2009 Ground Zro Racing News

"Ed Connor, Green Beret, was an honorary crew member for the weekend"

October - Rockingham, NC - What a wild weekend at the ROCK in North Carolina. The Ground Zro team headed for the Jim McClure Nationals season finals in Rockingham, North Carolina on October 9th. The weather was just excellent, a great change from the 95º that we left. The weekend started on Friday with a test-n-tune session getting under way from 3 to 8. We have our tuner back & Sparks needed some serious data to see what he could do to improve the bike's performance. As the session went on the bikes were doing well in the cooler night air. Sparks got some good data & qualifying was set for Saturday morning. We had a special guest with us the whole weekend, Ed Connor a 21-year Army Green Beret wanted to help a team over the weekend so he became our crew member. He is stationed in North carolina so it worked out well & it was a pleasure having him on board.
Saturday started a little overcast & things did not look good to get all the rounds in. As the day went on we did have a rain delay for a couple of hours. Sparks & PeeWee had the bike going in the right direction. Each pass the bike was getting better 60' passes & the shift points were right on. The day ended late & the team qualified #5. That had us on the ladder with Tom Caldwell #4 second pair out. Thanks goes out to the Red Dragon team for the association dinner, they had some kick ass Carolina bar-b-que which we all enjoyed. Thanks & see ya all in Feburary!
Sunday was the dedication to the late & Great Jim McClure & the top qualifiers. The finals started with the Top Fuelers & what a show they put on! As the Pro Stock class came up OJ knew he had to hit the shift points & be on his mark against Tom Caldwell. The stage lights went on & as the tree went down OJ treed Tom with an .032 to his 1.23 to take the WIN !!!! We made it into the semi finals & what a good feeling. The next round we got Andy Simmon who does our engine work. Andy was top qualifier but Sparks & Peewee were going for it to see what we can do against the #1 contender. OJ had been cutting good lights all weekend so this was going to be a challenge. Needless to say they left close to the same but Andy set a NEW CLASS record on 7.96 to take the win. He went on to take the Finals. Congratulations Andy!
There were a lot of Champions crowned at this race due to the points: Steve Dorn had to take Horne to win the Top Fuel Championship & he did! Pro Drag was won by a good friend Chuck Jones from Tampa, Donny Huffman from Lakeland won another Super Sport Championship & Bob Drapp an instructor for MMI finished #1 in the ET class.
It was a GOOD Year & we are looking forward to next year. The first outing is going to be at Orlando Speed World on Feburary 27th weekend. See everyone there & keep in mind, we are always looking for that advertising partner!! Thanks for all the support & look for our benefit on January 30th, 2010 at the Bar Out Back - Mission Impossible #9!

September - On the Airways - On Sunday morning, September 28th Ground Zro's own pilot - John Marinelli - will be hosting 740 AM Cycle Rider Radio, a 2 hour show from 8:00am to 10:00am. One segment will be on motorcycles & the next will be on racing. "I'm looking forward to it – sounds fun," states OJ. For the past 10 years, Cycle Rider Radio has filled the airways with news and entertainment. Tune in to 740AM 'The Game' every week to catch their live show: Cycle Rider Radio - with The Big Guy, Biker Babe Michelle, Miles Ahead Maria, Tiger, Jimmy the Razz, Jungle Joe and this particular Sunday, OJ! Listen live, Sunday, September 28th, or if you miss it - download the podcast. Way to go OJ!!!

July - Bristol, TN - What an exciting weekend the Ground Zro Team had on August 8th & 9th at the Thunder in the Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee. The team was ready for some cool weather & a fast track. The conditions were perfect for the whole weekend. This track is the best track that the AHDRA races at. The team arrived early enough to get a choice spot in the pits with electric hookup (sure saved on diesel). From that point on we checked the bike out for loose bolts & a major clutch adjustment. Virginia John rode over from Virginia to give PeeWee a hand on the clutch changes. With tech over & the bike ready for the qualifying rounds on Saturday, we set in to watch some test & tuning go on into the evening hours.
Saturday and race day is here. On the first pass the bike performed great, but OJ missed the first shift point. We still ran 8.65 with not a good reaction time. On the 2nd pass we did a little more with the clutch & wow did that make a difference. We had one of the fastest mph but still was off on the 60 ft mark. PeeWee was determined to get the 60 ft. back into the 119's and the next pass he did a few extras. As OJ did the burn out, we heard a rattle in the front cylinder. Thinking it may be a valve, OJ shut it down & back to the pits we went.
We thought for sure it was a valve so we started with valve covers off & checked everything. Well, that was not the problem, now we thought a cam may have broke so the next logical thing was to check the cams. To our surprise when we removed the front coupling to remove the exhaust the pipe was broke in 2. That was a great surprise and an easy fix.
Saturday evening we had the Pro Stock Dinner hosted by Tom Caldwell & his crew. Thanks to everyone that showed up. As the evening went on the PEACE PIPE band played for an energetic crowd into the late night.
Sunday! Sunday! As the morning dew burnt off, everyone was getting ready for the Sunday racers meeting.We checked the standings and we qualified #5 out of an 8 bike field, so we got #4 Kevin with the Red Dragon Team from New York. This should be a good race as both teams are pretty equal. PeeWee left the tune up he had in on Saturday so OJ had his work cut out. Get the shift points & get him at the line. As they called for the Pro Stocks to the line OJ did the burn out & staged for the light to turn green. OJ got Kevin on a good hole shot & hit all the shift points for a WIN at the other end. It's been awhile for the team to get into the semi's.
On the next round we got the #1 qualifier & good friend Shawn Reno. As we staged, OJ kept his cool & got the whole shot but late shifted 4th & Reno won that round. Shawn also won the event. Congratulations!
We are really beaming from ear to ear with the way the weekend went. PeeWee did a great job with the clutch & final tune. Rockingham, NC is the next race for us on October 10th & 11th. This is one of the best, with some of the best Fall weather. Thanks to Ace Cycles in Sanford & all that follow the team!!!!!

