Stotz Street Xtreme - Indy
2004
September 02, 2004
Our SSX Honda blackbird was ready to reset the national record
of 7.42 E.T. In testing one week before Indy we had gone 7.43
and 7.39 (3 hundredths quicker than the national record which
we already own). Indy is known to have excellent traction so we
were excited about resetting the record for extra points and winning
the race.
We rented the track on Thursday for testing and found that the
bike would not do anything the same as it had done back home.
The traction was good but the air was bad. All of our adjustments
only netted us a few 7.50 runs, which were close to the record
but not what we expected.
We qualified third and ran in the 7.40’s on Sunday. In the
third round of eliminations the bike left the line lazy but ran
hard up top to break the MPH record at 197.90. Unfortunately because
of the lazy leave we got beat and were not able to make another
run to make the required 2nd run within 1% of the new record to
gain the points.
We left Indy with less than we expected but still in a close 4-way
battle for the national championship. We found a cracked header
to be the cause of our lackluster performance. We fixed the header
and promptly went 5 hundredths under our 7.42 record in testing
and there is still more performance to be gained. Our next race
is in Memphis on Oct. 2-3.
The Honda Homecoming never had a dull moment with the crowd that
was in our pit area to sit on our bikes and test their reaction
times on our full size NHRA Christmas tree. For three days the
Grand Prize winners received a collectable watch with a Honda
speedometer as the face. The runners up received Honda apparel.
A good time was had by all. It was great to not have the pressure
of a National race have while answering all the questions people
asked. Whatever questions I could not answer (mostly pricing)
I gave them your sticker and wrote your business number on it.
This has left me with almost no stickers. Please send me an assortment
ASAP.
Sincerely in Speed
Kent Stotz
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