Wednesday 7/21/10
Bennett Racing rode the Truett Racing Pro Drag bike once again at the AHDRA event in Kansas City the last weekend of June. Once again, a nice machine to ride. Dave Bumgartner was tuning the Nungesser Engineering prepped machine and I brought my crew guy Jim Stultz for the turn around and starting duties. This turned out to be a good combination as we qualified 3rd after Saturday. The fun part was coming as Scott Truett took his new bike and put it in the number one spot.
We had some close calls on Sunday going rounds but managed to get to the final round at the end of the day. In the finals it was Scotty's new bike verses us on his old bike. At the end of the final Scott Truett beat us as I got out of the groove at little and there was no catching Truett. He was on a string all day and enjoying the new bike!
A good weekend though as both Dale Nungesser built motors on these two bikes were the machines to beat.
Thursday 6/10/10
Bennett Racing had an opportunity to ride Scott Truett's Pro Drag bike at the AHDRA race in Norwalk Ohio last weekend. What a fun ride it was. The downside was the weather as it rained all weekend so we had to work to get in the passes we did. Dale Nungesser of Nungesser Engineering was doing the tuning work on both of the Truett machines as Scotty Truett rode the new bike he bought from Willie Herschberger. Due to the weather we only got to go down the track 3 times all weekend. We qualified 6th in a full field of bikes and we were ready for Sundays race.
The lack of passes reared it's ugly head on the first round Sunday though as the bike shook the tire then went up in smoke at around 100' foot mark. We were done for the day. The other Truett machine went on to win the race with impressive numbers of 7.34, 7.37 & 7.40. Nungesser had that bike tuned to the max and it showed it.
This was also my first time at Summit Motorsports Park and wow what a faciltiy! A first class operation to say the least. Imaculate from one end to the other. I walked in the restroom for the first time Friday and thought I had walked in to one at a Las Vegas casino! I never seen anything like this at a race track. Absolutely spotless and very nice!
The owner, Bill Bader, deserves much cudos for the effort he put's in to this facility. He was hands on the entire time we were there and would go out of his way to walk over and say hi. This guy dodesn't sit up in the tower and let everyone else do the work. He is down on the track checking track prep, directing the brooms and dryers and anything else that needs done. They at one point had dried this track at least 13 times. They were bound and determined to get this race in but the last time they dried it was around 10:30 that night. Pro Fuel and one other class got down the track before the rain came again and that was it. Top Fuel was sitting in the lanes and did not get to run their final. Quite a bummer for sure but not for lack of effort on the tracks part.
I want to thank Scott Truett for giving me an opportunity to ride a very nice Pro Drag bike and Dale and Dave for working their tails off to turn these 2 machines around. It made for a lot of work with this rain shortened event.
Friday 4/2/10
The upgrades on the bike are just about finished according to Dale so hopefully we'll go pick the bike up from Kansas and get it back in the Texas sun once again for some testing. If all goes well we should be at the track soon!
Thursday 11/12/09
Made the trip to San Antonio for Hurricane Alleys event at San Antonio Raceway. A very nice track that was in great shape for this race. The downside is mother nature once again had different plans for us. Rain took out Sundays racing once again. This has to be the worst year for rain I have ever seen. I'm thinking of going to some drought stricken parts of the country and offer to make some test passes at their local track. Should be able to fill those lakes in no time.
Tuesday 10/6/09
Well the Texas National Motorcycle event should have been a good one but Mother Nature had different plans. We got to the track on Friday and it was beautiful outside. Probably 78 degrees and sunny. We got to sit around and visit with old friends and do some bench racing. Great time.
Saturday was a different story as overnite the clouds had come in. The chance of rain was suppose to get worse as the day went on. They were right. We got round one of qualifying in around 1pm.
We had rear tire issues and had to get off the throttle during our run down the track. In the other lane was Voodoo Daddy Lamar Ard. At least I got to see my buddy make a full pass on his beautiful bike. He had been struggling all year to get his machine to run clean all the way through the 1/4 mile and this time he got there. He even danced a jig when we got off our bikes. Too funny!
