Wheels Of Thunder All Motorsports Magazine March 2013 Issue

Vol. 4 Issue 3

MARCH 2013

6

Page 26

Page 20

Front Cover Photo by ShootersImages.com

Find us on Facebook “Wheels of Thunder” March 2013

Special FeaturesDan Coates - Winning Expression ..................4NHRA Winternationals - Courtney Force.......16Big Blue Racing ..........................................50Yankee’s Drag Racing .................................58

ReviewsShamrock Trucking......................................30

Rally’s & ShowsNSSR - Fire On Ice ......................................20Grassroots Round 5 ERX..............................2444th Annual Rod & Custom Car Show..........32Okoboji Vintage Drag Racing ......................34Jack Race...................................................38IMS 2013 ...................................................44ISOC National - New York ..........................54

DepartmentsGarage Built.................................................8Boiling Point................................................12Next Generation - Jacob Gondik .................26ABATE of MN.............................................42Game On!..................................................60

Page 58

Page 24

2

OWNERPRESIDENT – Scott [email protected]

612-730-3719

OFFICE STAFFAR/AP – Stacy Robinson

763-421-4400OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR/AR – Vince Griffith

[email protected]

JUNIOR BOSS – Zack Robinson763-421-4400

EDITORIAL STAFFEDITOR/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Betty [email protected]

763-421-4400

Photographers/WritersBILLY BOYLE TANNER WOLFECEAJA PHILP TOM EDWARDS

JESSICA KANKE JENNA OSTERLUNDMATT PETERSON MYLIE LAVOLDKIM NILES JOHN LENTZKOW

ADVERTISING STAFFSALES – Scott Robinson

[email protected] (CJ) Philp

[email protected]

WISCONSIN - Brad [email protected]

715-497-8090IOWA - John Lentzkow

[email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONS$34.99 - PHONE: 763-421-4400

www.wheelsofthunder.net

All content published herein is owned exclu-sively by Midwest Wheels of Thunder Maga-zine. Reproduction or further disseminationof the content herein is strictly prohibitedwithout the express written authorization ofMidwest Wheels of Thunder Magazine.

www.WheelsofThunder.net Page 3March 2013


W hen Dan Coates and the rest ofthe team at Deadline Customs, ofForest Lake, Minnesota set their

mind to something...it gets done!

Written by Ceaja Philp

Photography byShooters Images, Inc.

www.WheelsofThunder.net March 2013

Dan brought in his 2011 Harley DavidsonFLTRX and the guys wasted no time put-ting the design ideas created by Dan andalso Dana Hallberg in motion. The paintwould be left in the creative hands of DLC'sJeff Urman. Nick Popa and Doug Marsh,also from DLC would also join in on thebuild in order to get it complete in time.

In just two shorts months the team mademodifications that included the frameraked for the 26" Rampage Hurricane frontwheel and a 17" Rampage Rear Smoothie,

Sinister extended bags, front and rearfender, side panels, handlebars, gas tank,and floorboards changes. A Bikeman Per-formance 107 CI set up, a slightly modifiedstereo, Hell Bent exhaust, and a Stingrayseat built by In Stitches, Mark Milbrandt.

It didn't take long for the freshly designedbike to get noticed and awarded for its eyepopping design and vibrate color with in-tense detail. Dan's Harley won the 2013Minneapolis International MotorcycleShow Ultimate Builder Freestyle Class, andalso Buddha's Baddest Bagger!

Dan has every intention of enjoying hisride this year, and then says it may be avail-able for someone else to enjoy so that hecan start another build.

DAN COATESWinning Expression

1996 Yamaha Virago xv1100

After serving a year in Iraq at theage of 18, Charlie Parpart’s lifetook an unexpected turn whenhe enrolled in South CentralCollege in Mankato to earn hisassociate’s degree in Autobodyand Collision Repair.

“After the bike was completed, I putmy very own “CPC” logo on it, whichstands for Charlie Parpart Customs.”

~ Charlie Parpart

Stock OriginalThis is where it all started!Stock Original

This is where it all started!

Sound Familiar?Do you have a story of your custom ride? [email protected] and you could be

featured with your ride in the next issue!

Photography by Dennis Shermanwww.sherman-photography.com


Charlie built this bike by himself 2 years ago as some-thing to pass the time in shop after he had enough labhours for the semester.

“After cutting down the rear frame to fit in the bobberseat, I built the rear fender myself out of a trailerfender. Of course I had to cut out 2 inches out of thecenter to make it fit and weld it back together, but itlooks good!” states Charlie.

He also built the handle bars, forward controls, andlinkage for the bike to better fit his comfort and style ofriding. “I removed the original gauges and replacedthem with digital mirrors from ‘Dakota Digital’ in whichI had to do all the rewiring, which was one late night toget the bike ready for a bike run the next morning, butI made it.”

After a year of having the bike painted lime green Char-lie decided it was time for something new so he did amarble look with the green and black, powder coatedthe rims and wrapped them with white walls for an oldschool bobber look.



Written by Irish Billy Boyle

“THE LUCK OF THE IRISH”

March one of my favorite times of the year.Snow starts to melt, streets start to clear,temperatures warming up, motorcyclesstarting to hit the pavement, and it’s timefor my ethnic celebration, St Patrick’s day.

Many people don’t have a clue why we cel-ebrate the wearing of the green. The tradi-tion goes way back. St. Patrick's Day iscelebrated on March 17, the saint's reli-gious feast day and the anniversary of hisdeath in the fifth Century. The Irish haveobserved this day as a religious holiday forover 1,000 years. On St. Patrick's Day,which falls during the Christian season ofLent, Irish families would traditionally at-tend church in the morning and celebratein the afternoon. Lenten prohibitionsagainst the consumption of meat werewaived and people would dance, drink andfeast--on the traditional meal of Irish baconand cabbage.

Now in my neck of the woods, SouthBoston or Southie as we call we call it westuck pretty close to this tradition. The ex-ception was an afternoon grand paradefrom one end of the neighborhood to theother. The parade tradition started in Ire-land but the Marchers were quiet re-spectable religious leaders. They didn’t

wear green, they didn’t have “Kiss me I’mIrish” buttons displayed, or Shamrocksstenciled on their face. The tribute to StPatrick was a quiet stroll through the coun-try side without the aid of blaring marchingbands. That was the intent to honoring ourbeloved Saint.

The change started at the turn of the lastcentury in Ireland where the politiciansstarted to replace the Catholic Priest andProtestant Vickers, but the march was stilla quiet one that ended on the sober side inchurch or community center. Somewherealong the line the quietness of the celebra-tion got lost when the Irish hit the shoresof America. When the Irish arrived in theUSA, they were very disliked, treated badly,despised and hated. My Grandmother thathas long passed used to tell me about herfather looking for a job in Boston, eitherthe help wanted section or the signs postedin the windows of businesses advertisingfor employment would have the lettersINNA. That simply meant Irish Need NotApply. That’s old school discrimination.

Many of the first Irish Immigrants startedthe tradition of celebrating St Patrick’s Dayin the theme of what they knew back in theemerald isle, with a march through the

neighborhood...but, the weather being a lit-tle on the cooler side in Boston this littlemarch included a wee taste of Irishwhiskey to keep warm during the 2 milewalk. That was the start of celebrating in afestive atmosphere with a traditional Irishtoast of Jameson’s Whiskey. I can remem-ber growing up in Southie as a boy duringSt Patty’s Day, my mother and father wouldfill up the sink, bathtub, and washer ma-chine with ice and top if off with a fewcases of beer. Our friends and relativeswould show up with platters of food andmore booze, my mother would slow cook acorned beef and cabbage dinner; my fatherwould be getting tuned up with an Irishcoffee and his cavalcade of Irish ballads.Nice setting, right? Well my friends thiswas just the start of the day because it wasonly 8:00 am in the morning and we hadthe whole day to go. With the house full ofIrish revelers drinking, eating, storytelling,and drinking some more, the tone of theday were set. The streets are lined five deepwith family, friends, visitors to this histor-ical neighborhood.

