2/28Practice, DeLand Airport
3/1Road race, DeLand Airport
3/3Daytona registration & tech
3/4Road race, Daytona International Speedway
3/5Road race, Daytona International Speedway
3/6AHRMA Board Meeting, road race awards banquet, DeLand Holiday Inn
Entry deadline January 21, 2002. Info, (615) 851-3674 or www.ahrma.org
From a press release:
With the demise of the Skorpion Cup contingency class in 2002, the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association has created a new class for the MuZ Skorpion machines that have run with AHRMA for the past five years, as well as other production-based four-stroke singles such as the BMW F650, KTM Duke and Buell Blast.
The new Production Singles class is open to any four-stroke single-cylinder motorcycle available for sale to the general public and intended for street use in the U.S. and Canada. The machines must meet AHRMA’s SuperStock standard, which stipulates:
. No engine or chassis modifications.
. Stock wheels and forks. Fork springs may be changed. Modern DOT race tires must be used.
. The original carburetor and airbox must be used. Jetting changes are allowed.
. Allowable changes include brake master cylinder, brake lines, pads, rotors, shocks, handlebars, control cables, fuel and oil lines, exhaust system, and chain and sprockets.
. Replacement fairings and bodywork must be a cosmetic duplicate of the original and made of fiberglass or plastic (no carbon fiber).
The Production Singles class will debut at AHRMA’s 2002 Florida Bike Week events, March 1, at the DeLand Airport, and March 4-5 at Daytona International Speedway. For information, call 615-851-3674, 913-268-4401 or visit www.ahrma.org.
Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Traxxion Dynamics’ Max McAllister released the first versions of a new product called “Traxxion Generators” at the Formula USA National road race at Pocono in August 2001. The patent-pending Traxxion Generators are essentially shock warmers that operate in the same manner as tire warmers, to bring the shock up to operating temperature before going on track, allowing the rider to make the most of his or her track time during practice. Now NASCAR’s Winston Cup teams have taken an interest in Traxxion Dynamics’ newest product.
“They were originally tested on Jeff Gordon’s car at Talladega super speedway two weeks ago,” McAllister told Roadracing World. “Then Penske Racing Shocks asked us for a model-specific shape, one to fit a non-coil-over damper. Winston Cup shocks are just exposed damping units. We made one that fit snuggly to the body of a NASCAR shock, then we sent a finished set to the Homestead track and they tested them with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. last week.
“When I told Penske about the idea (for shock warmers), they were pretty anxious to test it. Due to their experience with shock dynos, they were aware how much a shock changed from ambient to operating temperature. It doesn’t have anything to do with cold weather. It’s a bigger deal when it’s cold. But with a shock absorber, it doesn’t matter if it’s 100 degrees out. A shock’s operating temperature is so much higher than that, that the change it goes through from ambient to operating temperature is huge.
McAllister’s company completed a special production run of the NASCAR Traxxion Generators, and the Traxxion Dynamics founder is currently circulating the pits at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend talking to the teams about his latest invention prior to the Winston Cup NAPA 500.
“They’re all real worried about Loudoun next week, in particular,” said McAllister via cell phone from the AMS pits on Friday, November 16, referring to the NASCAR race at New Hampshire International Speedway that was re-scheduled from the weekend after September 11 to the Thanksgiving weekend. “I have probably talked to a dozen shock techs already this weekend. We spent an hour with Tony Stewart’s shock tech this morning. He was so ready for it (the Traxxion Generators). He already had a plan to invent some crude thing himself to pre-heat a shock. Those guys have 140 shocks here at the track! Just Tony Stewart’s car! And that’s just what they brought to the track not counting stuff they left at their shop for shorter and longer tracks.
“When they go out in practice, they’ll change 10 shocks in just a few minutes. So basically what they’ve been stuck with is what a sprint racer is used to. Like if they change one corner (of the car), they have to run three laps to evaluate how the car’s working. With having the shock pre-heated, they will be able to go out and go full speed right away. What makes it more important is that NASCAR keeps cutting their time down. It’s gone from an hour and a half to an hour to 45 minutes of practice. And just like us (motorcycle racers), if somebody goes out, pops a motor and oils the track down – that’s just it. They might only get a couple of laps of open practice.
“The trick is NASCAR is gonna make this not legal to use on pit road. So what the guys are gonna do is pre-heat their shocks in the trailers and just stick ‘em on the car. It only takes ten seconds to put a shock on a car. NASCAR is concerned because when they used to try to pre-warm rear ends they would have cords dangling off the cars and what not.