We have another tire on order to replace the one on the bike as we're pretty certain we have hurt the sidewall on the Hoosier we had on it.
The rain started playing games right before the second round and it was delayed for a while. It finally stopped and they got in the last 2 rounds of qualifying for the day. Then the rain started again and never quit. Sunday was a wash and everyone packed it up. Mother Nature was the big winner at this race.
Wednesday 9/30/09
If you were looking for results from the Dallas Raceway event you won't find any. I was racing the, what I prefer to call the "HOG" flu, and it won. As much as I tried to kick the stuff quick enough to get to the race track Saturday it just wasn't meant to be. Bad stuff it is.
Wednesday 9/9/09
The Temple Party Drags put on by Texas Scooter Times was a good time as usual but the track was a bit tricky. Saturday's qualifying was interesting to say the least. We were all taking a shot at the best time from the left lane which seemed to be the best. Our best shot was a 5.26 which left us in fourth. Not where we wanted to be but we had spun hard 150 feet from the finish line and had to get off the throttle which cost us valuable time.
After the ladder was built for Sundays finals we were in a bad spot. Matched up against the number one qualifier, Jerry Griffith from Kansas, AND put in the right lane it was going to be hard to come out on top for that one. We didn't get a lot of traction and was put on the trailer by Jerry. We had a great time though and got to see a bunch of old friends!
Friday 8/21/09
Here's an update on the last two outings. The BHRA Nationals were run again this year on August 7th. Myself and Jocko Mitchell both were having issues. Our clutch was tight, way too tight. This resulted in poor lanches. Figured out the issue the next morning but a little late to make some good passes that night.
The Truett & Osborne Race in Wichita Kansas was a different story. Having the tune back in our bike was great but the track was a little slick so the great tune wasn't needed. Every fuel bike there was spinning the tire. It was going to be one of those "who ever get's tuned to the track first" is going to win kind of weekends.
Saturdays qualifying left us in 4th place with a 7.00 flat. We were still looking for a run that didn't spin the tire though. The 3rd round of qualifying got rained out and was put off until Sunday morning. We still had one more chance at moving in to the top spot.
Sunday morning we had taken away more clutch, fuel and timing from the bike trying to tame it down to hook to the track surface which was still slick. Once again the bike spun hard at around 100' foot and I had to lift and then get back in it. This resulted in a 6.83 which put us in 3rd place but still left us with more adjustments to make.
After trying to tame the bike down a little more it was time for first round. My first round opponent was Mike Bahnmeir from Kansas. Mike had also been having trouble hooking to the track surface. We both lanched well but I spun hard at 60 foot.
Once the bike was pointed straight again I got back in the throttle just in case Mike was having trouble also. Low and behold there he was in trouble half way down the track. He had spun farther down the track and put out a cylinder.
I stayed in the throttle for all it was worth trying to run him down but at the stripe, Mike still had me by a little. That was all it took. Out in the first round. It was still a very fun event and we will go back to try to redeem oursleves next year.
Wednesday 7/15/09
Finally got to do some 1/4 mile testing last Saturday night at the new Dallas Raceway. If you have never been to this new facility located in Crandall, Texas you are missing something. It has to be, by far, the smoothest track I have ever been down. From burnout to shut down there is not the first ripple. Very, very nice for two wheels.
The bike had great 60 foot times at 1.22 and had more in it but just ran out of time. Still working on the high speed lean out as both passes the bike nosed over at 1000' and still ran a 7.66. Once we run through the lights with both cylinders lit we should have some good numbers showing up. Stay tuned.
Thursday 6/4/09
Finally a test day that didn't rain. We made a trip over to Northstar Raceway, which for those of you who have never been there, it is a real nice 1/8 mile track located in Denton, Texas.
No real big numbers to report yet as we are still tuning it all in but the nice part is, everything worked as planned. From the new clutch to the new fuel tank and numerous upgrades that I knew would probably be maddening for a while, we walked away very pleased.
