye run as their 3rd test run. Greg got out of the groove a bit and broke the tire loose before going into second gear finishing with an 8.70.
The second round of PS had Greg racing against the current points leader. They really needed the win. With the latest adjustments to the clutch they thought they were on track. At the hit of the throttle Greg broke the tire loose, thus giving Bruce the win as Greg missed the first shift. On the PM, Greg ran an 8.71 due to breaking the tire loose again but he took the win advancing to the semi finals.
In the semi’s Greg was against Randy Borho. Randy beat Greg on the tree by a hundredth and pulled him at the top end for a 0.03 second win. The Dawgs would not go to the finals at this event.
“We did well but others did better. We set a record in PS and also broke the PM record but so did Randy by a little more so it’s his, congrats to him!” said Greg.
Up next for the Desert Dawgs:
Roeder Harley-Davidson Ohio Bike Week Nationals in Norwalk, OH June 13 – 15
Northeast Nationals in Cecil County, MD June 28 -29
Desert Dawg Krenik - Personal Best & Pro
Mod R-up
Corrales, NM - May 4, 2008
The Desert Dawgs finally returned to the Dawg pound in Corrales, New Mexico after spending over 3 weeks and traveling over 4450 miles on the road to 2 AHDRA National events and the other days in the World of Medicine-Hospitals and Hospice, watching, wondering and praying for Greg’s Dad’s recovery.
After parking the Motorhome, also known as ‘IT’, at numerous places in Minnesota with the Dawgs in constant vigil over Dad Krenik’s medical decisions and healing…Jim Krenik did pass away after just one day in Hospice, but over 3 weeks in the hospital. His head trauma had taken him down as far as he wanted to go and then he ‘slipped out the door’ quietly.
After the Mass/Funeral and Full Honors Military Burial, the Dawgs once again hit the road and landed safely for the AHDRA Lonestar Nationals in Ennis, Texas. The change in weather was enough to cheer up the Dawgs, they had not felt warmth or seen blue sky in weeks.
The Texas sky was blue for Friday’s Test ‘n’ Tune and Greg ran his Personal Best on his Pro Mod, an ET of 8.602 seconds giving his tuner, Steve Allstaedt hope that the weekend would be good. Then on Saturday it was the other kind of Blew -WIND. Saturday winds were so hard, that the Fuel teams decided to race on the 1/8 mile during Qualifying. Greg Krenik’s Pro Classes- Pro Stock and Pro Mod stayed at the ¼ mile and Greg worked hard to secure the #1 Qualifying spot in Pro Mod with an 8.613 pass. Mission Accomplished!
The track prep was not good, at least for the Pro Stock. The Dawgs could not take enough clutch out, to get the tire to hook up. All three qualifying passes Greg broke the tire loose and ended up in the #4 Qualifying position. On a positive note, Greg’s changing of the transmission gears in fellow PS competitor Bruce Beltramini’s driveway on Wednesday seemed to have fixed the shifting problem. Thank you Bruce!
Sunday, Elimination Day, much to everyone’s surprise the track prep had improved to what it should have been on Saturday. This made for a lot of upsets and threw everyone for a curve. The Dawgs took a lot of clutch out of the PS thinking the track would be similar to Saturday. Not so. In the first round, Greg burned through the clutch resulting in no hope of winning the round. “I can’t believe it, the track should be similar for both days.” said Krenik. “That’s four clutches we’ve gone through this season, that’s more than all of last year, but, at least it shifted.” he added.
After the Pro Stock fiasco, the Dawgs put the Pro Mod on the lift and put clutch back into it. It worked, Krenik ran an 8.63 for the win. The PM was running great, the only thing suffering was Greg’s concentration, his reaction times were his absolute worst. In the final, Greg finds himself, once again up against Randy Borho. Greg had the faster bike all weekend so the final was to be another good race. Randy got Greg on the tree, 0.027 to .061 but Greg was running him down, an 8.65 to Randy’s 8.68. But there was not enough track for Greg to pass, Randy took the stripe by 0.004 seconds. “Man, that was disappointing, close, but disappointing.” said Greg. “We’ve raced in the finals three times this season and all have been real close, 0.003, 0.007 & 0.004 win margins…..a good show for the fans.” he added.