South Boston gains some of its history fromGeneral George Washington, George lead-ing his forces from Valley Forge trekkedthrough ice and snow and pulled 49 can-nons all the way to Southie. The cannonswere placed high on a hill that is nowknown as Dorchester Heights which over-looks Boston Harbor. In fact, the BostonPoliticians needed a reason or a really goodexcuse to have a celebration that coincideswith St Patrick’s Day. The selected eventwas the brave General’s plan to drive theBritish out of Boston and pay tribute to ourfirst fearless leader with a holiday and a pa-rade. For you history buff’s the event isknown as Evacuation Day, however askmost people that are not from Southie andthey haven’t a clue what Evacuation Day is.You certainly wouldn’t see anyone with a“Kiss Me I love George Washington” but-ton. The attire for this US history makingevent, pretty much anything green, white,and orange and lots of Shamrocks.

Back to the celebration from a distance you

can hear the sound of the first marchingband, traditionally the South Boston pa-rade kicks off with the Boston Fire Depart-ment Marching Band. The parade is sospectacular that even the people that havebeen watching the long green mile yearafter year are always impressed.

Back at my house we are full to the limit;we now have stragglers that have wanderedin to use the potty and decided to stay forthe “Pahty”. For you Midwesterners that’sPARTY. The festivities go and on, a littledifferent twist than my Irish ancestors thatset out to honor our patron saint.

Some other things I wanted to point out,we never had green beer on St Patrick’sDay. I don’t know who decided that greenbeer was a cool thing to do, but for us trueIrishmen its Guinness and lots of it. The

South Boston tribute to St Patrick is one ofthe best and biggest in the United Statesand no celebration would be completewithout a big Donnybrook to end the day.For those of you that don’t know what aDonnybrook is, it’s one hell of a streetbrawl. Growing up in Southie fighting afterthe parade was one of those crazy tradi-tions that you just couldn’t wait for thestreet sweepers to finish up the parade.Even the fighting was all in fun, not thekind that an outsider would consider fun,but we looked at the swinging of punchesand black eyes as an annual sporting event.That’s the luck of the Irish.

Speaking of Irish luck another phase thatpeople mistake for good fortune. It is anironic phrase. The Irish have been, and area spectacularly unlucky race. The "luck ofthe Irish" is BAD luck, as any reading of

Irish history will document. When theIrish had any kind of success most Ameri-cans at the time didn't think the Irish werecapable such successes, so they called itluck. Hence the term "Luck of the Irish".

Another stereotype the Irish are known foris the Irish cop. Back in the last centuryBoston was overloaded with Irish police-men that walked the beat round the clock.So how did the Boston Police Force get topheavy with a bunch of “McCops”? Well theBoston Police walked off the job back inthe day the Calvin Coolidge was Presidentof the United States. Old Calvin workedwith the local Boston politicians and calledin the troops to police Boston until theycould figure things out. As the historianstell the story, the politicians wanted to oneup the striking police officers. They de-cided to hire the men that were treated likecrap, couldn’t find a decent job, but theirwork ethic and religious views were that ofbeing a decent human being. You guessed

it a full contingent of Paddy’s walking thebeat. Another term that became part of theEnglish language, “the Paddy Wagon”. TheIrish cops didn’t pull any punches withanyone, they would sweep the city ofdrunks, usually their own kind and fill upthe police vans as we call them today witha bunch of street brawling drunken Irish-men. Hence the term, Paddy Wagon. Myfriend that is a little bit of Irish history froma South Boston guy as I know it. The Irishare a strong breed, we get pegged as abunch of drunken brawlers, but I will tellyou this an Irishman will always have hisfriends and family’s back, as long as youbuy him a pint.

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all the Wheels ofThunder readers and my Midwest Irishfriends.

The views expressed in The Boiling Point aresolely the opinions and research of Billy Boyleand are not necessarily the view point of the

magazine or its’ creators.



T he world passes by Courtney Force’s window a lot fasterthan it did a little more than a year ago. It’s hard for her tosee when everything is a blur, and there’s almost no time to

react. That’s the case in many sports at the professional rank. InNHRA Drag Racing, though, it’s extreme. The speed is blinding.“It’s a lot faster,” Courtney said. “You see a lot less. It’s veryblurry.” Still, the 24-year-old daughter of NHRA legend JohnForce is holding her lines on the track at more than 300 mph,managing to see at least something, and is holding her own in theever-popular Fuel Funny Car class.


Courtney – now in her second season inthe 8,000-horsepower Traxxas Ford Mus-tang funny car – found success last yearwith her first win in Seattle and made an-other statement when she opened the 2013NHRA Winternationals with a win atPomona, Calif., in front of her homecrowd. The 2012 NHRA Rookie of the Yearand Automobile Club of California Road tothe Future Award winner looks to keepmoving forward, even faster.

Between races, she’s practicing her reactiontime. During races, she’s ripping holeshots.The downtime in offseason and mere min-utes between races are anxiety-filled mo-ments. Waiting on the starting line isespecially nerve-racking. The four secondsof madness after the light turns green: bliss.

Top Fuel, Funny Car and family

When a man who breathes race fuel androars down a track at more than 300 mphfor a living wants to have kids, he wantsboys. John Force got a daughter, then an-other, and another, and another.

“I always wanted sons,” John said. “Andthose girls kept popping out. … I didn’t getmy sons, but I’ve got girls who can drivelike the men.”

That’s not just a feel-good statement, either,as last year Courtney beat her dad at hisown game in Funny Car – an awesome yetbittersweet moment when she knockedJohn out of the points lead. No hard feel-ings, but racing is racing. These girls haverace fuel in their blood, too.

“We don’t want to just be the best femalesout there,” Courtney said. “We want to bejust as good as the guys. We want to be thebest drivers out there.”

John’s entire family, in Yorba Linda, Calif.,forms the John Force Racing team. His old-est daughter, Adria Force Hight, married acrew member, Robert Hight. John’s seconddaughter, Ashley Force Hood, is also mar-ried to a crewman and made a name forherself in a funny car several years beforeCourtney. The second youngest, BrittanyForce, just made the jump from Top Alco-hol to Top Fuel, where she also blazes atmore than 300 mph.

Even mom, Laurie Force, got licensed todrive a dragster. She wanted to understandthe terminology. She wanted to keep up

Written by Matt Peterson

Photos provided byRon Lewis Photography

From left: Courtney Force, John Force, Brittany Force


with her family, so to speak.

From 2006 to 2007, the family was fea-tured on A&E’s “Driving Force.” The girlsgrew up at racetracks. John has Courtney’schildhood drawings, in which she raceshim down the track. A novelist couldn’thave foreshadowed it better.

“I wanted the funny car because that’s whatwe had around our shop,” Courtney said.“Dad knew funny car.”

John admits, because of his career, hecouldn’t always be there for his daughters.He’s there now, though.

“NHRA took me away from my kids, andnow it gave them back to me,” he said.

Nerves at 300

Despite success in her young career, Court-ney is anxious every time she climbs in theracecar. She was accustomed to 270 mphafter several years in Top Alcohol class.Now she’s acclimating to an additional 40mph, sometimes faster. The engine is infront of her, instead of behind, so the chas-sis feels way different. Along with com-pensating for the added blur, Courtneyfeared she wouldn’t be able to see out of thecar.

“I was used to the long dragster,” she said.“The body over me was a lot different.”

That’s where dad’s expertise comes in. Ifanybody knows how to handle a funny car,it’s John Force. Grown men buy Castrol

GTX oil just because it comes with a 3-inchdie-cast John Force Racing funny car.Courtney is fully aware of how iconic herdad is and always looked up to him thesame way. What’s more, she knows she cantrust the legend’s advice.

“The only one you’ve got is that car to keepyou alive,” John told her, “and you betterknow it better than any boyfriend or friendyou’ve ever have.”

John helped Courtney transfer to the funnycar class with baby steps, or towing, forthat matter. He towed her funny car whileshe steered and developed a feel for it.

“It’s not really like you can just hop in andtake a ride,” Courtney said. “It’s a littlemore difficult than that.”

Then there were short runs, and eventually,full passes. Steering the funny car is a chal-lenge.

“I love fighting to keep that car straight,”she said.

Drivers are at the mercy of the awesomepower of a funny car. The Force’s saw thatfirsthand in 2007 when their team memberEric Medlen died from a head injury aftersevere tire shake and crashing.

“It was a heartbreaker,” John said. “Ithought right there they might quit.”

Several months later, John was severely in-jured in his own crash. The team steppedback, reassessed their whole situation butstayed true to the sport, like Medlen wouldhave wanted.

