S&S GEORGE SMITH: A DEMORALIZING SITUATION
Fri, 2009-01-09 15:28
Offers Statement on Behalf of S&S …
Later this afternoon, CompetitionPlus.com will publish an article
describing the facts and opinions surrounding the new NHRA rule
permitting the use of a four-valve Harley-Davidson V-rod engine similar
to that being implemented in 2009 by Suzuki.
This unpublicized rule has created an inordinate amount of dissension amongst the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks largely due to the way it was handed down.
The Suzuki teams consider the move by the NHRA’s tech department to provide Harley-Davidson with an unfair advantage and the Buell teams facing two OEM combinations with four-valve engines as a move they feel will eventually legislate the S&S-powered bikes out of existence. Offers Statement on Behalf of S&S …
Later this afternoon, CompetitionPlus.com will publish an article describing the facts and opinions surrounding the new NHRA rule permitting the use of a four-valve Harley-Davidson V-rod engine similar to that being implemented in 2009 by Suzuki.
This unpublicized rule has created an inordinate amount of dissension amongst the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks largely due to the way it was handed down.
The Suzuki teams consider the move by the NHRA’s tech department to provide Harley-Davidson with an unfair advantage and the Buell teams facing two OEM combinations with four-valve engines as a move they feel will eventually legislate the S&S-powered bikes out of existence.
George Smith, the leader of S&S Performance, the engine supplier for the Buell-branded Pro Stock Motorcycles, has been in Australia servicing customers and learned of the situation via a phone call.
Smith contacted CompetitionPlus.com last evening upon learning all the details of the rule amendment.
The following is his heartfelt statement.
“We entered the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class with a special purpose-built engine in 2002, and had the prototype built by 2003. We went through a rigorous approval process with the NHRA which stipulated that we had to follow the rules of two-valve heads, 160-cubic inches and 60-degree pushrods and we had to make these available to other racers at a reasonable price. The NHRA was very insistent on that.
“We went through the approval process and even got Harley-Davidson to approve the XB9R body. We felt the NHRA being the premiere drag racing sanctioning body in the country, if not the world, would provide a venue with a reasonably level playing field where the merits of engine design would be showcased in fair competition.
“It didn’t take long once we realized that we were competing well, for us, to find that that’s not always the case. I can’t remember the exact timing of it but NHRA decided the V-Rods and the S&S engines were different brands and were subject to a different rule application relative to performance and the weight which is imposed if you perform well. Of course, that is evidenced by the fact the S&S-powered bikes have to weigh five pounds more at 625 than the V-Rods.
“I didn’t think that was fair since the engines were built under the same specifications. It appears that the political power of the Vance & Hines, Terry Vance and of course, Harley-Davidson lobby carries enough weight with the NHRA that they can pretty much do whatever they want.
“S&S has continued to do their very best to continue to make high quality packages available. That’s evident by half of the qualified field during the 2008 season was S&S-powered machines. We did well with Chris Rivas on the S&S/Drag Specialties bike by winning four races. I believe Matt Smith won four on his bike. Hector Arana won a race and Matt Guidera won a couple of races. S&S-powered bikes won 11 of the 17 events.
“If you look at the qualifying averages and numbers from the various contestants, you will see that we had the most parity and most competitive year in the history of Pro Stock Motorcycle. I felt like we had a pretty good class even though we had to weigh five pounds more than the V-Rods.
“When the (2009) rulebook came out we were totally floored. It’s mind-boggling. I’m not sure what the NHRA is trying to do. I’m not sure if they are trying to draft the S&S powered bikes out of the class. I really don’t know. It’s obvious that there’s not a whole lot that we can do about it. We don’t have the political power and the persuasiveness that others have. It looks like the rules are going to be made by the NHRA and Harley-Davidson as they see fit. It’s a sad day but that’s the way it is.
“I’m not even sure if we are going to be able to compete. It’s already tough to get new sponsors [for the class]. We felt like we had done a good job to get new riders who have performed well with new sponsors and brought new money into the class. This floors me and I’m not quite sure what to do.
“It’s very frustrating. This is demoralizing. The fact that Vance & Hines and Harley-Davidson have already done the engineering on this and had it worked out; then passed the rule at the midnight hour without telling anybody is very upsetting.
“What you have is two of the bikes in this class, Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec, are tuned by one of the best in the business. I have the utmost respect for Byron Hines. By allowing them to develop an engine and make more power for whatever reason gives them a competitive edge where they can compete and hold some of the power in reserve. They are astute enough tuners to where they can win by .02 to .03. It’s just an unfair situation.
“When you have a cross section of teams powered by the S&S engine, the performances of those teams are always going to come to the top. “There’s no sandbagging. There’s no situation where you can hold some in reserve because each team wants to win and the cream comes to the top. That’s been evidenced throughout the whole campaign. On the other hand, no one really knows how quick the V-Rods will really run. Only Byron knows. Nobody else has one. For them to have the rules made for pretty much however they want it, and just have their two bikes with the confidence of the financial wealth of the goliath Harley-Davidson. It’s an intimidating situation.
“If the rules were the same and we were allowed to do the same thing with the engine, then it would be a different ballgame. Without budget by allowing four-valve heads, it would make it tough for the number of S&S-powered teams to compete. They don’t all have the money to do the upgrades that would be necessary to convert over to the four-valve, overhead cam.
“I have always supported the NHRA through S&S or G2 Racing. I have supported the rules committee and the NHRA’s Don Taylor. I have always taken the high ground with how S&S, my crew and me personally have conducted themselves with respect to the NHRA. I really feel demoralized that this has occurred.”
