One Hell of a Season
The last race report told of us setting the 1/8th mile record. Well we did it again at the Battle Royale! Stotz Racing now owns the best 330, 660, and 1000 ft times. The quarter-mile mark is still the ultimate goal and we repeated our 6.77 but got rained out and had to finish the battle in Rockingham, NC. We marched our way to another final but Frankie cut the tree a little too close and turned on the red light.
That makes 7 races with Stotz Racing going to the final every time. We are now looking for another final and our third win at the Man Cup World Finals at SGMP in Valdosta, Georgia.
The World Finals at the Man Cup was a double race with the DME Racing $10,000 All-Star Shootout Thursday and Friday and Man Cup’s APE Pro Street Finals Saturday and Sunday. Falicon Cranks and Rods rushed to get another crank finished, and the JE Pistons and DCV-Twin head were able to go right back together with the same Robinson trans with another new crank. We put the Airtech bodywork back on and headed for Georgia. We picked up our good friend Steve Nichols of MaxxECU on the way down. Thursday’s first round of qualifying showed us the machining that Sikora Precision had done for us fixed the clutch basket, but our clutch tune-up was off. We got better but were not able to win the DME Racing Shootout. As I said we got better and Friday night in the Man Cup race qualified #1 with a personal best of 6.70 ET only 4 hundredths off the world record.
Sunday’s eliminations saw the weather get colder and the air get better. Joe Monge Jr, Honda’s Red Rider Program Coordinator came up from his duties in Gainesville, FL to check out the Stotz Racing team collecting our #1 qualifier award and was able to see the best Motorcycle Drag Racing in the world. The better weather indicated that we take a pound of boost out. The bike still wheelied but Frankie saved the run with his riding and we advanced to the third round. I took another pound of boost out but it just wheelied later in the track. Frankie rode the wild wheelie but it was not enough to advance to the semifinals.
Pro Street has had more than its fair share of drama in the past but thanks to the considerable time, effort, and financial support (2-$10,000 races!) of Team DME Racing, Pro Stock Inc’s Chris Connelley, and Dave and Jason Dunigan’s famous racer appreciation dinners, Pro Street is once again, the most fun-loving group of very competitive racers to square off in the staging lanes and then shake hands on the return road.
This season got a late start due to Frankie’s injuries but we finished very strong in 2017 and should come out swinging at the first race of 2018. A very special thank you to; Honda Pro Oils and American Honda for the best-engineered bikes in the world. DC V-Twin’s head flowing max air to JE’s new lightweight pistons spinning the Falicon Crank and Rods on the Microblue bearings. Robinson’s trans for putting 500+ horsepower to the DME Swingarm, M2 Shock and the BST Carbon fiber wheels putting it to the ground straight and true. Thanks to Brandi of Dragbike.com for keeping us in front of the social media sites and for managing our website, and Tim Hailey of eatmyink.com. AirTech Bodywork and Speed & Strength for keeping Frankie safe and looking great. Kurt of Sikora Precision ‘s machining and fabricating is second to none. Mark at mobiledynomometer.com and Brian at Win Racing for the countless hours of Dyno development time. Steve Nichols of Dyno Dynamics for many, many hours of development on the new MaxxTuning.com ECU that has put us back at the top of the Pro Street class. And last but never least, Sharon, my lovely wife and Frankie’s mom for making it easier for us to get away to race and then putting smiles on our faces as we get home.
See you in 2018!