“He (Stewart’s shock tech) said the other place that it will help him is pre-heating shocks to test on the dyno. Because ordinarily they put a shock on the dyno, they have to heat the shock up on the dyno by running it, by moving it, and it takes a lot of time to dyno their shocks. This way he will be able to just chunk them on and they’ll be pretty much ready to go.
McAllister said that #20 Tony Stewart, #28 Ricky Rudd, #88 Dale Jarrett and #2 Rusty Wallace now have sets of his Traxxion Generators this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“These are the people that have them,” pointed out McAllister. “These are the people that have expressed interest and we have given them to, but we can’t say whether they are gonna use them or not.”
In related news, Traxxion Dynamics Inc. recently, moved into a new, 4500-square-foot facility at 261 Rope Mill Parkway, in
Woodstock, Georgia 30188. This relocation coincides with the launch of a comprehensive Products section at www.traxxion.com, phone (770)592-3823, FAX (770)517-9332.
From a press release:
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association is embracing the next generation of classic road racing with three new Vintage Superbike classes, catering to motorcycles built through the 1980 model year. AHRMA’s Vintage classes previously topped out with 1972 machines.
To be eligible for Vintage Superbike, machines must be based on street-legal models that were sold in the United States or Canada. Many engine and frame modifications are permitted, but the overall look of the motorcycles must remain as close to “production” as possible. For example, the headlight and taillight shells must be retained, as well as the instrument housings, original fuel tank, seat and fenders. Tail sections, fairings and clip-ons cannot be added unless they are original equipment from that particular model. Treaded racing tires must be used.
Vintage Superbike classes include:
. Heavyweight – Unlimited-displacement twins and triples; six-cylinders to 1047cc; eight-valve fours to 931cc; and 16-valve fours to 825cc.
. Middleweight – pushrod twins to 890cc; pushrod triples and OHC twins to 790cc; and four-cylinders to 685cc.
. Lightweight – two-valve singles to 590cc; four-valve singles to 510cc; and two- or more cylinder machines to 470cc.
The displacement limits are absolute, including any overbore.
Vintage Superbike will make its debut at AHRMA’s 2002 Florida Bike Week events, March 1, at the DeLand Airport, and March 4-5 at Daytona International Speedway. For information, call 615-851-3674, 913-268-4401 or visit www.ahrma.org for a complete description of the new class rules.
Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Bill Conger, a Novice-licensed road racer with WERA, is racing a 2001 Ford Taurus in the Pork The Other White Meat 400 ARCA race at Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday, November 17.
“I’ve been sport riding for a while and doing track days and stuff,” said Conger, a 35-year-old GSX-R600 rider. “A buddy of mine, Andy Mueller who works for Performance Honda in Charlotte, they used to sponsor a bunch of track days. He’s a racer and he said, ‘Dude, you’ve gotta come race.’ So I did the riders school in July at Road Atlanta and did three races in my first weekend. It was a four-region deal and I started dead-last in all four races of about 40 guys or something. I got up to 18th or 20th, something like that. Then I went to the National at Summit Point. I think I did four races and finished top 10 in all four. I plan on doing a lot more races next year.
“This is only my second ARCA series race. I’ve been in racing since 1992, though. I used to road race Formula cars. I worked out at Russell Racing School in California. Then I worked at the Jim Hall Racing School in Ventura, California. Then in the fall of ’94, I moved to Charlotte because stock car racing’s always been what I wanted to do. I started working at the Fast Track stock car school. I worked there almost seven years. I’ve also done a couple of late-model stock car races. I’ve probably got 50,000 miles in these big stock cars doing school-type stuff. When it comes to the racing side of the stock car, I’m still a Novice, though.”
The field Conger is racing against includes three-time ARCA Champion (including 2001) Frank Kimmell, Kerry Earnhardt (son of the late Dale Earnhardt), Jason Jarrett (son of Dale Jarrett), Justin Labonte (son of Terry Labonte) and, strangely enough, Emerson Newton-John (nephew of singer Olivia Newton-John).
Conger got off to a good start by qualifying 8th out of 41 entries Thursday, November 15 with a lap time of 29.780 seconds, an average speed of 186.165 mph around AMS’ 1.54-mile oval. Kimmell is on the pole with a new lap record of 29.356-second lap at 188.854 mph. Earnhardt and Jarrett out-qualified Conger, but Conger was faster than Labonte Thursday. Then in Friday’s “Happy Hour”, Conger moved up past Jarrett and Earnhardt to fourth-fastest and closed the gap between himself and the quickest driver, Kimmell. Where Conger had been 2.7 mph slower than Kimmell Thursday, Conger was only 1.3 mph slower in the “Happy Hour” session.
