Goin' Drag Racin'

Well, sorta. I've been invited to the fourth annual Houston all Harley drags this weekend at Houston Raceway Park. Guy sent me this e-mail tonight, so I'm gonna take 'em up on it. I guess I've told you all I'm writing a racing column for "Thunder Roads Texas" called "The Fast Line". I've been wanting to do a piece on drag racing and in particular the all Harley stuff. It's a big scene and should be popular with the magazine's readers. I bet those nitro bikes are rather loud. Might oughta take some ear protection, LOL. I'm taking my camera, of course. I'll put some pix up on the site when I get time after I get home.

No free beer? ****!

Howdy - Raine gave me your address, I'd invited her to Houston Raceway Park to cover the 4th Annual Houston "All Harley" Championships - She said something like "That's HIS JOB!" So - If you'd like to make it - send me an e-mail by tomorrow nite & I'll have a couple of passes at the gate for you. I've got a media suite for journalists & through out the evening I'm going to be conducting personal "starting line tours" where we'll put a journalist alongside the starter in the center of the track as he puts a couple of Nitro Harleys down the track. With your credentials - that might be "old hat" but a lot of folks I take out there come back with a little different perspective of this part of motorcyclism. Anyway - We'd like to have you out as our guest - but they ain't no free beer in the suite !! Best - Red Roberts

Well, Chuck, I got rained on all the way through Houston, up 59 from about Sugar Land, I put the gear on. All the way from the loop on I10 to through Channel View and Baytown it poured. But, as I approached the Hwy 146 exit to the track, it quit! Never rained a drop at the track. I got home without putting on the gear, but left a little early before the actual eliminations were over, about 7pm. That got me home by 10pm. Didn't wanna be pulling in at 3am AGAIN this weeked. I trashed last weekend cause I layed around all wasted Monday after getting home, LOL.

The racing was cool. I have a new respect for the drag racers, especially the fueler guys. Those things have to be a BEEOCH to ride. They're making around 450 horsepower and if you lean the bike any, you are suddenly putting all that power through the EDGE of the slick. That is NOT a good thing.

I'm not going to get into drag racing, it's a BIG money deal, but it's fun to watch. One fellow I interviewed says he's raced FIM road racing in Europe when he was stationed there. His name is Al Cherry and he raced Roberts Srs. first championship year there, was '78, and met Giacomo Agostini (a legend in road racing for those who don't know). Says he ran at the Nurbergring in Germany. That's a pretty legendary track. He had also flat tracked, wo we hit it off pretty good. He was running a gas bike, old Shovel in a hard tail stretched drag race frame with a wheelie bar and slick that runs in the 6s in a 1/8th mile. The bike was built 30 years ago and he's just its latest care taker.

It was amazing the number of geezers doing the drag racing thing. LOL One fellow that didn't look a day over 45, riding "F" class, a pretty stock sportster class, says he's 60 years old this weekend.

Anyway, Chuck, shoulda told you how to recognize me. I was on the ONLY red Suzuki SV650S in the paddock, had a rack and Ventura pack with my gear on the back of it. I saw one Gold Wing, so it wasn't the only non-Harley there.

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Drag Racing

I've been going to the Harley drags at Bowling Green, KY for several years now. You have to have a lot of respect for anyone that can straddle a hunk of iron that goes from 0 to just over 200 mph in under 7 seconds. I have seen a lot of bikes break and occasionally blow up but when they make a good solid run it is awsome! Check them out at: http://www.beechbend.com/Harley%20Racing.htm