Funny Car isn’t like Top Alcohol, so Court-ney is still honing new pedaling skills forwhen the car breaks loose. In a full run, shehas four seconds to react.

“You’ve really got to learn to pedal, slowpedal, sometimes a quick pedal down atthe other end of the track,” Courtney said,who has since turned a career-best 4.028-second, 319-mph pass during Funny Carcompetition. “When I was in A Fuel drag-ster, I think it was a little bit easier to pedalthe car. Dragsters, they’re forgiving; they’rereally easy to hook back up. In a funny car,it just wants to turn sideways and turn youinto a wall. My dad even says nowadays it’sa lot harder to catch it.”


Cool, calm, collected woman

While Courtney admits to anxiety beforeevery race, John sees it differently after thetires smoke and Courtney crosses the fin-ish line. She’s Cool-Hand Luke, he says.

Off the racetrack, she’s a pretty reasonableperson, too, and has a deal with Ford to bea positive influence. Courtney is a mentorin the Ford Driving Skills for Life program.Mentors teach teens and parents about safedriving through tutorials, games, simula-tions videos and expert advice. Among hergrit on the track and advocacy for safety offthe track, Courtney is an obvious voice forwomen, too. She blogs for ESPN W, awomen’s sports forum, and wishes her fel-low athletes good luck, like when sheTweeted Danica Patrick a little encourage-ment before this year’s Daytona 500.

If the stigma of being a woman in whatpeople consider a man’s sport isn’t gone, ithas certainly faded. Old-school fans cheerfor John Force, but they cheer for theyoung Force sisters, too. ESPN couldn’tseem to get enough coverage of Courtney,as it showed her before almost every com-mercial break during Arizona Nationals,saying, “The car doesn’t care if the driveris male or female.”

What Courtney does in Funny Car, simplyput, is cool. Somehow, she hasn’t let thatgo to her head. Early success can create alot of personal pressure, as well. Fromrookie jitters to wins, Courtney still fearsthe sophomore slump.

“I was just a rookie last year,” Courtneysaid. “I may have gotten the win the firstrace out, but I’ve still got a lot to learn.”

That’s OK, though. Again, dad is JohnForce, and he knows a funny car better

than anyone. Even Courtney says it. John,the 15-time champ, waited nine years towin his first national event. Courtney didthat her rookie year and finished fifth inchampionship points.

“She did everything but win a champi-onship,” John said. “What else could youask for?”

Ask Courtney, whether she finishes 10th orfirst, and she’ll hope for more attention forthe sport. The communications major hasa fallback if racing doesn’t work out, whichisn’t likely. Either way, Courtney is an am-bassador for NHRA with a smile on herface in every picture. Youngsters want herautograph. They want the new CourtneyForce Traxxas remote control car. That’s alittle indicator of the way things are goingfor now.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be any good atbringing any attention to it,” Courtney saidabout NHRA, “but at least I can try.”

Fans could argue she’s doing a pretty goodjob.


On February 25th, I attended the NSSR“Fastest Show on Ice” in Menomonie, WIwhere Team Parent was racing for the day.

It was the first race of the 2013 NSSR Fire on IceWorld Record Series and Team Parent was pro-viding valuable testing and feedback on my newsnowmobile racing product, KimmyCat’s SlideLube. This was the day we’d all been waiting for,a chance to see how the slide lube would performon shaved ice in a real run for the record books.


Of course, we’d had a very successful sum-mer at the grass drags, including the initialtest run taking first place at a local event inthe Vintage 440 Stock D Fan Cooled divi-sion. I got a big sweaty hug from MurrayRoberts that day! That success was fol-lowed by several other racing events wherethe racers were reporting picking up fasterspeeds even in the 500 foot runs. But thereal test would be on 1000 feet of shavedice with various sleds and lube systems.And finally, that day had arrived on LakeMenomin.

First a little background for those whoaren’t familiar with the NSSR. The NationalStraightline Snowmobile Racing WorldRecord Speed Run Series has been around

since 1986 and is known worldwide as theonly world record speed run circuit. Thetrack consists of 1000 feet of clean ice, with2000 feet of shaved shutdown. In order toearn a world record, the fastest run in aclass must be backed up the same daywithin 2% of that speed. There’s also amandatory tear down of any stock sleds toensure the integrity of the class record. TheNSSR is affiliated with International Snow-mobile Racing (ISR) and follows their rulesfor classes. This particular day, the eventincluded a run for the Guinness WorldRecord for fastest speed in a quarter mile.

Ok, so back to the races. I’m set up in theregistration tent, when in walks Jack Hen-ricks. I have to admit, I’m still a bitcelebrity shy and, for me, Jack is definitelya celebrity. But, I had the perfect openingline and I wasn’t afraid to use it. See, I hadjust shipped a gallon of my slide lube toVermont to a guy who actually owned oneof Jack’s old World Record breaking sleds.So, I casually mention this and explain thatJoe was hoping my slide lube would helphim get the sled closer to the speed thatJack had broken the record at. So Jacklooks down, studies my brochure for a sec-ond, and says “Ok, I’ll try it.” I’m ecstatic,but extremely nervous! After all, this wastesting day for us and here’s Jack Henricksabout to try it out on a Guinness recordbreaking run!

The Guinness World Record for the quar-ter mile speed run was last set in 1989 byMarv Jorgensen at 190.308 mph (backedup by 189 mph) on his 3 engine four cylin-

Written by Kim“KimmyCat” Niles

Photography by James Netzwww.jamesnetz.com


der NOS Jaws III Machine. That record hadstood for over 24 years. Jack was about totake his turn at breaking the record on hissingle engine Sit Up and Ride HenricksPowersports Yamaha/One Stop Perform-ance Machine. I have a great shot of himwaiting to get to the starting line, with a 20oz. bottle of KimmyCat’s sitting on theback of the sled. How cool is that?

Finally, after what seemed like forever, theYamaha/OSP was on the line. The pit crewwas putting the slide lube on the track. Thehelmet cam was on. The track was readyand the all clear was given by the race offi-cial. And, I knew the second I saw thenumbers -- 190.728 mph was enough tobreak the record. All he had to do now wasback it up. There were 4 Guinness Recordruns scheduled throughout the day, but it

only took two runs to officially break therecord. Jack was able to back up his runwith 189.890 mph the very next time out.It was a good day for KimmyCat’s.

It didn’t end with the Guinness record,though. As I visited with the various racerswho were trying out the slide lube, I foundone success story after another. From myteam who took first in 4 classes, includinga world record in the Vintage Stock D 440class with Murray’s 1976 Mercury, to MikeMansfield from Big Lake who broke theTrail Stock 800 world record on his TriplePolaris. It was Mike’s first time on the Proside of the track, and his crew kept comingback for more slide lube all day long. Mikewas even able to break his own record atthe next NSSR event in Forest Lake twoweeks later.

In all, I counted at least 5 world recordsthat day in Menomonie running Kimmy-Cat’s. At Forest Lake, there were at least 8world records broken running the slidelube. My favorite part of that day was whenthe “greenhorn” on the Fun Run side just

needed .6 mph to tie for third. I finallytalked him into trying the slide lube, andhe gained almost 2 mph on the 1000 footrun to tie for first! The only difference wasabout 20 minutes and KimmyCat’s SlideLube. I love it when they can’t help but giveme a big ole bear hug.

For more information on the World RecordSeries, check out the NSSR website atwww.racenssr.com. And, be sure to checkthe video of Jack Henricks on the fastestsnowmobile in the world athttps://vimeo.com/59266859. If you wantto go fast, look up Henricks Powersportsonline at www.henrickspowersports.comand give them a call! Don’t forget your slidelube, though. You can check that out atwww.kimmycats.com.

round 5 - Grassroots racing series

Photography byKeith McKenna612-718-6910


snocross races at ERX Motor Park



W atching 2,600 pounds of steel kick up dirt, nearing

100 miles per hour, all while avoiding 20 other cars

inches away, gets your heart racing. Now add a

thrill-seeking, adrenaline junkie teenager to that mix, and you

have 17 year old Jacob Gondik. Sounds like a recipe for disaster,

right? Wrong. This combination, along with immense commit-

ment and maturity beyond his years, produces a wall full of rac-

ing titles and trophies.