Wednesday 6/3/09
Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Did I mention it hasn't done anything BUT rain in Texas this spring! We have tried to go test and race this spring and can't catch a break. We are once again, taking the bike out tonight to Northstar Raceway to do some testing. With any luck the rain will stay off of us long enough to get some laps in. Stay tuned and we'll late you know how the test passes did.
Friday 3/27/09
We are ready to start testing soon as the fresh motor from Nungesser Engineering is back in the bike and will be ready to fire shortly. We will be doing some test passes locally to get the new clutch dialed in and shake down all the new parts to make sure everything is ready to start traveling. Stay tuned!
Saturday 1/03/09
Happy New Years to everyone from Bennett Racing!!
The schedule is starting to come together so check back often to see what's been added.
Friday 10/10/08
We are just about finished with a complete upgrade on the clutch, jack shaft and fuel system. These are well needed upgrades due to some of the less then stellar 60 foot times we have run this year. We figured to use some of the good weather left this year to get this done and tested. Next spring should have us coming out of the gate with decent some numbers. We have one more race this year in Houston at Baytown so hopefully things will work as planned. See you there.
Wednesday 8/20/08
The BHRA Nationals at Texas Raceway on August 1st was a blast as usual. Jocko Mitchell and I ran our exhibition (grudge race) passes on Friday night with the 103 temperatures. It was hot but not bad after the sun went down. We were still battling our machine shutting off after a few hundred feet. At least we were able to locate the issue this time which was too much fuel! We leaned it out some but still ran rich for the last pass and drowned out. We are working on the problem and will have it sorted out for the next event.
We have been invited back to run this event again next year too. Great place with track prep that is the best you'll see. The track temp had to be 150 or better and NOBODY spun the tires all night!! Great stuff!
The crowd this year was unbelievable!! They track folks estimated over 6000 spectators and it sure looked like it. It was an ocean of cars and people. A great time was had by all except for one jet car who's chutes didn't open after a 3.91 and 192mph pass. The driver was ok but the car was toast.
Tuesday 6/24/08
The June 7th race at Kennedale Texas was hot and fun for a lot of people......just not us. We thought we were having a fuel pick up problem with the new fuel tank but as it turns out, we were having a fuel pressure problem. Apparently when the engine shut off at Ennis this May in the waterbox it caused damage to the fuel pump. This wasn't discovered until we tried to go down the track at Kennedale.
The bike would leave the line great and run out about 200' and shut off. A few seconds later it would start idling again. Not the way to race your way in to an event. We got to watch this one from the sidelines.
Wednesday 5/28/08
Bennett Racing is proud to sponsor the June 7th Texas Motorcycle Drag Racing event at Kennedale Texas. We hope everyone will come have some fun and show the folks at Texas Raceway in Kennedale that motorcycle drag racing is alive and well. Should be a great show!
Tuesday 5/13/08
The AHDRA Nationals in Ennis Texas on May 3 & 4th were interesting to say the least. We had to race our way in the field during qualifying Saturday and made it on the last attempt with a 5.04. Bumped our way in by 1/100th. This pass put us in the number 8 qualifying spot. We had to race John Breckenridge for the first round in Sundays race day.
Being as how John had signed off on my license 3 years ago I was excited about running a friend for first round. As we got ready to go I pulled the bike up in the water box and twisted the throttle. It ran for a couple of seconds and then shut off. We were the victim of vibration as the fuel shut off closed and killed the motor. We were done before we ever got down the track. Out in the first round.
A big thanks to the crew for keeping us in the race as Paul had did his usual "keep us in the race" repair job on a very serious cracked fuel tank. How this thing held after seeing it I'll never know but it got us in the race for Sunday! Good job Paul!
I would also like to thank Dale Nungesser of Nungesser Engineering for his track side assistance! Dales tuning work was a huge help as we are working to get our 60 foots down to a reasonable number.
A huge thanks to Bonnie Truett, Jimbo, Russell, Eric, Sara and Craig for all your help. We were having major problems with our starter Saturday but with everyones efforts we were able to make the show! I appreciate all of you!!
