The Desert Dawg’s Smash the Records at “The Rock”
(Beating the ¼ & 1/8 mile ET records 11 times)
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/dogs.jpg" alt="dogs" align="left"borders="0"/>
Rockingham, NC - What a way to end the final event of the 2008 All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) season, at the Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts Finals at “The Rock” in Rockingham, NC with perfect conditions for racing. The Desert Dawg’s motto for this season was “Are you having fun?” and boy, did they ever!
The eight day finale started with Greg and Karen flying into Charlotte, NC and having Wayne Pugh’s (Greg’s teammate) Mom, Fleta Thomas and Whit, drive them up to their rig at AHDRA headquarters after having a great dinner and plenty of time to catch up on what’s been going on.
They arrived to find, once again, the rig had powered down and so all their food had to be tossed from the refrigerator. It was a short trip to the WalMart parking lot to sleep and shop in the morning.
Arriving at the track and meeting Crew Chief, Steve Allstaedt on Thursday in the rain was not the way they wanted things to start. They had a lot to do to the bikes to get ready for Friday’s first round of qualifying. Karen Raffa was trying to figure out how to fit the entire AHDRA staff in the motorhome for Taco dinner that evening if it continued to rain. Around 3pm the rain stopped and Karen went to work setting up the AHDRA contingency at the Tech trailer while Greg and Steve set up the pit and started to work on the bikes. The AHDRA Year End Dinner went off without a problem while the Dawg’s continued to work on the bikes.
Friday started with Greg sick and ended with Greg sick (NOT from the Taco dinner) in between they got the bikes together. They had to fix the problem they had from the last race where the Pro Stock nosed over in the finals. The Pro Mod was going to be ‘turned loose’ to see where her edge was this weekend. There was a plan to get the PS Championship but it required an even number of bikes. Greg was counting on Shaun Reno being the #1 Qualifier, so it was his job to qualify last. This would pair them up in the first round and if Greg could beat him and make the finals he would get the Championship. Ahhh, best laid plans……
The test ‘n’ tune session was early Friday afternoon and very crowded. The Dawgs got one pass on each bike. The PS had some issues and the PM ran an 8.54, only 0.01 off the record. So, both bad and good, time to make changes and line up for the 1st round of qualifying which started one hour after TnT.
First up was the PM and Greg ran an 8.516 breaking the record he had just set in Richmond. “I said to Craig Tharpe (AHDRA President) at top end after that TnT run, this was going to be a fast weekend and the records would fall.” said Greg.
Up next was the PS and Greg has to run slow to be the last qualifier, not an easy job on that bike. Reno ran first and had some issues and runs a ridiculous time of 19.69. Two bikes don’t make it out of the water box and Greg is last to go and runs an ever so slow time of 28.38. Now, Greg is last but there is an odd number of bikes and Reno is just above him in the qualifying…the plan is not working too well. “I think Greg did very well today considering when he wasn't on the bike he was in the bathroom.” said Steve.
Saturday started out with rain so things got off to a slow start. Once the rain stopped and the track prepped, the Class ‘run order’ was changed. Greg found himself called to the lanes on short notice but they were ready. Greg went down the track as the first Pro Mod in the 8.40’s, running an 8.497! “Wow! The run didn't feel that good. I guess that’s what happens, the ones that feel good are slow and vice versa” said Krenik. Steve Stute, Randy Borho’s tuner, came to get Randy at top end and announced the record time. “Cool!” he added.
The PS was next and back to the game of qualifying. It was time to tune the bike and make some runs. Greg and Reno pair up, Greg spins the tire some and makes what is going to look like a fast run but shreds the belt in 5th gear while running a 9.27 and Reno runs an 8.08 pass for the #1 spot. The set up is now perfect except Greg can't count to 10. Greg still thinks there are 9 bikes and he is now 6th after that round. So he goes across the scales thinking he will get paired up with Reno in the 2nd round of eliminations. Not until later does he find out his mistake. And he does MATH all day being a civil engineer!
The final round of qualifying is another up and down cycle. Greg runs the PM down the track at an 8.463 breaking the record again. The PS started out great but Greg crossed the centerline and got his run Disqualified “Not exactly how I wanted to end the day.” said Krenik. “Tomorrow’s another day and we're going for wins in both classes.” he added.
