Monday, June 29, 2009

Tommy Hahn Powers to 3rd place Finish at Thunder Valley

Tommy Hahn has been the surprise of the 2009 Outdoor Motocross season but it was not until Lakewood Colorado that he would finally arrive. Hahn, who has been finishing inside the top 10 all season, established himself as a front-runner by taking 3rd place overall in the 450 class, under the lights, in the high altitude outside of Denver, Colorado.

First race up in the premier class saw CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki rider Tommy Hahn jump out of the gate into a top ten position and finish lap 1 in 8th place. Vision was extremely tough during this moto due to the fact that the sun had dropped below the mountains and it was too light for the lights to be effective but to dark to see clearly. The lighting would get worse before it got better and Hahn, while running down Michael Byrne in 7th place, would misjudge his take off on the huge down hill and land off the course on a hay bale bending his shift shaft inside the transmission, hampering his shifting for the remainder of the moto. Hahn would play it smart and not take any unnecessary chances as he settled into 7th place where he would finish the moto.

Moto # 1 for the 250 riders was up next and CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki rider Kyle Cunningham would charge up the hill and into the first corner in mid-pack but able to make some quick passes to work up to 14th before the end of the first lap. Cunningham would move up as high as 10th place before a crash on lap 5 would send him back to 14th place. Cunningham would struggle in the poor lighting conditions and drop back to 16th by the end of the moto.

Moto #2 for the 450 pilots was on the line and CANIDAE rider Tommy Hahn was ready to go. The team did a great job installing a completely new motor and transmission after the damage in moto # 1. As the gate dropped, Tommy Hahn would find himself in 4th as the riders rounded the first corner. Hahn would set his sights on Michael Byrne in 3rd place and on lap 3, fly past Byrne as the top three riders pulled away from the rest of the field. Andrew Short was next in Hahn’s crosshairs as the two riders dueled it out for 7 laps before Hahn went inside Short to take 2nd place away from the factory rider. Hahn would quickly gap Short and set out for Tedesco in the lead. On lap 12, Hahn made a slight mistake as he pushed hard to close in on the front-runner Tedesco and ran off the track to avoid crashing in a tricky section. Unfortunately, this allowed Short to slip back by and Hahn would have to start over in 3rd place. With time winding down, Hahn pushed hard but would end up just behind Short at the finish line by only 2 bike-lengths, just missing 2nd place. This was the best moto finish for Tommy Hahn of his young career and combined with his 7th place in Moto 1, Hahn would earn a him a career best 3rd place overall for the day! Amazing job Tommy!

Moto #2 for the 250 riders would wrap up the day and Cunningham was set to rebound from his bad luck in the first heat. The start was a mirror image of Moto 1 for Cunningham as he finished the first circuit in 14th. Kyle would move up to 12th place by lap 4 as he pushed towards the front but a mistake on lap 5 would pound the CANIDAE rider to the ground again. Cunningham would remount but obviously beat up, he would not regain his previous speed and would settle for a 21st place finish. Not where this talented rider belongs, he will certainly bounce back for sure next week in Michigan.

Come out to watch the CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki team take on the legendary Redbud track in Buchanan, MI next Saturday July 4th as the series continues. See you there!

Jason Cobb

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Toliver Confident Leaving Summit Racing NHRA Nationals

Funny Car driver Jerry Toliver leaves this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals with a lot of positive reinforcement despite his first-round loss to 14-time Funny Car champ John Force. He matched his best qualifying effort of the season. He posted the second-fastest speed at more than 280 mph through the four rounds of qualifying. And the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Chevy is responding when the Jim Dunn Racing team asks it to.

"We continue to make gains, and we made great strides this weekend," Toliver said. "This CANIDAE car is leaving, it's reacting. Our 60-foot time is good, and our speed at 280 mph was the second-best in qualifying. That tells you that we're getting there. Now we have to learn to race the racetrack, learn to go out there on race day and go some rounds, but it doesn't happen over night."

In his fourth match-up with Force this season, Toliver in the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Chevy hazed the tires just past halftrack and slowed to a 4.583-second elapsed time at 201.61 mph as Force made the second-quickest pass of the first round with a 4.268 e.t. at 280.89.
"I said two or three races ago that we've been working on a new clutch program and that it was slowly coming together," Toliver said. "You just can't take big bites. You'd love to. You'd love to go out there and say oh yeah, let's just change that and make it happen right away, but it just doesn't work that way. There are so many variables with what we do out here, what Jim (team owner/crew chief Dunn) has to do, it's amazing. It's small baby steps, but I think we made some giant steps this weekend."

Next stop on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Series is the first leg of the three-race Western Swing, the 30th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Denver, Colo., from July 10-12.

Kirk Weeks

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Toliver Anxious to Get Back on Track at Norwalk

This weekend's third annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Motorsports gives Funny Car driver Jerry Toliver the perfect remedy for what ails the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Chevy - laps down the track. He and his Jim Dunn Racing teammates look to take the positive from a challenging race weekend at Englishtown (N.J.) two weeks ago and continue to work on getting the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil car consistently down the track, starting at the Bader family-owned quarter-mile in Norwalk.

"Breaking in a new clutch system on what is essentially a new car is not something that is fixed overnight," Toliver said. "We just need laps on this CANIDAE car. Unfortunately, at Englishtown, we were probably just two laps behind the entire weekend. The upside of it and looking at the glass half full, we have our last lap from eliminations at Englishtown as a good lap, and we should have something to start down the hot track at Norwalk with, get down the track and improve on. That's the upside of our last race."