Scott
Tuesday 4/29/08
We made some changes for the AHDRA Nationals on May 3 & 4 and hopefully this will get us in the field and be in the chase. We hope to see all of our local and out of town friends at this event. Stay tuned for the results.
Tuesday 4/15/08
We made the TMDR race in San Antonio Texas this weekend to see how the new set up worked. As everyone else in Top Fuel was having troubles we were getting down the track. We didn't run the numbers we were looking for as the concentration was more on chassis tuning to prepare for the rest of the season. At the end of the day we had won this one and were still looking for a full throttle pass.
More testing to come before the AHDRA Race in Ennis Texas on May 3 & 4.
Monday 3/3/08
This weekend the bike was picked up from the Trinity Frame and Fab shop owned by Steve Triplett. Steve did his magic on the rear section of our frame and it now looks better then it did when new! Better reinforcement, new axle sliders and some new tubing to replace the damaged section and we are back in business. We will be testing soon and will get a chance to see how everything is going to work. We hope to have a good race season! Stay tuned!
Tuesday 12/11/07
Most all of the parts to make our repairs are now in so now it's just a matter of getting everything ready to go. A lot of preparation goes in to repairing these bikes as everything has to be perfect for the right results come track time. We will be ready to go come the first race of 2008.
Enjoy the Holidays!!
Bennett Racing
Tuesday 11/6/07
Well, when you go to a Halloween fest I guess it suppose to get scary and that's certainly what it turned out to be in Belle Rose Louisiana. First of all let me say that No Problem Raceway is a GREAT track. Smooth as a pool table top, plenty of shut off and great traction. What more could you want? How about a good finish?
That wasn't to be as we found out. Our first qualifying pass should have been a good one but I guess "should have" doesn't count. The air was great. Right at 300 hundred feet corrected and about 73 degrees. It doesn't get much better. After the startup the bike sounded great. We were making some serious horse power and were ready for a good pass. The down side was we found a weak spot in our chassis.
At the hit of the throttle, the drive side of the axle slammed forward snapping off the bolt that helps hold the axle back. This also caused the rear axle adjuster to snap and drive what was left of it up in to the frame. As that was going on it also threw the chain off too so it was busy tearing up everything that got in it's way. And if that wasn't bad enough there was one more problem to come. Once one side of the axle is two inches different then the other, the bike is going to follow where the rear slick is pointed. This is bad. In our case, the slick is now pointed to the left, which is exactly where the rear of the bike went. HARD left!
Once you realize that things are not right, it's too late. As the rear of the bike went left I let off the throttle immediately but it's too late at that point as these large slicks, once spun up hard, don't just stop once the power is gone. They keeping spinning.
The bike bounced back to the right, HARD! It jumped right off the ground with the bottom of the bike facing down the track. Not good when your supposed to be on top of it! As I landed on my left side, the bike went spinning on down the track on it's foot peg. Other then the frame damage from the launch, nothing was hurt. The bike had set up on the front brake lever and the foot peg so nothing else touched the ground. We got lucky on this one as it could have been worse.
We'll get the chassis repaired and get back out there. You can bet the chassis will be reworked with some serious re-enforcement in several areas. We don't want to try this again as we got lucky on this little incident.
Ah yes, Nitro racing. If it were easy every one would be doing it!!
Scott
Friday 9/7/07
Labor day weekend didn't go quite as well as we had planned. We had a slick track to deal with, of course, so did everyone else. Saturdays qualifying left us in 3rd place with a 7.79 at 166mph. Sundays race put us in the first round against Mark Blackmer on Mark Cox's old Bojangles bike. A 186 inch high gear bike. Nice. The downside was a slick track. We were hoping he would have a little trouble getting that big motor hooked up to that track.
Once we fired our bike and started for the waterbox we knew we were in trouble. The clutch was engaging at an rpm that was way too high. We went ahead and went through the water box and hoped for the best. Then problem number 2 showed up. As we went to stage the bike up we noticed the oil pressure starting to fall. By the time we we turned on the first bulb we were down to about 30 pounds of oil pressure. Not good. The tree fell and we were off, the downside was we really weren't going any where fast. The clutch hat moved and kept us from locking the clutch up. We were done. The bummer was Mark wasn't going any where either! He was at half track spinning the rear tire hard. A sitting duck and there was nothing we could do about it.