Sunday, blue skies and warmer weather greeted everyone. Mom & Dad McClain drove over from Myrtle Beach to see the Dawg’s race. They LOVED IT!
Karen’s parental units, watched from the tower and were spoiled by Colbert, then they enjoyed Greg out on the starting line with the other #1 Qualifiers for the opening ceremonies to begin the show.
Up first was the PS, Greg put the win light on but it was not a pretty run. “The bike is having a 5th gear shift issue but we think it’s the belts.” said Allstaedt. “All we have are used narrow belts and they are loose. So in 5th gear we think the belt is slipping on the pulley. No one else runs this size so we're stuck changing them between rounds and hope we don't run out before the day ends.” he added.
Up next is the PM and Greg runs an 8.51 and takes the win. “We put the tune back some just to be safe in the first round. We want the bike to shift and get to the next round.” said Greg.
In the 2nd round Greg runs his fastest pass of the year on the PS with an 8.154 taking the win. “We got it all to work.” said Steve. “And we shredded another belt in the process, we only have two of them left.” he added.
Because of the number of bikes, Greg had a bye run in the 2nd round. He ran an 8.430 breaking the record yet again. “We just dialed it down further and it all worked. I short shifted 1st and ran 2nd out too long and I was dragging my left foot through two gears so I thought it was going to be a bad run. When I found out what we ran I couldn’t believe it.” said Greg.
In the 3rd round of PS Greg is paired with Shaun Reno, the #1 Qualifier and points leader. Not much left to do now but have fun. They both have near identical reaction times but Shaun’s bike has trouble shifting into 2nd so Greg pulls ahead but then Greg’s bike won't go into 5th gear and Shaun catches back up. Greg keeps pushing the button and it finally shifts in time for Greg to get the win by 0.02 seconds.
In PM, the Dawgs dialed the bike back a bit and ran an 8.50 taking the win.
For the second race in a row and the 6th time this season Greg is in double finals. Up first is the PM where Greg is racing Randy Borho. Greg runs an 8.433 taking the win. “We were hoping to break the record again, maybe get an 8.399, we dialed it down about as far as we could but didn't get the jetting right, it didn't cool off as much as we thought it would so we went fat on top.” said Steve. "What an unbelievable run, we ran faster than the old Richmond records 11 times…7 times in the 1/4mile and 4 times in the 1/8mile!" exclaimed Krenik.
After rushing back to the starting line Greg gets on the PS and runs an 8.19 taking the win against Danny Worth. “I had pulled Greg’s PS, up to the line, knowing he would be rushed in the double final AND the fact that it would be his LAST ride on that bike…I wanted him to have fun” exclaimed Raffa…”and he sure did…HE WON”!
“What a fitting end to a gloriously ‘Blessed year’, with all the miles and hours on the road, away from home, driving a 70ft rig all over the country. We may never have another year as Fun as this one…2 Pro bikes, in SO MANY winners circles, so many new friends and laughs. The people are what make it all worthwhile, they make the competition hard and the laughing easy, we are proud and humble to be a part of the AHDRA as racers and as an Official. We hope we can be on the road again in 2009 to get together, cook, sleep, party and compete with all of you again!
The Desert (“Dessert”) Dawgs
Greg Krenik, Wayne Pugh, Steve Allstaedt and Karen Raffa and Sadie Mae too!
Final 2008 National AHDRA Standings:
K&K Marine Pro Modified:
Greg Krenik- 1208 points CHAMPION!!!
Randy Borho- 922 points
Bruce Chandler- 440 points
S&S Pro Stock:
Shaun Reno- 860 points
Greg Krenik– 848 points Runner-up by only 12 points!
Eddie Lee- 743 points
Up next for the Desert Dawgs:
Celebration Time –Championship Party at the Krenik/Raffa Residence Oct 25, 3pm
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
SA Racing Inc.: 828-674-6225 Steve Allstaedt
Unique Services Inc.
Mark Goodwin & AssociatesLeading Edge Customs: Welcome to Leading Edge Customs
Custom Coating: 505-626-2605 Erin McGonagle
CP Pistons
Mickey Thompson Tires
Lyndall Racing Brakes
Regina Chain USA
Synergy Coatings
Vicki & Scott Furber
And the Martin Family!
Plus a Big Thanks to all the AHDRA Contingency Sponsors!