“Things are going pretty good so far. I think we have a pretty good car for the race,” said Conger via cell phone from the AMS paddock Friday afternoon.
There were rumors going around that Conger, largely unsponsored except for some help from a friend at Crescent Trucks of New Orleans, was running WERA stickers on his car at Atlanta.
“They’re the small series stickers that they make you run on the motorcycle,” explained Conger. “I’ve got one of those on the B-post. Andrew (Mueller) was talking to Sean (Clarke, WERA Operations Manager) and we might try to work a deal out and run (a big hood sticker).”
The ARCA Pork The Other White Meat 400 race will be televised live at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on TNT.
With Conger’s experience in road racing cars and bikes, and in stock car racing on ovals, we asked him how the two different disciplines compared.
“It’s hard to compare them because I love them both,” said Conger, who earns a living doing free-lance test driving for auto manufacturers, including a stint tire testing for Pirelli with Ferraris, Lambouginis and Saleen Mustangs at Homestead last year. “I love road racing and I love stock car racing. It’s just totally different. In road racing, it seems like you can make up for an ill-handling car. A driver can compensate for a bad-handling car. Where in stock car racing, a driver makes a car handle well because if it doesn’t handle well, it’s undriveable.
“People think, ‘Aw, you’re just going around in circles.’ But people don’t realize, if you take the length of a road course that is two miles long and actually map out the turns, the turns on a two-mile road course are probably less than a mile, maybe actually a half-mile. If you look at an oval like Atlanta (Motor Speedway) here, it’s a mile and a half but the corners are a half-mile long each and the two straightaways are only a quarter of a mile. So you’re looking at a mile of corners and a half-mile of straightaways. So you kind of figure if your car doesn’t handle right, you’re going backwards in a hurry.
“So when it comes to driving, it’s a totally different deal. (In stock cars) You’re focusing constantly on making the car as good as it can be. Because if the car’s not good you’re not gonna make up for it. In road racing, it’s easier to compensate driving styles for an ill-handling race car. Yeah, you want to make it the best, but you can compensate it. So there’s a different mind set there when it comes to driving the cars.
“But I love them both. I’ve told people that I wish that I would’ve gotten into bikes at a much younger age because I think people can get a lot further on their own dime in motorcycle racing because the costs are a lot less. So you can take yourself to a higher level cheaper than you ever could in stock car racing. I’m not setting the world on fire in the motorcycle stuff, but I think I could’ve done well.
“It’s been since November of last year when I was last in a stock car before testing here last week. And actually motorcycle racing helped a lot because I didn’t have to get used to the speed. Usually, you have to get your timing up and all that. Even though we’re going a lot faster (than motorcycles) and these cars accelerate hard, it still doesn’t accelerate as hard as a motorcycle. That rush of being shoved back into the seat, it’s no greater in a car than being on a motorcycle. So the bike has actually kept me in shape and kept me going comfortable and used to the speed to get in these stock cars.”
From press releases:
OMS Ltd. & National Promoters Group Join Forces For ‘02 MX Season
OMS to be”exclusive” marketing/sales & PR agency for Outdoor National Series
Officials at OMS Ltd. today announced the formation of an allegiance with the National Promoters Group – the 11 promoters of the popular U.S. Outdoor National Motocross Series. With the agreement, OMS Ltd. becomes the exclusive marketing and sales agency of the NPG’s outside-of-the-industry sponsorship inventory.
According to the NPG’s legal counsel, Carrie Coombs, the agreement came about as a result of OMS Ltd.’s successful efforts in acquiring sponsorship for the series last year. “The workload through out the year for the individual promoters that make up the NPG is incredible,” cited Coombs.”With that in mind, the NPG set out this year to identify an organization to assist in the ultra-important area of series sponsorship sales. We had worked with OMS in the past and are confident that the organization, given its proven track record, can continue to increase sponsorship revenue for the Outdoor Nationals.”
Spearheading the agreement with the NPG was OMS Ltd. founder Fred Bramblett. “OMS Ltd. has aligned itself with the Outdoor National Series for several years through its representation of a number of the top athletes on the tour,” he said. “We’ve found that, in addition to working with sponsorship sales with our clients, that series sponsorship opportunities would often arise. So given our company’s success in the field of motorcycle industry sponsorship, particularly with outside-the-industry sponsors, the exclusive marketing and agreement with the NPG presents us with an exciting opportunity.”
In addition, OMS Ltd. will also be working with the NPG as the PR and media development firm of record for the Outdoor Nationals Series.The terms of both deals were undisclosed.
