The Bob Drapp Rap

6/8/2009

The Ohio bike week nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, is the third race of the season for us.

On Saturday, my first round qualifying in the E.T. class I was trying for a perfect reaction time of .000, as this will earn extra points and provide easier competition in the first round of racing. I hit .021 which was good for 15th place. At the end of qualifying I had a .006 which was good for 10th place. Super Gas was a different story. Trying to attain a perfect 9.70 seconds for the quarter mile was a valiant effort, but running a 9.692 (just under 9.70) put me at the bottom of the list. The second round saw a 9.690, not any better; my third attempt was a 9.738, which was good for the #6 position out of a field of 32. In the Super Sport class I struggled trying to find the right combination to run a perfect number of 10.30 seconds resulting in a 10.480 for 15th place.

On Sunday (race day) in the Super Sport class I lost in the 2nd round by running a 10.53 which was too slow for the 10.30 index of that class. In Super Gas I lost in the 3rd round by running a little too quick with a 9.668, which was under the 9.70 index.

In the E.T. class I made it to the semi final round only to lose to my former team mate Donnie Huffman. Even though I had a better reaction time off the starting line, for some reason the bike ran a little slower than it should have, thus losing that contest by a few inches.

In the points chase I dropped one position to 3rd place in Super Gas, 85 points out of 1st place, Super Sport I dropped to 6th place from 4th, and E.T. I held on to 2nd place, but I am only 8 points from 1st place.

Jimmy again qualified #2 in the Hot Street class, but lost in the semi final round, due to a rear tire losing traction. It was quite a run to see, because when Jimmy dropped the clutch, the bike left the starting line quickly, beginning a good solid run. When he was about 60 feet off the line the rear tire lost traction and let off a huge cloud of smoke, just like the top fuel bikes do when they engage the clutch too quickly. This allowed his opponent to get a small lead which led to Jimmy’s loss of the round. Careful examination of the tire back at the pits revealed that all of the good sticky rubber was gone, and that a new tire was needed.

The next race for me is June 20, 21 in Kansas City, Mo., Jimmy will not be attending this one, so I am on my own there.