More at AHDRA All Harley Drag Racing Association
(Beating the ¼ & 1/8 mile ET records 11 times)
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/dogs.jpg" alt="dogs" align="left"borders="0"/>
Rockingham, NC - What a way to end the final event of the 2008 All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) season, at the Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts Finals at “The Rock” in Rockingham, NC with perfect conditions for racing. The Desert Dawg’s motto for this season was “Are you having fun?” and boy, did they ever!
The eight day finale started with Greg and Karen flying into Charlotte, NC and having Wayne Pugh’s (Greg’s teammate) Mom, Fleta Thomas and Whit, drive them up to their rig at AHDRA headquarters after having a great dinner and plenty of time to catch up on what’s been going on.
They arrived to find, once again, the rig had powered down and so all their food had to be tossed from the refrigerator. It was a short trip to the WalMart parking lot to sleep and shop in the morning.
Arriving at the track and meeting Crew Chief, Steve Allstaedt on Thursday in the rain was not the way they wanted things to start. They had a lot to do to the bikes to get ready for Friday’s first round of qualifying. Karen Raffa was trying to figure out how to fit the entire AHDRA staff in the motorhome for Taco dinner that evening if it continued to rain. Around 3pm the rain stopped and Karen went to work setting up the AHDRA contingency at the Tech trailer while Greg and Steve set up the pit and started to work on the bikes. The AHDRA Year End Dinner went off without a problem while the Dawg’s continued to work on the bikes.
Friday started with Greg sick and ended with Greg sick (NOT from the Taco dinner) in between they got the bikes together. They had to fix the problem they had from the last race where the Pro Stock nosed over in the finals. The Pro Mod was going to be ‘turned loose’ to see where her edge was this weekend. There was a plan to get the PS Championship but it required an even number of bikes. Greg was counting on Shaun Reno being the #1 Qualifier, so it was his job to qualify last. This would pair them up in the first round and if Greg could beat him and make the finals he would get the Championship. Ahhh, best laid plans……
The test ‘n’ tune session was early Friday afternoon and very crowded. The Dawgs got one pass on each bike. The PS had some issues and the PM ran an 8.54, only 0.01 off the record. So, both bad and good, time to make changes and line up for the 1st round of qualifying which started one hour after TnT.
First up was the PM and Greg ran an 8.516 breaking the record he had just set in Richmond. “I said to Craig Tharpe (AHDRA President) at top end after that TnT run, this was going to be a fast weekend and the records would fall.” said Greg.
Up next was the PS and Greg has to run slow to be the last qualifier, not an easy job on that bike. Reno ran first and had some issues and runs a ridiculous time of 19.69. Two bikes don’t make it out of the water box and Greg is last to go and runs an ever so slow time of 28.38. Now, Greg is last but there is an odd number of bikes and Reno is just above him in the qualifying…the plan is not working too well. “I think Greg did very well today considering when he wasn't on the bike he was in the bathroom.” said Steve.
Saturday started out with rain so things got off to a slow start. Once the rain stopped and the track prepped, the Class ‘run order’ was changed. Greg found himself called to the lanes on short notice but they were ready. Greg went down the track as the first Pro Mod in the 8.40’s, running an 8.497! “Wow! The run didn't feel that good. I guess that’s what happens, the ones that feel good are slow and vice versa” said Krenik. Steve Stute, Randy Borho’s tuner, came to get Randy at top end and announced the record time. “Cool!” he added.
The PS was next and back to the game of qualifying. It was time to tune the bike and make some runs. Greg and Reno pair up, Greg spins the tire some and makes what is going to look like a fast run but shreds the belt in 5th gear while running a 9.27 and Reno runs an 8.08 pass for the #1 spot. The set up is now perfect except Greg can't count to 10. Greg still thinks there are 9 bikes and he is now 6th after that round. So he goes across the scales thinking he will get paired up with Reno in the 2nd round of eliminations. Not until later does he find out his mistake. And he does MATH all day being a civil engineer!
The final round of qualifying is another up and down cycle. Greg runs the PM down the track at an 8.463 breaking the record again. The PS started out great but Greg crossed the centerline and got his run Disqualified “Not exactly how I wanted to end the day.” said Krenik. “Tomorrow’s another day and we're going for wins in both classes.” he added.