“These two races were really tough for us.” said Steve. “I don’t think I’ve had a clutch apart so many times in such a short period of time in my life. We just couldn’t get a handle on the track. Greg did well by riding the bike straight while the tire broke loose, well, except for that first run where he almost crossed the centerline. We’ll just have to put the PM losses behind us and get ready for the Eastern swing beginning in Atlanta.” he added.
As you can see, the Desert Dawgs are aggressively pursuing
the AHDRA National Championship in Pro Stock and Pro Mod and also the Western
Championship in both classes. At this time, to accomplish that goal…ANY
monetary help is accepted to put diesel in the rig to get them to the races.
Would you like your name on these race bikes and on their trailer too...call
now!
The Desert Dawgs are in transit from the All Harley Drag Racing Association’s
(AHDRA) Gypsy Rendezvous Nationals in St. Louis, MO where everything from earthquakes,
rain and ‘close calls’ dominated.
The trip from Corrales, NM to St. Louis started a week sooner than expected. Greg’s Dad, Jim, had a bad fall and was in the hospital. It was not a good week as his health deteriorated and they had to move him to a care facility without much hope of him recovering. Then the ride from Bloomington was smooth for about 130 miles before the transmission on the motorhome started having issues. The Dawgs made the trip in 4th gear…making it in 16 hours instead of the normal 10 hours. Then, a half hour after being parked in the Allison Transmission dealer’s parking lot the ground started to shake with the rare 5.2 earthquake. Karen commented that someone could be breaking into the trailer or walking on the motorhome…Greg was so tired, he just claimed it was the wind.
Making it to the track to set up the pit and finish the reassembly of the two bikes for TNT. The rain had other ideas and Greg’s Friday was a day spent in the cramped trailer with Steve Allstaedt, as the two of them tried to get the bikes ready. Steve said “We had a few new things we wanted to try and get set during TNT & Qualifying but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Saturday started a little late because the track needed to be dried due to another early rain shower. Greg’s concentration on racing was nowhere to be seen. On his first launch of the day he looked like it was his first time on a bike, it sat him straight up and sent him over to the right. For as bad as it was, it was his best run on the Pro Modified at an 8.640 which was good enough to be the #2 qualifier. The Pro Stock had what seemed like a terminal case of transmissionitis in addition to blowing through the clutch. No matter what they did they could not get it to shift correctly. Greg ended the day as the #6 qualifier. Back to work on the two bikes...take everything off that they put on Friday and go back to where things were in Phoenix. Then find some new clutch fibers…thanks to Jordan Cruz, a fellow PS rider, they got a new set on Sunday morning.
Sunday was a nice sunny day, a new start. Greg started on
the Pro Stock against James Surber. The bike failed to make the shift the first
2 times but Greg stayed on it. At the 1/8 mile Surber’s clutch broke and
he lost the piece holding it together. As his bike fell off the pace Greg was
able to pull around him for the win. Lucky break! Back in the pits, the Dawgs
noticed they shredded the teeth off the belt again. Another problem to overcome
in the future. In the second round of PS Greg was up against the #1 Qualifier.
The bike made the first shift and for a split second they thought they would
get the win but then the tranny failed to shift into 3rd ending all hope. “I
just don’t get it.” said Greg. “This was the biggest nightmare
trying to figure out what is going on with this bike and we still don’t
know what’s up. We don’t have time before Dallas to do anything with
it so I don’t know what we’ll do.” he added.
The Pro Modified ran great in the first round moving Greg on. He had his fastest
run of the weekend in the Semi’s with an 8.63 which put him in the finals
against Randy Borho, the #1 Qualifier. The final was another race for the books…a
mere 0.003 separated them off the line, Greg was ahead to the 1000’ mark,
but Randy taking the finish line stripe by 0.007 seconds with both riders running
8.64’s. They sure did give the fans a show. “Considering what Greg’s
been through and what’s ahead of him in the next few days we think he did
an awesome job.” said Steve. “Now we just have to figure out what’s
wrong with the Pro Stock and fix it. I guess we know what we’ll be doing
in Dallas while everyone else is running TNT .” he added.