Racing is practically in Jacob’s genes. Pas-sion for the thrill of speed was passeddown from his Great Grandpa Steve, whoattended races in Superior, Wisconsinwhen horses kicked up the dirt track.Nearly 80 years later, Steve’s great grand-son was introduced to that same track.Jacob grew up spending his evenings withhis dad, Rick Gondik, Jr., and GreatGrandpa Steve Gondik at the former Supe-

rior Speedway. Between time in the grand-stands, Jacob spent his time behind thescenes meeting some of his biggest idols -race car drivers. Steve would say at agefour Jacob could “shoot the shit with thebest of ‘em.” This sparked Jacob’s child-hood dream of racing alongside these guyssomeday on the dirt track.

While most 10 year olds are hitting theirtop speeds on bicycles, Jacob began hisjourney to the dirt track in go kart races atthe local Bugsy’s bar track. His dad in-vested in a six and a half horsepower Briggsand Stratton go kart for Jacob that topped40 miles per hour. With the help of familyfriend and former racer Leroy Landin,Jacob mastered his machine. After a weekof preparation and 100 laps under his belt,Jacob competed in his first race. Jacobplaced first in his first heat lap starting infourth and second place in his other heatlap starting in sixth. Starting at the pole inhis first race, Jacob won his first feature.

Winning was only one component ofJacob’s drive to race. His loyal fans, lateGrandpa George Bolos and late GreatGrandpa Steve Gondik, along with a hugeloving family, always served as motivation.They were Jacob’s grandstand drivers, al-ways there for advice and support, which

Jacob GondikSeventeen Years at

One Hundred Miles per HourWritten by Jenna Osterlund

Photography bywww.shooterguyphotos.com


went a long way. These guys inspired eachyear of Jacob’s life to be dedicated to rac-ing, leading to 42 feature wins in just hisfirst two years.

Jacob’s potential to become a successfulrace car driver was undeniable. He hadtwo go kart upgrades and raced at theKnoxville Nationals in Iowa and the Wis-consin State Championship. Jacob racedin the A-Feature at the Knoxville Nation-als, placing twelfth and nearly won theWisconsin State Championship but washindered by fouling a spark plug. His lastyear go kart racing was full of blown up en-gines leading to disappointments, but thiswas not enough to stop him from chasinghis dream.

Though Jacob wasn’t old enough to legallydrive 15 miles per hour in a school zone,he was legal to drive 80 miles per hour ona dirt track. Still a child at age 15, Jacob’schildhood dreams were finally about tocome true. Jacob’s dad bought him a GRTChassis from the well-known, World ofOutlaw Late Model Series dirt track featurewinner, Pat Doar from New Richmond,Wisconsin. Pat even came to Jacob’s houseto help him set up his new car. A 367horsepower engine was the cherry on topof the GRT.

Jacob’s first dirt track race in the MidwestModified class at Rice Lake Speedway inRice Lake, Wisconsin, was full of nervesand uncertainty. This wasn’t the solid,smooth paved track Jacob was accustomedto. Luckily, Jacob had an older cousin, Tay-

lor Leuthner with experience on this trackto guide him. Even though Taylor wasonly a few years ahead of Jacob, his title ofmost wins in the Midwestern Modifiedclass at ABC Raceway in Ashland, Wiscon-sin, at age 18 made him a prime role modelfor Jacob. Jacob voluntarily started in last,and not-so-voluntarily placed last in hisfirst dirt track race. He made up for this inhis 6th place finish in the B-Feature laterin the same show.

The next two years of dirt track racing havebeen full of placing high in total points andtop finishes. Just a year into dirt track rac-ing, Jacob placed 9th out of 26 for trackpoints, placed 10th out of 24 cars startinglast, and won the Rookie of the Year award

out of 125 total racers. This past season,Jacob had 18 out of 25 feature starts andplaced in a top 10. He even raced along-side one of his childhood idols that has 30years of experience, and nearly beat him,but was passed in the last lap. ThoughJacob’s short career of racing has been fullof success, it also has its hard parts. “Noone wants a punk kid out there,” accord-ing to Jacob…and maybe a few other vet-eran drivers. But Jacob’s commitment andmaturity does not reflect that of a “punkkid.” Over twenty hours of work a week isdedicated to prepping for races, all whilefitting in family, hunting, fishing, andschool. Then there are the hours on thetrack, focused on nothing but protectinghis and everyone’s cars and lives. “There isa fine line between aggressiveness and pas-siveness,” Jacob said, “sometimes I settlefor less than what the car can give me.”This self-control has gained Jacob respectamongst veterans on the track.

Next season, Jacob will be entering thedirt track a year older and more experi-enced. This kid has all the potential andtalent in the world to reach the successof those who have helped him along theway. You know when a person makestheir childhood dreams come true dur-ing their childhood, their dedication andfocus is top-notch. I can guarantee youthat Jacob is one to follow on the dirttrack and throughout his career. Jacobcan be found in “29G” tearing up dirt onAshland, Proctor, Cedar Lake, Rice Lake,Ogilvie, and Superior tracks today, andTalladega tomorrow.


What this ultimately means, is an easy so-lution for their customers waste disposalneeds. Whether it’s construction, manu-facturing, industrial, commercial, munic-ipal solid or recycling waste, Shamrock

Trucking can handle the job from begin-ning to end. They also offer free wastecharacterization and consulting.

The Shamrock Trucking team includes

owners, Rich and Becky Gersdorf; alongwith Sales Manager, Joe Pesante. Locatedin Cloquet, MN, Shamrock offers manyservices including roll off containersranging from 10 to 40 cubic yards. Theyalso have end-dump and walking floortrailers that can haul up to 26 tons.

Over the past 2 years, Shamrock hasgrown to a fleet of over 15 trucks andtrailers that enables them to better ad-dress the various needs of waste disposal.

“The unique tractor and trailer combosenable us to haul heavy loads to maxi-mize tonnage, and this helps reduce thecustomer’s costs,” says Pesante. This ver-satility allows Shamrock to better servethe manufacturing and industrial wastestreams that are generated. “Things reallytook off for us in those business segmentswhen we started hauling materials fromthe mines up in the iron range and man-ufacturing companies around Duluth.”

Shamrock Trucking is not just about of-fering a variety of waste disposal services

“Shamrock Trucking

was formed along

with the Shamrock

Landfill in 2011. The two

joined forces to accommodate

a diverse portfolio of indus-

trial waste customers

and have been successful

in performing turn-key

solutions to customers.”

Written by Mylie Lavold


and equipment. They are committed toproviding the best and most completecustomer service in the industry. Whenthey say they offer turn-key service, theymean it. “We don’t like to say no,” saysPesante. “If the customer needs some-thing that is not entirely in our wheelhouse, we have the network and re-sources to meet those needs. We arrangefor third party services and truly manageall aspects of the project for the customer.We pride ourselves in having the bestservice around.”

Pesante points out that many of theircompetitors are process driven whereShamrock makes doing business withthem, streamlined and simple. “We liketo get the work done and make it easy onboth ends…not over analyze.”

“Having someone who could meet allour needs was incredibly important tous,” says an Environmental Engineer onthe iron range. “Shamrock Trucking hasthe ability to be very flexible with us.They were able to offer the high quality

service we needed along with the lowcost we were looking for.”

Shamrock also strives to be a communitypartner. They provided free disposal offlood debris during last year’s flood thatdevastated many areas around Duluthand Carlton County. They offered specialemergency rates to homeowners through-out the flood damaged areas, so theycould be where they were needed, whenthey were needed most.

“In the end, it’s all about maintaining andbuilding healthy business relationships,one of Shamrock’s core goals,” says Pe-sante. “Our customers trust us and wetrust our customers.”

Contact Shamrock Trucking: 218-878-0200 or [email protected]

Learn more: www.shamrocktruck-ingmn.com

You can also find Shamrock Trucking onFacebook, Twitter and YouTube


For those suffering from acase of “Cabin Fever” herein Iowa after a long winter,

the 44th Annual Rod &Custom CarShow held in Monticello, Iowa is agreat escape to shed those winterblues. The Muller brothers Ralf,Tom, and Jim have over the yearsturned this invitational only showinto a huge success with exhibitorsfrom throughout the Midwest.