OMS Ltd. is a global, full-service sport marketing agency specializing in athlete representation, strategic marketing partnerships, industry relations, licensing and merchandising opportunities in the world of Extreme Personal Powersports. For more information, contact Fred Bramblett at (859) 647-0718 or visit our web site at www.omsltd.com
OMS Ltd. signs Pat Schutte as new Media Director
In an effort to bolster its leading position with client representation in the Extreme Personal Powersports industry, OMS Ltd. today announced it has hired former PACE Supercross PR manager Pat Schutte as its Director of Media – effective immediately.
Schutte,who spent the last two years working in auto industry for an agency representing such firms as DaimlerChrysler and General Motors, returns to powersports industry PR after a transitional summer internship with Racer Productions.
“I’m stoked to be back,” said Schutte, who will work out of an OMS satellite office in Ann Arbor, Mich. “I learned a great deal working with organizations the size of DaimlerChrysler and General Motors. And as exciting as auto racing can be, honestly, my heart was always with the motorcycle and action sports industry. I’m certainly looking forward to applying to OMS Ltd. clients what I learned by traveling all over the world with race cars. I also can’t wait to re-establish some of the friendships that I built when I was with PACE and the supercrossseries.”
Sharon Richards promoted to Director of Client and Customer Services
Richards,who was with Kawasaki for 12 years, will oversee the implementation of client services to OMS’ athletes competing all over the planet. In addition, she will liaise with OMS’ numerous industry sponsors, including American Honda, Parts Unlimited, Thor – as well as outside-the-industry sponsors such as Universal Studios, Dr. Martens, Journeys and AMSOIL.
“This new position is more in tune with what I’ve been involved with in the past,” said Richards. “I’m looking forward to assisting with the day-to-day intricacies of a fast-paced, global sports agency such as OMS. Be it supercross, motocross, freestyle, road racing, dirt track – whatever– myself, and our whole team at OMS, is looking forward to continual growth in 2002 and the years to come.”
Said OMS founder Fred Bramblett: “I’ve been working with Pat since his days with PACE, have seen first hand the results he can produce, and look forward to his contributions with OMS. Sharon is well known throughout the industry for her commitment to riders and the sport. Both will do nothing but increase the value of OMS to our clients.”
OMS Ltd. is a global, full-service sports marketing agency specializing in athlete representation, strategic marketing partnerships, industry relations, licensing and merchandising opportunities in the world of Extreme Personal Powersports.For more information, contact Fred Bramblett at (859) 647-0718.
Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Formula USA will hold a National Road Race Series event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California in October, after the end of the 2002 AMA season. A press release issued by Laguna Seca lists the June 7-9 CART car race, the July 12-14 AMA/WSB race, the August 16-18 Vintage car race, the September 20-22 American LeMans car race, and a “Fifth Event (TBA) October”.
Formula USA will also sanction the traditional June 14-16 Father’s Day Weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, formerly sanctioned by AMA.
Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Harley-Davidson Vice President of Government Affairs Tim Hoelter has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Commission Against Drunk Driving (NCADD). According to a press release from The Motor Company, Harley-Davidson is the first motorcycle manufacturer to be “affiliated with NCADD”. The NCADD Board is comprised of representatives from Miller Brewing Company, Anheuser-Busch, Toyota, Ford and now Harley-Davidson.
The NCADD is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that succeeded the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving established by Ronald Reagan in 1982.
“Driving a motorcycle, or any vehicle, while intoxicated is extremely dangerous,” Hoelter is quoted in the release as saying. “Motorcycle riding requires balance, motor skills, awareness and concentration, all things that are missing or dulled when riding impaired. Harley-Davidson’s role with NCADD will be to continue raising awareness and working to reduce impaired riding.”
Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Inside sources say that negotiations over a 2002 AMA National at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course have stalled over AMA Pro Racing’s demand that the Lexington, Ohio track pay a $70,000 increase in sanction fees (compared to the 2001 fees).
The impasse has caused a delay in the release of the 2002 AMA Superbike Championship calendar.
MRA members voted to stay the course set by the current Board of Directors by electing a slate largely endorsed by outgoing MRA President Connie Kassel.