Later this afternoon, CompetitionPlus.com will publish an article
describing the facts and opinions surrounding the new NHRA rule
permitting the use of a four-valve Harley-Davidson V-rod engine similar
to that being implemented in 2009 by Suzuki.This unpublicized rule has created an inordinate amount of dissension amongst the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks largely due to the way it was handed down.
The Suzuki teams consider the move by the NHRA’s tech department to provide Harley-Davidson with an unfair advantage and the Buell teams facing two OEM combinations with four-valve engines as a move they feel will eventually legislate the S&S-powered bikes out of existence. Offers Statement on Behalf of S&S …
Later this afternoon, CompetitionPlus.com will publish an article describing the facts and opinions surrounding the new NHRA rule permitting the use of a four-valve Harley-Davidson V-rod engine similar to that being implemented in 2009 by Suzuki.This unpublicized rule has created an inordinate amount of dissension amongst the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks largely due to the way it was handed down.
The Suzuki teams consider the move by the NHRA’s tech department to provide Harley-Davidson with an unfair advantage and the Buell teams facing two OEM combinations with four-valve engines as a move they feel will eventually legislate the S&S-powered bikes out of existence.
George Smith, the leader of S&S Performance, the engine supplier for the Buell-branded Pro Stock Motorcycles, has been in Australia servicing customers and learned of the situation via a phone call.
Smith contacted CompetitionPlus.com last evening upon learning all the details of the rule amendment.
The following is his heartfelt statement.
“We entered the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class with a special purpose-built engine in 2002, and had the prototype built by 2003. We went through a rigorous approval process with the NHRA which stipulated that we had to follow the rules of two-valve heads, 160-cubic inches and 60-degree pushrods and we had to make these available to other racers at a reasonable price. The NHRA was very insistent on that.
“We went through the approval process and even got Harley-Davidson to approve the XB9R body. We felt the NHRA being the premiere drag racing sanctioning body in the country, if not the world, would provide a venue with a reasonably level playing field where the merits of engine design would be showcased in fair competition.
“It didn’t take long once we realized that we were competing well, for us, to find that that’s not always the case. I can’t remember the exact timing of it but NHRA decided the V-Rods and the S&S engines were different brands and were subject to a different rule application relative to performance and the weight which is imposed if you perform well. Of course, that is evidenced by the fact the S&S-powered bikes have to weigh five pounds more at 625 than the V-Rods.
“I didn’t think that was fair since the engines were built under the same specifications. It appears that the political power of the Vance & Hines, Terry Vance and of course, Harley-Davidson lobby carries enough weight with the NHRA that they can pretty much do whatever they want.
“S&S has continued to do their very best to continue to make high quality packages available. That’s evident by half of the qualified field during the 2008 season was S&S-powered machines. We did well with Chris Rivas on the S&S/Drag Specialties bike by winning four races. I believe Matt Smith won four on his bike. Hector Arana won a race and Matt Guidera won a couple of races. S&S-powered bikes won 11 of the 17 events.
“If you look at the qualifying averages and numbers from the various contestants, you will see that we had the most parity and most competitive year in the history of Pro Stock Motorcycle. I felt like we had a pretty good class even though we had to weigh five pounds more than the V-Rods.
“When the (2009) rulebook came out we were totally floored. It’s mind-boggling. I’m not sure what the NHRA is trying to do. I’m not sure if they are trying to draft the S&S powered bikes out of the class. I really don’t know. It’s obvious that there’s not a whole lot that we can do about it. We don’t have the political power and the persuasiveness that others have. It looks like the rules are going to be made by the NHRA and Harley-Davidson as they see fit. It’s a sad day but that’s the way it is.
“I’m not even sure if we are going to be able to compete. It’s already tough to get new sponsors [for the class]. We felt like we had done a good job to get new riders who have performed well with new sponsors and brought new money into the class. This floors me and I’m not quite sure what to do.
“It’s very frustrating. This is demoralizing. The fact that Vance & Hines and Harley-Davidson have already done the engineering on this and had it worked out; then passed the rule at the midnight hour without telling anybody is very upsetting.
“What you have is two of the bikes in this class, Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec, are tuned by one of the best in the business. I have the utmost respect for Byron Hines. By allowing them to develop an engine and make more power for whatever reason gives them a competitive edge where they can compete and hold some of the power in reserve. They are astute enough tuners to where they can win by .02 to .03. It’s just an unfair situation.
“When you have a cross section of teams powered by the S&S engine, the performances of those teams are always going to come to the top. “There’s no sandbagging. There’s no situation where you can hold some in reserve because each team wants to win and the cream comes to the top. That’s been evidenced throughout the whole campaign. On the other hand, no one really knows how quick the V-Rods will really run. Only Byron knows. Nobody else has one. For them to have the rules made for pretty much however they want it, and just have their two bikes with the confidence of the financial wealth of the goliath Harley-Davidson. It’s an intimidating situation.
“If the rules were the same and we were allowed to do the same thing with the engine, then it would be a different ballgame. Without budget by allowing four-valve heads, it would make it tough for the number of S&S-powered teams to compete. They don’t all have the money to do the upgrades that would be necessary to convert over to the four-valve, overhead cam.
“I have always supported the NHRA through S&S or G2 Racing. I have supported the rules committee and the NHRA’s Don Taylor. I have always taken the high ground with how S&S, my crew and me personally have conducted themselves with respect to the NHRA. I really feel demoralized that this has occurred.”
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