Written by John Lentzkow


Due to my involvement in snowmobile rac-ing in the winter, it has been 10 or 12 yearssince I last attended this show which istypically held in February. It was great backthen, and I can assure you even better now.This year I had a free weekend away fromracing, and was invited to cover this his-torical event. While limited on space, per-haps it is not be the biggest show you willever attend, but it certainly offers a variety

of Customs, Rods, Competition, and Mo-torcycles. All vehicles are neatly packed inthe available space to allow an organizedroute for the huge crowd a chance to getup close. If your interest is hi-performance,this will fuel your passion for all you motorheads.

Every year, the Muller brothers organizeand invite a celebrative as an added attrac-tion to their annual event. For 2013, it wasmeet “Daisy Duke” with Catherine Bachwho was co-star of the hit TV shows “TheDukes of Hazard”. Catherine was a bigdraw with people waiting in line to get herautograph and meet her personally. On dis-play also was a replica 1969 Dodge Chargerthat starred in the 1970s and '80s televisionshow best known as the General Lee”.

As I walked around, stopping to visit withthe proud owners of these works of art ondisplay, you begin to appreciate the talentand craftsmanship involved with suchprojects. The majority of the builders do asmuch work as possible they are capable ofpreforming, then subcontracting thoseitems such as chrome plating, sand blast-ing, painting, etc. to business professionalsbefore final assembly.

With all the new technology available, ve-hicles are is some cases restored with mod-ern day upgrades which adds not onlycomfort and drivability, but enhanced per-formance defiantly is better than when itcame off the production line in its day.

The constant flow of people who share theenthusiasm and passion for these vehicleson display for both days is overwhelming.Judging from the expressions of those at-tending and the size of the crowd, I wouldbill this event as a huge success with 2 fun-filled days of family entertainment. Wheelsof Thunder Magazine was honored to beinvited and take part in this remarkabledisplay of truly some of the “Best in theMidwest” custom vehicles.


Recognized as one of the top stops for our Vintage Ice Drag Racing, theDickinson Co. Snow Hawks proved once again they know how to put arace on. Okoboji is part of The Iowa Great Lakes Region located in

Northwest Iowa, and noted for great family vacations offering unique resorts,lodging, shopping, and fine dining. Five lakes surround this friendly commu-nity supporting both summer and winter sports.

Racers from all over the Midwest compete here for cash and trophies, butmost important they come here to share bonding with fellow racers and enjoyfirst class heads up racing. And because of a dedicated snowmobile club withvolunteers, many who participate also in the races are insured of a safe, fasttrack, without any drama and bitching. These people just plain and simpleknow how to conduct a race for your enjoyment.



Friday night kicked off with a pre-raceparty at the Ritz Bar and Grill. Registrationwas available and good food and drinkswere shared by all who attended. I had setup the Arrowwood Lodge as our host hotelbecause of previous stays for which I haveenjoyed clean, quiet accommodations, andencouraged racers traveling long distancesto stay here also. After a good night’s sleepwe were up and off to the race site locatedon East Lake in front of Parks Marina.

Saturday Morning was cold and crisp withnear zero temps and remained in the lowerteens throughout the day. Unlike last year,we were allowed to park on the ice becauseof the cold weather. This just makes life alot easier with race trailers providing notonly a place to warm up, but allow closeaccess to tools and equipment. Spectatorslined both fences along the 500 feet ofshaved ice in anticipation of the 11: OOAM start time. Although down on entriesfrom last year, what showed up was pretty

much the cream of the crop, and you weregoing to have to earn your wins today. Onething you have to consider is when youcome to this area, many of these guys andgals have at their disposal several racetracks they maintain once the ice freezesover. And they are able to test and dial in

their race sleds which is a huge asset oversome of us who are limited for testing.Over the years we have all become goodfriends, but once you stage on the startingline, it gets down to serious business whichonly last about 5 seconds or less. You beatsomebody from Okoboji area; you havehad a good day.

Saturday night we all met at the Ritz againwho play host for our Awards Banquet. Wewere treated to ordure’s and dinner buffetwas offered in addition to ordering off themenu. What a nice gesture on the part ofthe Ritz for accommodating our groupwhere we the enjoyed the presentation ofcash prizes and trophies. First place, sec-ond place, or just an also ran, this club andthe friends you race against here make youfeel at home, and after the day we all walkaway winners in my book. A very specialthank you to all the sponsors and volun-teers for your hard work and providingonce again another top notch event and welook forward to 2014.

12

34

56

78

9

1011

1213

1415

16

1718

1920

2122

23

24/31

2526

2728

2930

12

34

56

78

910

1112

13

1415

1617

1819

20

2122

2324

2526

27

2829

30

February

2013

SM

TW

TF

S1

23

45

67

89

1011

1213

1415

1617

1819

2021

2223

2425

2627

28

May

2013

SM

TW

TF

S1

23

45

67

89

1011

1213

1415

1617

1819

2021

2223

2425

2627

2829

3031

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT


C lear Lake, Iowa once again hosted the4th annual memorial race which washeld Jan. 18, 19th, and 20th. For the

second year in a row unusual warm weatherand lack of snow caused additional challengesfor volunteers from the North Iowa Snow Seek-ers and surrounding clubs to pull this event off.Their experience, dedication, and determinationprovided racers again with a wonderful place torace in spite of what “Mother Nature” had inmind for the weekend.



A new location for the 2013 was chosen forthe race and held at the Clear Lake StatePark on the South East Shore. This year wewere able to pull the big rigs onto the ice,unlike last year when no vehicles were al-lowed because of marginal ice conditions.Due to aerators on the lake and lack ofsnow, the planned “Ride around the Lake”for those attending this winter event hadto be canceled.

We arrived Friday afternoon and droveover to the race site to check it out. Thewarm weather was causing severe melting;however volunteers were busy groomingand shaving the track. There was a lot of

standing water, but colder temps overnightwould freeze everything and we should begood to go on Saturday, or so we hoped.

Friday night kicked off to a “Welcome tothe Lake” party held at the local VFW.They provided a live DJ and registrationwas available to racers. This seems to benot your typical VFW I have been in be-fore. This place was packed not only withlocal residents, but also from the sur-rounding area with a wide age group. Thisturned out to be a very fun evening sharingstories and meeting new friends, and as thehours went by and cocktails were con-sumed, it seemed like everyone had a fastsled.

Saturday morning we arrived at the trackearly to get set up. Our plans were to usethe radar run as a test track for Sunday’sdrag races. Again due to the weather thisyear, many of the race teams have been lim-ited to testing and getting their sleds set up.The radar runs is all about speed, differentform ice drag racing where it is all abouthow quick you are or elapsed time, in ourcase 500 feet. This radar run offered us atrack to make changes and dial our sleds infor the race on Sunday and give us an edgefor the following weekend coming up.

The morning started off cold but by after-noon it warmed up and we had watereverywhere. The ice conditions just simplywent from good to bad. The event volun-teers did everything possible by plowingand shaving the ice to keep the track fastand safe, but lack of traction and slush lim-


ited the performance as the day progressedwith melting. Early morning did provide anoutstanding run by one of the Open Mod-ified turbo sleds before the ice started to getsoft, and he took home the $500 for“Fastest Sled of the Day” with a very im-pressive speed of 128 MPH in 500 feet. Avery good turnout of race teams showed upfrom as far away as North Dakota.

There was a huge crowd of spectators whoturned out and took advantage of the warmweather to enjoy not only some veryunique sleds in the radar runs, but also hadan opportunity to witness what this race is

all about. And that is what has becomeknown as “The Jack Race”. The event is amemorial to Jack Helgren, an area busi-nessman, avid snowmobiler, formerdealer/racer and promoter of the sport andthe area. Race Chairman Gary McVicker,longtime friend of Jack Helgren, wanted topay tribute to Jack for his love of racing.This is a LeMans “Style” Racing consistingof vintage to brand new sleds. There aremany classes including a class where theage of the rider and age of the snowmobilemust add up to 80 (the older you are - thenewer the sled you can ride) and also in-cludes a Ladies only class. Additionally

there was a Vintage Snowmobile Show andfood tent for those attending.

Saturday night we were back at the VFWagain where they hosted the Awards Ban-quet, provided music by the band “SplitSecond”, and offered your favorite bever-age which seemed to have the same effectas the previous night and turn you into a“Bar Room Racer”.