Election results for the 2002 season follow:
President: Andrew Drattlo
Vice President, Rules and Tech: Bart McKeirnan
New Rider Director: Mark Schellinger
Secretary: Gina Fallon
Track Marshal: Doug Lyle
Treasurer: Marc Levin
Rider Reps:
Mark Nudelman
Jim Brewer
Alice Palmer
Vic Mokler
2/28Practice, DeLand Airport
3/1Road race, DeLand Airport
3/3Daytona registration & tech
3/4Road race, Daytona International Speedway
3/5Road race, Daytona International Speedway
3/6AHRMA Board Meeting, road race awards banquet, DeLand Holiday Inn
Entry deadline January 21, 2002. Info, (615) 851-3674 or www.ahrma.org
From a press release:
With the demise of the Skorpion Cup contingency class in 2002, the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association has created a new class for the MuZ Skorpion machines that have run with AHRMA for the past five years, as well as other production-based four-stroke singles such as the BMW F650, KTM Duke and Buell Blast.
The new Production Singles class is open to any four-stroke single-cylinder motorcycle available for sale to the general public and intended for street use in the U.S. and Canada. The machines must meet AHRMA’s SuperStock standard, which stipulates:
. No engine or chassis modifications.
. Stock wheels and forks. Fork springs may be changed. Modern DOT race tires must be used.
. The original carburetor and airbox must be used. Jetting changes are allowed.
. Allowable changes include brake master cylinder, brake lines, pads, rotors, shocks, handlebars, control cables, fuel and oil lines, exhaust system, and chain and sprockets.
. Replacement fairings and bodywork must be a cosmetic duplicate of the original and made of fiberglass or plastic (no carbon fiber).
The Production Singles class will debut at AHRMA’s 2002 Florida Bike Week events, March 1, at the DeLand Airport, and March 4-5 at Daytona International Speedway. For information, call 615-851-3674, 913-268-4401 or visit www.ahrma.org.
Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Traxxion Dynamics’ Max McAllister released the first versions of a new product called “Traxxion Generators” at the Formula USA National road race at Pocono in August 2001. The patent-pending Traxxion Generators are essentially shock warmers that operate in the same manner as tire warmers, to bring the shock up to operating temperature before going on track, allowing the rider to make the most of his or her track time during practice. Now NASCAR’s Winston Cup teams have taken an interest in Traxxion Dynamics’ newest product.
“They were originally tested on Jeff Gordon’s car at Talladega super speedway two weeks ago,” McAllister told Roadracing World. “Then Penske Racing Shocks asked us for a model-specific shape, one to fit a non-coil-over damper. Winston Cup shocks are just exposed damping units. We made one that fit snuggly to the body of a NASCAR shock, then we sent a finished set to the Homestead track and they tested them with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. last week.
“When I told Penske about the idea (for shock warmers), they were pretty anxious to test it. Due to their experience with shock dynos, they were aware how much a shock changed from ambient to operating temperature. It doesn’t have anything to do with cold weather. It’s a bigger deal when it’s cold. But with a shock absorber, it doesn’t matter if it’s 100 degrees out. A shock’s operating temperature is so much higher than that, that the change it goes through from ambient to operating temperature is huge.
McAllister’s company completed a special production run of the NASCAR Traxxion Generators, and the Traxxion Dynamics founder is currently circulating the pits at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend talking to the teams about his latest invention prior to the Winston Cup NAPA 500.
“They’re all real worried about Loudoun next week, in particular,” said McAllister via cell phone from the AMS pits on Friday, November 16, referring to the NASCAR race at New Hampshire International Speedway that was re-scheduled from the weekend after September 11 to the Thanksgiving weekend. “I have probably talked to a dozen shock techs already this weekend. We spent an hour with Tony Stewart’s shock tech this morning. He was so ready for it (the Traxxion Generators). He already had a plan to invent some crude thing himself to pre-heat a shock. Those guys have 140 shocks here at the track! Just Tony Stewart’s car! And that’s just what they brought to the track not counting stuff they left at their shop for shorter and longer tracks.
“When they go out in practice, they’ll change 10 shocks in just a few minutes. So basically what they’ve been stuck with is what a sprint racer is used to. Like if they change one corner (of the car), they have to run three laps to evaluate how the car’s working. With having the shock pre-heated, they will be able to go out and go full speed right away. What makes it more important is that NASCAR keeps cutting their time down. It’s gone from an hour and a half to an hour to 45 minutes of practice. And just like us (motorcycle racers), if somebody goes out, pops a motor and oils the track down – that’s just it. They might only get a couple of laps of open practice.
“The trick is NASCAR is gonna make this not legal to use on pit road. So what the guys are gonna do is pre-heat their shocks in the trailers and just stick ‘em on the car. It only takes ten seconds to put a shock on a car. NASCAR is concerned because when they used to try to pre-warm rear ends they would have cords dangling off the cars and what not.