Next up for the Dawgs is the Lonestar Nationals, May 1-3, 2008 in Ennis, TX
On a sad note, Greg’s Dad past away last night. God Speed Dad.
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.
Desert Dawgs ROCK the 2008 opening AHDRA
event
One WIN, One Runner-UP and One MPH Record!
Corrales, NM 3/3/2008
The All Harley Drag Racing Association’s Screaming Eagle Performance Parts Bike Week Nationals, the first event of the season in Gainesville, FL was a Big start for Greg Krenik’s Pro Mod and Pro Stock Bikes tuned by Steve Allstaedt of SA Racing in North Carolina.
The 30 plus hour drive from the Desert Dawgs home in New Mexico to Steve’s Shop in Fletcher, North Carolina to put the refurbished motors in the bikes was pretty smooth. The trip was fun and knowing that warmer weather was on the horizon made it easier to get there. Arriving in NC on Sunday before the race, they first had to install the motors. Greg and Steve worked hard to get them in the bikes and thought maybe they would have some time to test...somewhere in FL? They tried, but Orlando Speed World advertised a test and tune and they decided to cancel it at the last moment, a big shock to us, after sitting in their driveway for 5 hours.
For 2008, both bikes have a new aerodynamic look. Greg and Steve knew they would need some bodywork to make the bikes go faster and with Brian’s (Unique Services) help, they attached the new bodywork in record time. Then Dave at Leading Edge Customs decided that Greg needed a new look to his helmet so he added the ‘rabid’ Desert Dawg on both sides of Greg’s helmet in addition to painting the bodywork the day before the Dawgs left!
The first race of the season always has the most unknowns. By adding the new bodywork, it really messed with the tune-ups on both bikes so the Dawgs struggled during qualifying. “We decided to radically change the tune-up because the bikes just wouldn’t run right with the new bodywork.”, said Krenik. “We changed the voltage on the Pro Mod so our air/fuel sensors didn't work during testing so we had to tune the old way, by reading the plugs.” he added. Greg qualified #2 on the Pro Mod with an 8.68 et, just behind Greg’s rival from last year, Randy Borho’s 8.63 et. On the Pro Stock he qualified #4 with an 8.28 et. “We just couldn't get that bike down the track.”, said Allstaedt. “We blew through the clutch, then it wouldn’t shift into second gear and on the 3rd pass we missed the jetting really bad. That makes for sleepless nights trying to figure out where we went wrong.” He added.
Sunday was a new day… Elimination Day! The Pro Stock was first to run and Greg won the round with an 8.42, which was way off the pace. The Pro Mod’s first round was a win- even though the tire spun really badly as Greg fishtailed all the way through first gear. This sent Greg and Steve back to the drawing board for both bikes, in between rounds…YIKEES!
In the second round of Pro Stock we witnessed Greg blasting down the track with an 8.17 et breaking the AHDRA Pro Stock MPH record at 166.35 MPH. Steve was jumping around on the starting line, knowing this was the 1st time they had broken a Pro Stock record and that had been in place since March 2006. A BIG WIN and Record for the Desert Dawgs!
In the Pro Stock semi finals Greg paired up against Reno, the #1 qualifier. Greg cut a 0.001 reaction time and outran him to the finish with a 8.18 to an 8.19 at 164.53 MPH. Next, Greg’s Pro Mod run was much the same as his second, spinning the tire but riding it straight to the end of the track, for the win. “We took a lot of clutch out each round on the Pro Mod but nothing seems to make a difference. We're at the same place we were when we drove through the clutch in qualifying.”, said Steve.