Sunday morning was a complete turn-around with the weather. Below zero windchill and 40mph winds would make it abrutal day of racing and test your sanity.Most spectators chose to stay at home infront of the fireplace, and those who didventure out pretty much stayed in theircars to watch. But for us die hard drag rac-ers, we were presented with an excellenttrack with hard ice to do battle on thanksto those people who put this race on. If it

were not for them, we could not enjoy asport we all love. But to tell the truth, thisweather that day tested this writer’s insan-ity. I am thinking NASCAR, football, bighot bowl of chili by the fire right nowwould be more in line. But once the sledsare fired up and you hear the cackle of a 2-stroke at 10,000 plus rpm and the smell ofrace gas fill your nostrils, you seem to finda way to ignore the cold and it’s time to goracing. At least that is what I thought.

You ever have one of those days wherethings just seem to progress from bad toworse? My son and I spent 3 months build-ing, machining, fabricating, and workingon our drag sleds for this first race of theseason. So here we are Sunday morningready to do battle with our friends and theunexpected happens. My boy had agreed tofill in for a driver who couldn’t make it thisweekend for a friend of ours to drive his


sled. While testing before the race started,he completely blew the sled over back-wards on his first pass. I was over by ourtrailer unloading our sleds unaware ofwhat had happened. I went running to seehim getting up off the ice. Thank God thesled did not land on him and he escapedonly with a very bad bruised elbow. Need-less to say we made the decision not tocompete that day, and we watched sadlyfrom the trailer after all our hard work. Wefelt very bad about the accident, and don’treally know what caused it except maybethe suspension setup and wind were a fac-

tor. The sled had minor damage and couldbe repaired, but most important there wereno serious injuries, and he walked away.

The rest of the day proceeded without anyissues and racers enjoyed very intensecompetition. Mother Nature provided not

only a test for race teams, but the peoplewho gave so much of their time to put thisevent together. You provided us all with awonderful place to race and we all look for-ward to next year’s event. Thank you ClearLake, Iowa for a great weekend.


On January 23, 2013, in an overwhelmingshow of unity and support, motorcyclistsfrom groups and clubs statewide came tothe Minnesota State Capitol to lobby withone voice to protect the rights and safety ofall Minnesota motorcyclists at ABATE ofMinnesota’s 10th annual Bikerday at theCapitol. From Arco to Zumbrota and fromHighway 1 to Highway 610 and all pointsin-between, hundreds and hundreds ofMinnesota motorcyclists walked up thecentury old steps of the State Capitol toprotect their motorcycling liberty and im-prove the safety of all road users.

The Capitol Rotunda was a sea of black

leather as Senators and Representativesfrom both parties expressed support for in-creasing careless driving penalties, protec-tion of the motorcyclist funded MotorcycleSafety account and most of all, no changesto the adult helmet law in Minnesota.

The crowd also heard from representativesof groups who partner with ABATE of Min-nesota on related issues to move our legis-lation forward. The most important part ofthe day is when biker constituents meetwith their state senator or state representa-tive. No legislator can be an expert on

everything. And many have limited knowl-edge of motorcycling. Bikerday attendeesmight be the reason they vote our waywhen a motorcycling issue comes up incommittee or on the floor. In a way, Biker-day participants are controlling the futureof motorcycling. Minnesota is a big state,400 miles top to bottom and over 200 mileswide. I am always amazed at the commit-ment of those who attend. For many, thismeans taking a mid-week day off work andsetting the alarm clock at 4:00am or earlieron a sub-freezing day to catch one of thebuses for the long drive to St. Paul. Thisyear we were able to hit an incredible num-

ber of legislative offices (81% of the Sen-ate!). It was a great day and made a big im-pact.

The forces who are working to steal ourmotorcycling lifestyle are usually gettingpaid a nice salary with benefits. But wehave a secret weapon - the incredible pas-sion that freedom minded motorcyclistsbring to the table. Honestly, it’s not a fairfight. If January 23rd was a boxing match,the referee would have stopped it in thethird round, holding the hands of Min-nesota motorcyclists high!

Mack BacklundState CoordinatorABATE of Minnesota

BIKERS ROCK THE MINNESOTA CAPITOL


With 2013 well underway there have al-ready been plenty of events for gear headsto attend. Like many others in Minnesota,I made the short jaunt to downtown Min-neapolis for the annual International Mo-torcycle Show. Set in one of the spacioushalls of the Minneapolis convention cen-ter, the IMS is a great way to kick off theyear giving motorcycle enthusiasts an up-close-and-personal look with all thenewest models from the industries biggestmanufactures. With a variety to satisfy

any enthusiasts' taste, plenty of vendors,and even a live stunt show, the event cer-tainly had something for everyone.

I spent most of my time wandering thehall taking photos of anything that caughtmy eye. I of course hit up the big, factory,setups; Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda,Kawasaki, and Harley-Davidson. As Iroamed about taking photos, I noticed areoccurring theme that made me happyand that theme was; custom. As I walked

through the factory displays taking a lookat the latest offerings, I noticed a lot ofcustomized models, and I think that is agreat thing. It's great to see manufacturesembrace the custom aspect of the scene.Of course manufactures like Harley,Honda, and Yamaha offer a lot of optionsto customize a bike straight from the fac-tory and there were plenty of examples setout to see.

Amidst all the factory displays and vendor

IMS 2013 – A New YearWritten & Photographed by John Krueger


booths was a custom motorcycle show.The various bikes and choppers were scat-tered about the hall in individual displaysand show-goers could vote on their fa-vorite. One of the bikes on display wasfeatured just last month, Apur Mehta'sturbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa. Therewere plenty of amazing motorcycles ondisplay competing for some hardware andyou'll see plenty of them highlighted herein the coverage. Another really cool dis-play was the Indian Motorcycles display.The newly resurrected company had agreat interactive display for show-goers

and plenty of cool motorcycles and mod-els on display. It's great to see a companywith a lot of heritage on the comeback.Other highlights included the VintageJapanese Motorcycle Club display with animpressive line-up of classic motorcycles,and the Moto GP display had all of the toprace bikes on display for their respectivefans.

All in all, it was a great show to attendwith plenty to see and do. The IMS is agreat kick-off to the year. What I likeabout the IMS compared to the Min-

neapolis Auto Show is the display of cus-tomized motorcycles. While it's great tosee all of the newest models, it is also coolto see custom examples because it showsjust how progressive the aftermarket in-dustry really is. When a big manufacturepartners with a custom builder, some trulygreat examples are produced, and it's re-ally cool to see the motorcycle industryembrace that. Hopefully at this years AutoShow there will be a few custom exampleson display. It's only a month away! Enjoythe photos of this year's IMS.

Means Another International Motorcycle Show


IMS 2013 – Minneapolis, Minnesota Convention Center


F rom grass to ice, Big Blue Racing has made itsway to the top, in just under three years. ToddBakke from Baldwin, Wisconsin, has made it to

The World Series of Ice Drags, located in Oconto, Wis-consin, for his first time. Team owner Tom Fisher willshare the spotlight with him. The team qualified not onlyin one class but in four different classes and on two dif-ferent sleds. Fisher took 2nd place in Super Heavy 800on Snapper, a 1996 Yamaha V Max 4 800cc. After 8years of racing his sled, Tom accomplished his goal ofracing and placing at The World Series of Ice Drags.


Todd Bakke, racing in 3 different classes hisfirst year at The World Series of Ice drags,shows how dedication and determinationpays off. Placing 6th in 800 Heavy Mod and6th in 800 Pro Stock on sled Snapper,Bakke is trying to make his name a stand-out as a racer. After only three years, Bakkeis a great racer but still a beginner racer.Todd got red lighted and disqualified on lit-tle blue, a 1998 Yamaha SXR 600cc, duringhis race Sunday. Bakke is still learning theends and out of racing.

Racing drags is not just jumping onto asled and pressing the throttle. There is a lotmore to racing than people often have theopportunity to see first-hand.. The hardestpart Bakke is learning about racing is thesound of the RPM's reaching the rightpoint to maximize his speed. It takes a lotto reach 108 mph in 500 ft.

Todd, who weighs in at 165 pounds, has toworry about his weight. “I would rather cutweight for racing than wrestling,” Bakkesaid. A racer and his sled have to be theright weight for it class. Like other sports,the racer and his sled need to complementeach other. As weight changes for either,the sensitive connection between the racer

and his sled needs to change. In addition,if Todd decides he wants to race a sledknown for its top performance, Todd mayhave to change his weight somewhat to beable to qualify with that particular sled.