Talk about the DRAG part of drag racing. Out in the first round.
Monday 8/6/07
This weekends exhibition at Kennedale, Texas went great. The track prep was as perfect as it gets and traction was not an issue. We rolled off the trailer and got to try our new adjustments. With Dale Nungessers advice and Paul Jones and Craig working their tail off in between rounds, we have a new personal best 1/8 mile time of 4.69!! We were happy to say the least. The bike ran strait down the middle and carried the front wheel all the way. It doesn't get much better then that. We should be good for the next race at Shreveport, Louisiana on Labor Day weekend.
Thursday 8/2/07
The rain date for the July 28th TMDR race is this weekend August 4th. Bennett Racing unfortunately will not be able to attend due to a prior commitment but is encouraging everyone down in south Texas to make sure you attend this first TMDR race as it will be a good one! Anyone in North Texas is invited to come out to the Texas Raceway in Kennedale, Texas on August 4th for a special event. Here is the link to Texas Raceway.
Monday 7/23/07
The race bike was fired up this Saturday for the first time since we had the top end of the motor apart and things went well. The motor sounded great so other then some fine tuning at the TMDR race this weekend we should be in the hunt. Stay tuned and we'll post the results from the weekend next Monday.
Thursday 6/21/07
After the race at Ennis Texas we discovered that the engine needed a little work also so it has been apart ever since waiting on parts. As soon as we get our cylinders, new pistons and rings back we will putting it back together for another try. Hopefully this will get us back in the numbers we need to be running. We will keep you posted on the progress.
Saturday 5/5/07
This was qualifying day for the AHDRA Nationals at Ennis Texas and Bennett Racing was teched in and ready to go. The weather was warm, cloudy, extremely humid and very windy. The wind was strong enough that AHDRA cut the race back to an 1/8 mile race.
Our first pass down the track was not exactly what we were looking for. The bike left the line well, never wiggled and went right down the middle as planned. The downside was about 200 feet before the finish line it suddenly stopped pulling. After getting the bike back to the pits the problem was found. The bolts holding the front pulley on the engine decided to shear off. Paul was able to get the remainder of the bolts out of the pulley and replaced them with some others and we were back in the saddle once again.
Our second qualifying attempt went a little better. Once again the bike ran smooth and strait carrying the front wheel down the 1/8 mile for an ET of 4.93 at 156 mph. Not bad but was not going to stand in this very fast Pro Fuel field. Our older style clutch hat was not cooperating with us and was causing our 60 foot times to suffer.
Our third and final qualifying attempt didn't improve us at all as it was an ET of 4.98 at 149 mph. Our adjustments didn't help and we were not in the field for Sundays race.
Some major clutch hat work will be done before our next outing to make sure we are in the hunt on the next race. We'll keep you posted.
Sunday 4/22/07
Bennett Racing took the bike for the second test session this weekend. We went to Kennedale, Texas, a track known for it's excellent track surface and preparation. As usual, we were not disappointed. It was overcast and about 75 degrees, perfect. The track owners had this entire track surface really prepped well. It is an 1/8 mile track with plenty of shutoff area for a fuel bike. Just what the doctor ordered!
The was the first hard pass the bike has made since last Labor Day weekend. The first pass the bike moved hard to the right and had to be shut off early. Time to make some adjustments and try it again. On the second pass things were going good, straight and right down the middle of the track right up until the drive chain decided to leave the bike. We ran a 5.62 after shutting off with 200 foot left in the run. On the 3rd and final pass of the day the bike left well and was on a good pass. We were carrying the front wheel all the way down the track and was on a real nice pass but once again had to lift just a little for it moving around some and ran a ET 5.04.
Thats was the fastest pass by a motorcycle all day and we quit on that one. We gained a lot of information that was well needed for our first race of the season at the AHDRA National Event at Ennis, Texas on May 5 & 6th. We hope to see everyone there!