Time for the finals. YES, both Bikes are in the Finals!! First up is the Pro Mod and Greg is racing against Randy Borho, the #1 qualifier. Randy gets Greg on the tree, a 0.025 to a 0.028. At the 1/8 mile Randy is at a 5.600 to Greg’s 5.606. At the 1000’ they are both at 7.330. Greg takes the win with a 8.826 to Randy’s 8.832. Margin of victory, 0.0034 seconds. WOW, what a race! Both bikes spun their tires as the track was in the shade as the sun was setting. Beating Randy at the first race of the year was a good ‘pay-back’ after loosing the Championship to him last season! “Greg really handled the bike well on those Pro Mod launches, the last three wins came because of him not letting the bike get away from him. We're putting a lot of power to the ground and we just couldn't get that 7” tire to hook up.”, said Steve.
Now the trick is to calm Greg down and get him on the Pro Stock for the finals… Greg is riding the faster bike. He’s racing against James Surber, the #2 qualifier. Greg trees James 0.017 to a 0.114 but at the hit of the throttle Greg shreds the teeth off the motor belt and James takes the win.
“What a way to start the season, Steve did an awesome job figuring the bikes out on Sunday, he'd work on one bike between rounds, then the other bike the next round, we just don't have the time to work on both between rounds on Sunday. We get a little more time before the finals because they reverse the order, but not much. We both completely forgot that our belts need to be replaced after 13 passes...this one ‘shredded’ on the 15th.” said Greg.
Steve’s afterthoughts, “When Greg told me that there was no R & D money for the new season and we would just have to run the same combination, I got a little worried. I knew we were going to have to refine what we already had to be competitive. We were able to make what we already had work to our advantage, without any major changes, using a little bit of creative thinking and a lot of prayer.”
“This was an incredible weekend and a great start to the 2008 Race season. As usual, Greg will race some of the toughest competitors in his 2 classes, which will make it hard and fun at the same time” said Karen Raffa –Greg’s wife. “ My job on the team is small, I am picking the spot in which my husband will launch his motorcycles and then reach speeds in excess of 160 mph in 1320 feet. So, I look and touch very carefully to make sure Greg has a solid spot to ‘take-off’ from and then it is his job to get down the rest of the track. He had some squirmy rides this weekend, not for the faint of heart!” Karen added.
The Dawgs take the next weekend off from racing and then attend the Albuquerque Super Bike Show on March 14-15…then 2 weeks later head to Phoenix for the first AHDRA Western Division race of the season.
Desert Dawgs Are Ready for the AHDRA 2008
Season
Corrales, NM 2/10/2008
The Desert Dawgs (Greg Krenik, Steve Allstaedt & Karen Raffa) are getting ready to race for the 2008 All Harley Drag Racing Association’s National Championship in both Pro Stock and Pro Modified! In the Dawg’s first full season (2007) in the Pro Classes they had SO much fun, plus they finished the year #2 in Both Classes, that they want to go for the #1 Plate in 2008!
Meanwhile, the off-season has been a rebuilding time for Greg. Not only did he turn 50 years old, he also had both elbows operated on (an old windsurfing injury) and is getting himself in shape to hold onto the bikes without over doing his rehab. The rebuilding of the bikes has been limited to a refreshing of the cranks, heads and transmissions because of a loss of 2/3 of their cash sponsors. With the budget constraints, they are going to try for more speed by designing a more aerodynamic look for both bikes this season.
This season they would like to welcome back their sponsors: Thunderbird Harley-Davidson, SA Racing Inc., Unique Services Inc., Leading Edge – The Motorcycle Paint Pros, Custom Coating, OUTLAW Racing Fuels, CP Pistons, Mickey Thompson Tires, Lyndall Racing Brakes and Bandit Machine Works. And welcome their NEW sponsors that are joining them in 2008: S&S Cycle, Regina Chain and Boot Guard.
The 2008 season starts in Gainesville, FL for the “Screamin’
Eagle Performance Parts Bike Week Nationals” Feb 29 – Mar 2. The Dawgs
will leave Corrales, NM on Feb 22 to drive to Steve Allstaedt’s SA Racing
shop in Asheville, NC. There, they will install the motors in both bikes, and
head to the track to fire them up and start the 2008 Chase for the Championship.