“He (Stewart’s shock tech) said the other place that it will help him is pre-heating shocks to test on the dyno. Because ordinarily they put a shock on the dyno, they have to heat the shock up on the dyno by running it, by moving it, and it takes a lot of time to dyno their shocks. This way he will be able to just chunk them on and they’ll be pretty much ready to go.
McAllister said that #20 Tony Stewart, #28 Ricky Rudd, #88 Dale Jarrett and #2 Rusty Wallace now have sets of his Traxxion Generators this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“These are the people that have them,” pointed out McAllister. “These are the people that have expressed interest and we have given them to, but we can’t say whether they are gonna use them or not.”
In related news, Traxxion Dynamics Inc. recently, moved into a new, 4500-square-foot facility at 261 Rope Mill Parkway, in
Woodstock, Georgia 30188. This relocation coincides with the launch of a comprehensive Products section at www.traxxion.com, phone (770)592-3823, FAX (770)517-9332.
From a press release:
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association is embracing the next generation of classic road racing with three new Vintage Superbike classes, catering to motorcycles built through the 1980 model year. AHRMA’s Vintage classes previously topped out with 1972 machines.
To be eligible for Vintage Superbike, machines must be based on street-legal models that were sold in the United States or Canada. Many engine and frame modifications are permitted, but the overall look of the motorcycles must remain as close to “production” as possible. For example, the headlight and taillight shells must be retained, as well as the instrument housings, original fuel tank, seat and fenders. Tail sections, fairings and clip-ons cannot be added unless they are original equipment from that particular model. Treaded racing tires must be used.
Vintage Superbike classes include:
. Heavyweight – Unlimited-displacement twins and triples; six-cylinders to 1047cc; eight-valve fours to 931cc; and 16-valve fours to 825cc.
. Middleweight – pushrod twins to 890cc; pushrod triples and OHC twins to 790cc; and four-cylinders to 685cc.
. Lightweight – two-valve singles to 590cc; four-valve singles to 510cc; and two- or more cylinder machines to 470cc.
The displacement limits are absolute, including any overbore.
Vintage Superbike will make its debut at AHRMA’s 2002 Florida Bike Week events, March 1, at the DeLand Airport, and March 4-5 at Daytona International Speedway. For information, call 615-851-3674, 913-268-4401 or visit www.ahrma.org for a complete description of the new class rules.
Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Bill Conger, a Novice-licensed road racer with WERA, is racing a 2001 Ford Taurus in the Pork The Other White Meat 400 ARCA race at Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday, November 17.
“I’ve been sport riding for a while and doing track days and stuff,” said Conger, a 35-year-old GSX-R600 rider. “A buddy of mine, Andy Mueller who works for Performance Honda in Charlotte, they used to sponsor a bunch of track days. He’s a racer and he said, ‘Dude, you’ve gotta come race.’ So I did the riders school in July at Road Atlanta and did three races in my first weekend. It was a four-region deal and I started dead-last in all four races of about 40 guys or something. I got up to 18th or 20th, something like that. Then I went to the National at Summit Point. I think I did four races and finished top 10 in all four. I plan on doing a lot more races next year.
“This is only my second ARCA series race. I’ve been in racing since 1992, though. I used to road race Formula cars. I worked out at Russell Racing School in California. Then I worked at the Jim Hall Racing School in Ventura, California. Then in the fall of ’94, I moved to Charlotte because stock car racing’s always been what I wanted to do. I started working at the Fast Track stock car school. I worked there almost seven years. I’ve also done a couple of late-model stock car races. I’ve probably got 50,000 miles in these big stock cars doing school-type stuff. When it comes to the racing side of the stock car, I’m still a Novice, though.”
The field Conger is racing against includes three-time ARCA Champion (including 2001) Frank Kimmell, Kerry Earnhardt (son of the late Dale Earnhardt), Jason Jarrett (son of Dale Jarrett), Justin Labonte (son of Terry Labonte) and, strangely enough, Emerson Newton-John (nephew of singer Olivia Newton-John).
Conger got off to a good start by qualifying 8th out of 41 entries Thursday, November 15 with a lap time of 29.780 seconds, an average speed of 186.165 mph around AMS’ 1.54-mile oval. Kimmell is on the pole with a new lap record of 29.356-second lap at 188.854 mph. Earnhardt and Jarrett out-qualified Conger, but Conger was faster than Labonte Thursday. Then in Friday’s “Happy Hour”, Conger moved up past Jarrett and Earnhardt to fourth-fastest and closed the gap between himself and the quickest driver, Kimmell. Where Conger had been 2.7 mph slower than Kimmell Thursday, Conger was only 1.3 mph slower in the “Happy Hour” session.