Sunday, blue skies and warmer weather greeted everyone. Mom & Dad McClain drove over from Myrtle Beach to see the Dawg’s race. They LOVED IT!
Karen’s parental units, watched from the tower and were spoiled by Colbert, then they enjoyed Greg out on the starting line with the other #1 Qualifiers for the opening ceremonies to begin the show.
Up first was the PS, Greg put the win light on but it was not a pretty run. “The bike is having a 5th gear shift issue but we think it’s the belts.” said Allstaedt. “All we have are used narrow belts and they are loose. So in 5th gear we think the belt is slipping on the pulley. No one else runs this size so we're stuck changing them between rounds and hope we don't run out before the day ends.” he added.
Up next is the PM and Greg runs an 8.51 and takes the win. “We put the tune back some just to be safe in the first round. We want the bike to shift and get to the next round.” said Greg.
In the 2nd round Greg runs his fastest pass of the year on the PS with an 8.154 taking the win. “We got it all to work.” said Steve. “And we shredded another belt in the process, we only have two of them left.” he added.
Because of the number of bikes, Greg had a bye run in the 2nd round. He ran an 8.430 breaking the record yet again. “We just dialed it down further and it all worked. I short shifted 1st and ran 2nd out too long and I was dragging my left foot through two gears so I thought it was going to be a bad run. When I found out what we ran I couldn’t believe it.” said Greg.
In the 3rd round of PS Greg is paired with Shaun Reno, the #1 Qualifier and points leader. Not much left to do now but have fun. They both have near identical reaction times but Shaun’s bike has trouble shifting into 2nd so Greg pulls ahead but then Greg’s bike won't go into 5th gear and Shaun catches back up. Greg keeps pushing the button and it finally shifts in time for Greg to get the win by 0.02 seconds.
In PM, the Dawgs dialed the bike back a bit and ran an 8.50 taking the win.
For the second race in a row and the 6th time this season Greg is in double finals. Up first is the PM where Greg is racing Randy Borho. Greg runs an 8.433 taking the win. “We were hoping to break the record again, maybe get an 8.399, we dialed it down about as far as we could but didn't get the jetting right, it didn't cool off as much as we thought it would so we went fat on top.” said Steve. "What an unbelievable run, we ran faster than the old Richmond records 11 times…7 times in the 1/4mile and 4 times in the 1/8mile!" exclaimed Krenik.
After rushing back to the starting line Greg gets on the PS and runs an 8.19 taking the win against Danny Worth. “I had pulled Greg’s PS, up to the line, knowing he would be rushed in the double final AND the fact that it would be his LAST ride on that bike…I wanted him to have fun” exclaimed Raffa…”and he sure did…HE WON”!
“What a fitting end to a gloriously ‘Blessed year’, with all the miles and hours on the road, away from home, driving a 70ft rig all over the country. We may never have another year as Fun as this one…2 Pro bikes, in SO MANY winners circles, so many new friends and laughs. The people are what make it all worthwhile, they make the competition hard and the laughing easy, we are proud and humble to be a part of the AHDRA as racers and as an Official. We hope we can be on the road again in 2009 to get together, cook, sleep, party and compete with all of you again!
The Desert (“Dessert”) Dawgs
Greg Krenik, Wayne Pugh, Steve Allstaedt and Karen Raffa and Sadie Mae too!
Final 2008 National AHDRA Standings:
K&K Marine Pro Modified:
Greg Krenik- 1208 points CHAMPION!!!
Randy Borho- 922 points
Bruce Chandler- 440 points
S&S Pro Stock:
Shaun Reno- 860 points
Greg Krenik– 848 points Runner-up by only 12 points!
Eddie Lee- 743 points
Up next for the Desert Dawgs:
Celebration Time –Championship Party at the Krenik/Raffa Residence Oct 25, 3pm
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
SA Racing Inc.: 828-674-6225 Steve Allstaedt
Unique Services Inc.
Mark Goodwin & AssociatesLeading Edge Customs: Welcome to Leading Edge Customs
Custom Coating: 505-626-2605 Erin McGonagle
CP Pistons
Mickey Thompson Tires
Lyndall Racing Brakes
Regina Chain USA
Synergy Coatings
Vicki & Scott Furber
And the Martin Family!
Plus a Big Thanks to all the AHDRA Contingency Sponsors!
More at AHDRA All Harley Drag Racing Association