At 6 years old, Todd received his very ownsled. Growing up on an Arctic cat, snow-mobiles are nothing new to him. Afterbeing around sleds his whole life, hestarted racing his ZR 500 with a group ofguys down at the locate lake 11 yrs ago.Tom, the owner of Big Blue Racing, wouldcome to watch and race with the locals forpractice. About 3 yrs ago, in 2010, Tom re-alized he was losing his races because hewas top heavy. Tom has known Bakke sincehe was about 13 yrs old. Bakke recallsmeeting Tom when Tom was driving down

Written by Jessica Kanke

Photography by Peter Murphy


his dirty road on a Sx 700 after a snowstorm. Todd Bakke’s father, Craig Bakke hasknown the team owner for years. Afterwatching Todd Bakke race all the localguys, Tom wanted to put him on his sledBig Blue, 1995 Yamaha V Max 4 800cc, tosee what he could do. Todd impressedFisher by beating the guys out of the hole

and timing the lights right. Todd may nothave always won, but he had the right feelfor the track. It didn’t take long for Bakketo advance. Tom then asked Bakke to raceBig Blue in 2010.

In 2010, Todd raced his first race at Hay-day’s in North Branch, MN on Big Blue.During the heat runs, Todd was crazy-fastimpressing everyone. With the inexperi-ence of a first-time racer, Bakke got a bighead, which lead him to lose both of hisraces. He realized that he had a lot of skillbut still had a lot to learn.

The team decided to try to race the full cir-cuit on both ice and grass in 2011. InRochester, MN in 2011 for the Great South-ern Grass Drag Nationals, Bakke took hisfirst 2nd and 3rd place wins racing BigBlue. In the 2011 grass season, Bakkeraced in the Wanna Ride Racing Circuit.He showed he could come out on top for

his first season by placing 3rd Improved600, 1st Improved 700, 3rd Improved 800,and 2nd Improved 1000. After a great sea-son in 2011, Big Blue racing proudlyclaimed 35 trophies.

The 2012 season was a full circuit for BigBlue Racing. At Rochester, Todd showedhis true colors taking 3rd place in 800 im-proved stock and taking 2nd place andbeating his idol Kelly Shilts for the secondtime in the 1000 improved stock class. "Ihave now beaten my idol both on grass andice." Bakke said. As I interviewed Todd, hementioned during the heats that he beatDave Lacanne of Lacanne Racing, the num-ber one rider and team of the season in hisclass. This thrilling moment in his racingcareer made him feel like he was on top theworld and that he could become a greatracer.

As a racer, Todd needs his team in order toreach his full potential. On race day, Bakkehelps with loading and unloading his sledand, of course, getting on the sled at theline. The team likes to keep Todd doing alittle as possible so he can focus on racing.Big Blue racing could not do this if it werenot for the pit crew, family and supportfrom all the sponsors. Tom Fischer, theowner and the main mechanic, has playeda big role in advancing his team to anothergreat season. Bakke's excavating is a hugepart of the team, with rider Todd Bakke andpit crew member Craig Bakke..Beb Luch,pit crew, has played a major role in helpingthe team succeed. Also, a big thank yougoes to Phil Hodges, a pit crew member

helping with team Big Blue. Pat Hauck,who sold two of the sleds, Big Blue and Lit-tle Blue, to Team Big Blue, also helps withsponsoring the team. Big Blue racing couldnot do this without the support of family,friends and, of course, the FANS. Theteam and supporters of Big Blue Racingcannot wait to bring their fans anotherthrilling racing season.

Photography by Peter Murphy • 414-412-3332petermurphymedia.com

It’s about tech and trail...... and spending timewith people who embrace the snowmobilelifestyle.

Each week host Meisha Johnson, former racerPaul Mack and tech expert Jeff Fisher steer youto some of the world’s greatest places toride.....with some of the world’s greatest riders.

"Sledhead 24-7" will check out cutting edgegear and gadgets and ride the latest modelsleds from the major manufactures.

We’ll test the limits of snowmobile perform-ance through a series of ambitious builds atSpeedwerx.

But "Sledhead 24-7 " will always be about folkslike you, the riders, the clubs, and families whocan’t wait to get out on the trail.

From the Firecat, to the Pro Cross chassis, Arc-tic Cat has made big changes in the past decadeand the test riders at " Sledhead 24-7" ride, rateand review.

If you own a Ski-Doo, learn about StraightlinePerformance and find out about the HeartBreaker, a dyno room that hides no secrets.

For more than 2 decades, Straightline Perform-

ance in Forest Lake Minnesota, has been craft-ing the “ how to “ for speed.

Today StraightLine is a worldwide performanceshop, but had humble beginnings in founderJason Houle's garage.

StraightLine creates upgrades for just about allpower sports machines. Today Jason shares 3ways to quickly improve your Ski-Doo, startingwith StraightLine’s exclusive exhaust kit, fuelprogrammer and clutch kit, which are easy,quick ways to upgrade your Ski-Doo.

Snocross super star Robbie Malinowski, racesthe pro circuit on a StraightLine enhanced Ski-Doo, Robbie's proud to race w/ StraightLine.

"If you haven't been to Jackson Hole, you'remissing out. " Sledhead 24-7 " hangs out andhas some fun at the World Championship Hill-climbs.

"The Jackson Hole Hillclimbs are a favorite ofevery snowmobiler." "Jeff Fischer shows us thequickest way down the mountain."

This is just a little of what we have going on,you can catch Sledhead 24-7 Sunday nights onFox Sports North and Fox Sports Wisconsin.

Tune in each week www.Sledhead24-7.com.

SledHead 24/7 TV Showairing on FSN-MN & FSN-WI

Sledhead 24-7 can be seen Sunday nights at 10pm on FSN

Welcome to the wintery world of “Sledhead 24-7”

http://www.sledhead24-7.com/Airtimes/



ISOC Photo’s provided by Lissa Marsolek of Wayne Davis Photography


ISOC NEW YORK NATIONAL FEB 22-23, 2013


MMy interest in baseball datesto the 1950s when my na-tive New York had 3

teams. I had followed the Dodgers butafter the ’57 season they joined the Gi-ants in a move to the west coast. I waseither going to follow the Yankees ormy interest in and enjoyment of base-ball would come to an end. It wasn’t adifficult choice, really. I have enjoyedseeing their spring training, regularseason and post-season games at homeand on the road for more than 50 years.Of those I’d say the World Series gameshave been the most fun. When my wifeCathy and I see them play on the road,my NY hat doesn’t really stand out.Yankees fans are everywhere. Cathyand I saw New York play in Anaheimfor many years during our careers inthe aerospace industry in southern Cal-ifornia. At one of those games, everyfan in our row of seats was wearing aYankees hat. It was like old home week.They were in about 40% of the WorldSeries played in the 20th century. Someteams have a good year or, a nice 2 to 4year run. The New York Yankees had agood century and they didn’t play intheir first World Series until 1923.From 1949 until 1953 they won the se-ries every year.

I saw my first drag race in the 1960’s and,like the Yankees, being a fan of drag rac-ing is a lot of fun. Over the years a varietyof cars have caught my eye, Top Fuel,Funny Car and Pro Stock are my favoritecategories both at the track and watchingat home. With my interest in baseball anddrag racing, it is understandable thatamong my all-time favorite Top Fuel carsare the Darrell Gwynn Racing/ Yankeesdragsters. They debuted in 2000 with sec-ond generation driver Mike Dunn behindthe wheel as the most storied name inprofessional sports entered the world of300 MPH competition. The car debuted atthe Matco Tools Supernationals in Bay-town, Texas on October 29, 2000. Duringthe 2001 season, The Yankees Top fueldragster went to 5 final rounds won 2 ofthem and finished 4th for the year. Thenumber on the wing of a dragster is a lotlike golf, the lower the number, the bet-ter. At the race in Topeka, Kansas, their4.49 second run was the first sub-4.5 sec-ond run on the newly mandated 90%nitro rule. The owner of the team, DarrellGwynn was the 1983 NHRA Top Alcoholdragster champion. In 2001, the 50th an-niversary of the NHRA, he was voted oneof the 50 greatest drivers of all time.Clearly, he knows his way around racecars. Darrell’s dad, Jerry also has a dragracing background and was the Yankees