“Things are going pretty good so far. I think we have a pretty good car for the race,” said Conger via cell phone from the AMS paddock Friday afternoon.
There were rumors going around that Conger, largely unsponsored except for some help from a friend at Crescent Trucks of New Orleans, was running WERA stickers on his car at Atlanta.
“They’re the small series stickers that they make you run on the motorcycle,” explained Conger. “I’ve got one of those on the B-post. Andrew (Mueller) was talking to Sean (Clarke, WERA Operations Manager) and we might try to work a deal out and run (a big hood sticker).”
The ARCA Pork The Other White Meat 400 race will be televised live at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on TNT.
With Conger’s experience in road racing cars and bikes, and in stock car racing on ovals, we asked him how the two different disciplines compared.
“It’s hard to compare them because I love them both,” said Conger, who earns a living doing free-lance test driving for auto manufacturers, including a stint tire testing for Pirelli with Ferraris, Lambouginis and Saleen Mustangs at Homestead last year. “I love road racing and I love stock car racing. It’s just totally different. In road racing, it seems like you can make up for an ill-handling car. A driver can compensate for a bad-handling car. Where in stock car racing, a driver makes a car handle well because if it doesn’t handle well, it’s undriveable.
“People think, ‘Aw, you’re just going around in circles.’ But people don’t realize, if you take the length of a road course that is two miles long and actually map out the turns, the turns on a two-mile road course are probably less than a mile, maybe actually a half-mile. If you look at an oval like Atlanta (Motor Speedway) here, it’s a mile and a half but the corners are a half-mile long each and the two straightaways are only a quarter of a mile. So you’re looking at a mile of corners and a half-mile of straightaways. So you kind of figure if your car doesn’t handle right, you’re going backwards in a hurry.
“So when it comes to driving, it’s a totally different deal. (In stock cars) You’re focusing constantly on making the car as good as it can be. Because if the car’s not good you’re not gonna make up for it. In road racing, it’s easier to compensate driving styles for an ill-handling race car. Yeah, you want to make it the best, but you can compensate it. So there’s a different mind set there when it comes to driving the cars.
“But I love them both. I’ve told people that I wish that I would’ve gotten into bikes at a much younger age because I think people can get a lot further on their own dime in motorcycle racing because the costs are a lot less. So you can take yourself to a higher level cheaper than you ever could in stock car racing. I’m not setting the world on fire in the motorcycle stuff, but I think I could’ve done well.
“It’s been since November of last year when I was last in a stock car before testing here last week. And actually motorcycle racing helped a lot because I didn’t have to get used to the speed. Usually, you have to get your timing up and all that. Even though we’re going a lot faster (than motorcycles) and these cars accelerate hard, it still doesn’t accelerate as hard as a motorcycle. That rush of being shoved back into the seat, it’s no greater in a car than being on a motorcycle. So the bike has actually kept me in shape and kept me going comfortable and used to the speed to get in these stock cars.”
From press releases:
OMS Ltd. & National Promoters Group Join Forces For ‘02 MX Season
OMS to be”exclusive” marketing/sales & PR agency for Outdoor National Series
Officials at OMS Ltd. today announced the formation of an allegiance with the National Promoters Group – the 11 promoters of the popular U.S. Outdoor National Motocross Series. With the agreement, OMS Ltd. becomes the exclusive marketing and sales agency of the NPG’s outside-of-the-industry sponsorship inventory.
According to the NPG’s legal counsel, Carrie Coombs, the agreement came about as a result of OMS Ltd.’s successful efforts in acquiring sponsorship for the series last year. “The workload through out the year for the individual promoters that make up the NPG is incredible,” cited Coombs.”With that in mind, the NPG set out this year to identify an organization to assist in the ultra-important area of series sponsorship sales. We had worked with OMS in the past and are confident that the organization, given its proven track record, can continue to increase sponsorship revenue for the Outdoor Nationals.”
Spearheading the agreement with the NPG was OMS Ltd. founder Fred Bramblett. “OMS Ltd. has aligned itself with the Outdoor National Series for several years through its representation of a number of the top athletes on the tour,” he said. “We’ve found that, in addition to working with sponsorship sales with our clients, that series sponsorship opportunities would often arise. So given our company’s success in the field of motorcycle industry sponsorship, particularly with outside-the-industry sponsors, the exclusive marketing and agreement with the NPG presents us with an exciting opportunity.”
In addition, OMS Ltd. will also be working with the NPG as the PR and media development firm of record for the Outdoor Nationals Series.The terms of both deals were undisclosed.