June - Norwalk, Ohio - The team headed to the Ohio Bike Week Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio on June 6th &7th. This is the first outing this season for the bike & team. We had the bike gone over at the Simon Performance shop in PA. We were itching to get back into the main stream after such a long time off. As the team left for the road trip we got to pick up Keith Williams of the KMA race team from Myrtle Beach SC. It made for an enjoyable trip & helped with expenses. The team arrived in Ohio around 7am to what was a CHILLY welcome to the old home state. We enjoyed a couple of hours with OJ 's family then headed toward the raceway.
Friday nite we had a test & tune session from 5 to 11. We got the bike from Andy Simon and began to prep for a few shake down passes. The bike was performing well & laid down a nice 8.3 with some good cool evening air. The team made 3 passes and got some good data to begin our qualifying rounds on Saturday.
GOOD MORNING race fans was the key word for Saturday. A nice crowd was on hand for the qualifying rounds. OJ had 3 of his ex Navy pals show up for a nice reunion. Gary Moffatt rode down from Detroit, Gene Braun came over from the Chicago area & Cal Pendelton drove over from Sherwood, Ohio good time was had by ALL!
The Pro Stock class only had 6 bikes show up, the economy has taken it's toll on the racers. The team managed to qualify 5th & drew the #2 Qualifier for Sunday. On Sunday we were the first pair out so PeeWee did some clutch adjusting & a jet change. As we made it to the line OJ treed Mark Venia with a .016 reaction time only to fall off at the big end. Mark ran a nice 8.25 to our 8.4. The team was happy with the first outing & things look promising for the future races. Thanks to Ace Cycles for all their support! Congratulations goes out to Shawn Reno for his win.
The team heads to Kansas City on June 20th & 21st. Follow the team on AHDRA.com.

April - The team is eagerly waiting to get their first pass of the year. As the 2009 season started, the team had plans to start the season with the Atlanta race on April 25-26. The bike is getting a complete rebuild at the Simon Shop. The bike was to be ready for Atlanta, but at the last moment, the front sprocket spun & it was a no go for the team. It is just one of those things that when you take care of everything else & the old sprocket is installed on some new splines. It was a big disappointment for the team but we should be together for the Ohio Nationals in June.
We do want to thank all the people that have inquired on the team. As it stands we are going to make the rest of the races except Oregon. We want to thank Kenny at G's Lounge for helping the team out. Stop by the G spot in Longwood & have a beer or two!

February - On the Air Waves - After that great time we had at the Bar Out Back with the Ground Zro Fun Run, the team was approached with internet radio. I personally had never heard of it, but sidestandup.com is a show. Tom Lowdermilk is the founder of an excellent "Biker" talk show airing every Tuesday at 8pm. OJ had the privilege of being the guest Drag Bike person on the Feb. 3rd show. [You can download the pod cast - episode 70 - and listen to the entire show.] It's a very interesting show that has real bike people, doing real bike events. Tom is a very informed host that really knows a lot about the motorcycle world. It was a pleasure to be asked on the show & we may be back to report on the AHDRA series this year. So get by your computer and log on to  sidestandup.com on Tuesdays at 8pm for some interesting bike related stories & very informed topics.

February - Sanford, FL - What a great Sunday at the Bar Out Back for the 8th annual Ground Zro Racing "Mission Impossible Fun Run" to help get the team started for the 2009 season. The weather held out so everyone had a nice ride around Sanford & Osteen. The ride was an observation & scavenger hunt along with an added bingo card! I heard everyone had a good time & the food was unreal. Chef Doug prepared 16 of the best Boston Butts for everyone to munch on throughout the afternoon. The  "Steve Crouch" band played all afternoon & had some kick ass jams for the 200+ that showed up. As the afternoon went on the bike games got under way. The slow race is always a big hit & we had 9 riders participate with Jessie winning on his Road Glide. They all were good races. So with that over we went right into the crowd favorite the WEENIE BITE. It took awhile to get some participation but the crowd went wild once it started. If you can get the channel, watch "Real American Biker" TV show on Sundays at 11 am on Channel 47 Brighthouse. They were filming the whole event. The winner was none other then Jessie & his lady Cindy. Thanks for the participation!
The afternoon went on with an Auction and we want to thank Drag Specialties, Tucker Rocky, Shelley Camp, Bonnie Marinelli & Ace Cycles for the donations. This year we added a bike show to the event & it was an HD Shovelhead Show. For the first year we had 6 bikes entered. The overall "Peoples Choice" went to Big Wayne. Steve Campbell won Best Street & John won for Radical. As the superbowl afternoon came to an end I wanted to do something different - I wanted to be the first to have a Biker Bingo game at the Bar Out Back so with the cards they had from the run we did just that & Charlie Hall won the first ever Biker Bingo at the Bar Out Back. And Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl!!!
I want to thank Cindy & Debbie for the jello shots, Van, Richie, George, my mother-in-law Evelyn, sister-in-law Brenda, my wife, Brenda & Shelly for all their help. The Boys from Ace Cycles Chris, Mike, Mike & Scotty for their judging of the bikes. Doug & Carla with Paul for the Barbeque. Without their help this would not have been possible. THANKS AGAIN Looking forward to a great 2009 season. Thanks to everyone who showed up to support HARLEY DRAG RACING - see ya ALL again next year!!!!!!!!!