Racing team manager. Mike’s dad is dragracing legend Big Jim Dunn. Entering hisrookie season with the Yankees, Mike had10 or more wins in both Funny Car andTop Fuel. That places him on a select listof drivers to have accomplished that feat.The others are Don “The Snake” Prud-homme, Gary Scelzi and “The King of

Speed”, Kenny Bernstein; the driver thatbroke the 300 MPH barrier. The Yankees3 year sponsorship agreement began latein the 2000 season and the team com-peted at 3 races. In spite of that very lim-ited schedule, The Yankees Top Fueldragster ran 3 of the quickest runs of theseason. With Crew Chief Ken Veney andhis Co-Crew Chief Todd Smith turningthe wrenches, The Gwynn/Steinbrennerteam was a formidable group of racers tobe reckoned with every time they went to

Written By Tom Edwards


the starting line. Like their baseball coun-terparts, the Yankees race team was a chal-lenge. Dunn figured prominently into theirsuccess. As you can see on the Mike Dunnpit card, he is well on his way to first baseat Yankee Stadium and the green light hasnot been activated on the Christmas Tree.He could “cut down a tree” with the bestdrivers on the tour. His driving skills helphim earn the 1999 Car Craft Top FuelDriver of the Year award. Again, Mike wason a short list that includes Don Garlitsand Shirley Muldowney. When it comes tothe skill set required to pilot 300 MPH racecars, dragsters or fuel coupes, if Mike Dunnisn’t in a class by himself, it won’t take longto take attendance. In 2002 he signed withESPN to work as a race day announcer, aposition he still holds. When Cathy and Iare not at a race, we follow it on ESPN and,with his knowledge of the sport; we enjoyhis work in the booth and in the pits.

The second driver of a Yankees car was An-drew Cowin, son of Australian drag racersGraeme and Wendy Cowin. I rememberseeing Graeme race Kenny Bernstein in aFunny Car Final in Pomona; the first in-ternational match-up in that category. Atthe 2002 race at that famed track, Andrewearned the number 1 qualifying positionwith a 4.49 second run at the Winterna-tionals. My wife and I remember that runvery well; it was the first sub 4.5 secondrun we had seen in person. It was the final

round of qualifying, the sun had set; whenthe tree went green and the Yankee drag-ster header flames instantly reached theback wing at the hit of the throttle, you justknew it was going to be a great run and itwas. After all the years I have followed dragracing, it still surprises me you can pack somuch fun into less than 5 seconds. Thecrowd reaction told me that whether it’s arace track or a ballpark, the Yankees have alot of fans. Both teams had things in com-mon with home run power topping the list.

The third and final driver of a Yankees TopFuel car was veteran racer Cory McCle-nathan. The Crew Chief was John Stewart.During that season I asked Cory to sign aYankees baseball for me and he was morethan willing to autograph it. As a memora-bilia collector, mostly baseball and dragracing, it’s nice to have a ball that all 3 Yan-

kees drivers have signed.

When your primary sponsorship is withthe New York Yankees, the amount of base-ball related memorabilia your race teamcan market is as long as it is impressive. Inthe 1/24th scale die cast world, the team is-sued 7 versions of the car in 3 years. I haveall 7 and my favorite is the gold car. TheYankees never had a gold car on the track;there were a limited number of them is-sued. As my wife Cathy pointed out, if anyteam had a car made of gold on a racetrack, it would be the Yankees. Having fol-lowed them most of my life, I agreed. Thepolo shirts, jackets and hats available in thesouvenir trailers were always fun to checkout. The embroidered polo shirts with theGwynn/Steinbrenner names have a baseballbat serving as the slash line. Mr. Steinbren-

ner has a baseball dotting the letter i in hisname. During their final season Cathy andI saw them in Pomona, twice, Brainerd andLas Vegas. I don’t remember walking awayfrom the souvenir trailers empty handed atany of those races. In fact, I still have myYankees Racing watch.

Cathy and I had the enormous pleasure ofmeeting Darrell Gwynn at the Winterna-tionals during the Yankees 100th anniver-sary season. Seeing that logo on the side ofDarrell’s car is one of my favorite drag rac-ing moments. With my interest in photog-raphy, I was thrilled when he kindly gaveme access to the pit area “as long as I don’tstart the car”. I thought that was fair.

G reetings again Wheels fans! We hope you are as ex-cited for the spring as we are at GameON! TV. Thisissue of Wheels of Thunder is sweet...full of great sto-

ries, pictures and sponsor information that underscores justhow much momentum and excitement surrounds motor-sports! GameON! TV continues to grow & reach so manyof you with our sports programming and you know by nowthat we broadcast in the Dakota's and western Minnesotavia MidCo Sports Network. GameON! loves sports, fromthe variety of professional, college & high school sports toall the outdoor events that dot our regional landscape.GameON's partnership with Wheels of Thunder is strongand just like you, we also enjoy the most comprehensiverace magazine and website to be found! Wheels of Thun-der magazine gets it and gets you the latest information,amazing pictures and all those terrific stories to the mostpassionate motorsports fans in the country!

Looking ahead, there's more special events and momentsahead for GameON! Each and every week GameON! comesto you in crystal clear full High Definition and our first APP(it's free to for Apple & Android phones) is available foryour use! GameON! TV is now offering a weekly PODCASTavailable @ our show website www.GameOnTvMN.com.It's full of bits and pieces of sports from the region andwhat's ahead on our weekly TV show. GameON! still servesas the lead-in to the award winning FOX NFL pre gameshow on FOX's MY29 here in the Twin Cities during theNFL Season.

GameON! does what no other TV sports interview show (inthe region) does. We offer a diverse and entertaining halfhour of TV as we bring you the most visible and popularMinnesota sports figures. From the Vikings, the NBA Tim-berwolves, the NHL Wild, the Twins and we visit with theLacrosse Swarm. There's NASCAR and we're all over yourfavorite drivers, in fact, we justnwelcomed X-Games GoldMedalist Levi LaVallee to a downtown Minneapolis taping.

This show is interactive so we'd love to hear from you!Please visit our Facebook site (friend us @ GameON onfacebook), our website @ www.gameontvmn.com and24/7on twitter #gameontvmn. And we're always planning

bigger and better shows at the best Irish Pubs in the world,Kierans, The Liffey, The Local and Cooper! You are alwayswelcome to visit our live tapings and each week we listguests and updates on the GameON! website as well as ourFacebook site. Get upclose and personal with us!!

GameON! Host Rod Simons will also add baseball to hiswork schedule, joining the new radio home for your Min-nesota Twins @ KTWIN 96.3. Rod will host KTWIN's Post-Post game show with longtime Minnesota radio personalityJason Nagel after each and every Twins game. So, please joinus for all that sports offers us here in our great neck of thewoods, via Wheels of Thunder, GameON! and KTWINradio! And get your Vikings fix with our partner in one ofthe largest Vikings fan websites in the world, www.Pur-plePride.org. I've said it before and I'm saying it again! Getoff the couch and get your GameON! Be a part of the excit-ing effort we're putting on! Here's to the spring fast ap-proaching! Hope to see you at an upcoming GameON!taping!!

Keep your GameON!


BESTOF THE

MIDWEST!Opportunities for

business whoqualify for ‘The

Best of the Midwest’ are now available!

CallScott Robinson612-730-3719


SEND TO: WHEELS OF THUNDER, 13915 RADIUM ST. NW, SUITE D • RAMSEY, MN 55303

___ YES! I want to subscribe to the Wheels of Thunder Magazine & receive 12 issues for $34.99!

___ OR, enter me into the drawing for a 2011 Polaris Sportsman ATV & receive 12 issues for $40!

Charge my credit card: _____VISA _____Mastercard _____Discover (Please check one)

Card # ______________________________________________________________________

Exp. Date __________________________________________________CVC # ___________

Signature ___________________________________________________________________

Name ______________________________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________________________

City ___________________________State________ Zip______________________________

Phone_____________________________________________

E-mail_____________________________________________Mail check or money order or call 763-421-4400 for credit card orders.

Special Appearances by: ISOC, NASCAR, NHRA,MONSTER TRUCKS, TERRACROSS, TCPBA, IWA, MHRA,MIDWEST MODIFIED, WORLD OF OUTLAWS & MORE!!

Wheels Of Thunder All Motorsports Magazine March 2013 Issue

Documents

Transcript of Wheels Of Thunder All Motorsports Magazine March 2013 Issue