OMS Ltd. is a global, full-service sport marketing agency specializing in athlete representation, strategic marketing partnerships, industry relations, licensing and merchandising opportunities in the world of Extreme Personal Powersports. For more information, contact Fred Bramblett at (859) 647-0718 or visit our web site at www.omsltd.com
OMS Ltd. signs Pat Schutte as new Media Director
In an effort to bolster its leading position with client representation in the Extreme Personal Powersports industry, OMS Ltd. today announced it has hired former PACE Supercross PR manager Pat Schutte as its Director of Media – effective immediately.
Schutte,who spent the last two years working in auto industry for an agency representing such firms as DaimlerChrysler and General Motors, returns to powersports industry PR after a transitional summer internship with Racer Productions.
“I’m stoked to be back,” said Schutte, who will work out of an OMS satellite office in Ann Arbor, Mich. “I learned a great deal working with organizations the size of DaimlerChrysler and General Motors. And as exciting as auto racing can be, honestly, my heart was always with the motorcycle and action sports industry. I’m certainly looking forward to applying to OMS Ltd. clients what I learned by traveling all over the world with race cars. I also can’t wait to re-establish some of the friendships that I built when I was with PACE and the supercrossseries.”
Sharon Richards promoted to Director of Client and Customer Services
Richards,who was with Kawasaki for 12 years, will oversee the implementation of client services to OMS’ athletes competing all over the planet. In addition, she will liaise with OMS’ numerous industry sponsors, including American Honda, Parts Unlimited, Thor – as well as outside-the-industry sponsors such as Universal Studios, Dr. Martens, Journeys and AMSOIL.
“This new position is more in tune with what I’ve been involved with in the past,” said Richards. “I’m looking forward to assisting with the day-to-day intricacies of a fast-paced, global sports agency such as OMS. Be it supercross, motocross, freestyle, road racing, dirt track – whatever– myself, and our whole team at OMS, is looking forward to continual growth in 2002 and the years to come.”
Said OMS founder Fred Bramblett: “I’ve been working with Pat since his days with PACE, have seen first hand the results he can produce, and look forward to his contributions with OMS. Sharon is well known throughout the industry for her commitment to riders and the sport. Both will do nothing but increase the value of OMS to our clients.”
OMS Ltd. is a global, full-service sports marketing agency specializing in athlete representation, strategic marketing partnerships, industry relations, licensing and merchandising opportunities in the world of Extreme Personal Powersports.For more information, contact Fred Bramblett at (859) 647-0718.
Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Formula USA will hold a National Road Race Series event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California in October, after the end of the 2002 AMA season. A press release issued by Laguna Seca lists the June 7-9 CART car race, the July 12-14 AMA/WSB race, the August 16-18 Vintage car race, the September 20-22 American LeMans car race, and a “Fifth Event (TBA) October”.
Formula USA will also sanction the traditional June 14-16 Father’s Day Weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, formerly sanctioned by AMA.
Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Harley-Davidson Vice President of Government Affairs Tim Hoelter has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Commission Against Drunk Driving (NCADD). According to a press release from The Motor Company, Harley-Davidson is the first motorcycle manufacturer to be “affiliated with NCADD”. The NCADD Board is comprised of representatives from Miller Brewing Company, Anheuser-Busch, Toyota, Ford and now Harley-Davidson.
The NCADD is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that succeeded the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving established by Ronald Reagan in 1982.
“Driving a motorcycle, or any vehicle, while intoxicated is extremely dangerous,” Hoelter is quoted in the release as saying. “Motorcycle riding requires balance, motor skills, awareness and concentration, all things that are missing or dulled when riding impaired. Harley-Davidson’s role with NCADD will be to continue raising awareness and working to reduce impaired riding.”
Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Inside sources say that negotiations over a 2002 AMA National at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course have stalled over AMA Pro Racing’s demand that the Lexington, Ohio track pay a $70,000 increase in sanction fees (compared to the 2001 fees).
The impasse has caused a delay in the release of the 2002 AMA Superbike Championship calendar.
MRA members voted to stay the course set by the current Board of Directors by electing a slate largely endorsed by outgoing MRA President Connie Kassel.
Election results for the 2002 season follow:
President: Andrew Drattlo
Vice President, Rules and Tech: Bart McKeirnan
New Rider Director: Mark Schellinger
Secretary: Gina Fallon
Track Marshal: Doug Lyle
Treasurer: Marc Levin
Rider Reps:
Mark Nudelman
Jim Brewer
Alice Palmer
Vic Mokler