Despite some challenges in qualifying, Toliver has made solid passes in eliminations at the last three or four races and looks for continued improvement in the CANIDAE car's performance.

"It's a slow process, but we're narrowing in on our window, so to speak, and I think we're ready to see some good performance out of this CANIDAE car," Toliver said. "It's just a matter of time. We're still testing and getting this thing figured out, and we've had a couple of setbacks, but that happens to everybody sometime. It's just a matter of keeping your head down and keeping on running.

"It's been challenging, that's for sure, but when you're starting with a brand new car with no preseason testing, it's going to take time. I think we're finally narrowing it down and have eliminated some of the other variables that have hurt our performance. Everything is working and responding, so that's the good thing. Now it's just a matter of sneaking up on it a little bit quicker."

A two-hour telecast of qualifying coverage for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD on Saturday, June 27, beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET). Coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD continues on Sunday, June 28, when NHRA Race Day will kick off eliminator coverage starting at 12:00 noon (ET), and concludes with three hours of final-eliminations coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

Kirk Weeks

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Hahn Continues To Roll, As Cunningham Gets Healthy!

The CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki team has been on the move since the beginning of the Nationals. In the 450 class, Tommy Hahn continues to impress with consistent top 5 rides to establish his name against the worlds best. In the 250 class, Kyle Cunningham is continuing to show his speed and grit as he continues to get healthy after a broken finger and 13 stitches in his forearm from a testing crash. Rookie sensation, PJ Larsen has also been riding extremely well but had to sit out this round due to injuries sustained last week at Freestone.

First race up was Moto #1 for the premier class where CANIDAE rider Tommy Hahn would get out of the gate mid-pack and begin his charge forward. As he began to pass riders, one would go down in front of Hahn colliding with Hahn’s Kawasaki. Hahn would remain upright and moving forward but something was obviously wrong. As it turned out, Hahn’s rear brake was damaged in the crash and he was forced to ride the entire moto with no rear brake. High Point is not the track you want to race on with no rear brake considering all of the elevation changes and off camber corners. Hahn somehow managed to finish 18th in an inspired ride.

Moto #1 for the 250 riders was next and CANIDAE rider Kyle Cunningham would jump out to a decent start in 17th and waste little time moving forward. By lap 6, Cunningham would move into 10th place where he would eventually finish after the 30 minutes + 2 laps. This was a great way to start the day for the young rider from Fort Worth, TX.

Moto #2 for the 450 pilots was on the line and as the gate dropped, Tommy Hahn would find himself inside the top 10 after the first corner. The difference was clearly visible after repairs were made to Hahn’s bike to fix the damaged rear brake from Moto 1 as the rider chased down and passed factory supported riders until he was in 4th place where he would end up at the conclusion of Moto 2. A fantastic ride for this young man as he continues to impress all. Hahn would finish the day in 10th overall and he would earn the Muscle Milk Recovery Reward for his efforts. Great Job Tommy!

Moto #2 for the 250 riders would wrap up the day and Cunningham was set to defend his top ten finish from Moto1. Not content with his 16th place as ended lap 1, Kyle went to work, leaving nothing in the tank as he raced towards the front until he had moved into 10th place. By duplicating his results from Moto 1, Cunningham would earn a 9th place overall for the day. There is no question Kyle is on the mend and as he continues to gets healthier, his speed increases. Kyle will enjoy the week break allowing crucial heal time as the series moves on to Colorado in 2 weeks.

CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki continues to perform on and off the track and continues to turn heads. Stop by and be part of something special as the series rolls into Thunder Valley Raceway on the June 27th. See you there!

Jason Cobb

Monday, June 15, 2009

Toliver Loses Rematch with Neff at Englishtown

In today's first-round match-up against Mike Neff at the United Association NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Funny Car veteran Jerry Toliver was looking to draw some positive vibes from his first-round defeat of the Force Racing driver earlier this season at Gainesville. Unfortunately for Toliver, history didn't repeat itself.

Toliver in the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Chevy made his best pass of the weekend with a 4.213-second elapsed time at 303.43 mph, but Neff used the quickest elapsed time of the round to avenge his earlier loss. Neff had an elapsed time of 4.051 seconds at 308.92 mph to get the better of the Jim Dunn Racing entry. Tony Pedregon went on to defeat Neff's teammate, Ashley Force Hood, for his second consecutive Funny Car win.

"We kind of put ourselves behind the eight ball in qualifying," Toliver said. "We've been making gains on the CANIDAE car, but it seems like every time we take a step or two forward with it, we take another one backwards. That's what makes this class so tough.

"We could have used that extra qualifying session that got rained out yesterday. We need all the laps we can get to find that window and dial this car in. Big Jim (Dunn) and the guys are working hard and we're just going to keep plugging away at it."

Next stop on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Series is the Third annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, from June 25-28.

Kirk Weeks

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

40th United Association NHRA SuperNationals Old Bridge Township Raceway Park

Funny Car driver Jerry Toliver and his Jim Dunn Racing teammates have been working hard and making strides with their CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Chevy, and they look to see some of the fruits of their labor at this weekend's 40th annual NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.  

Despite the requisite growing pains after implementing a new clutch system two races ago at Topeka, Toliver and team owner/crew chief Jim Dunn have seen marked improvement in the CANIDAE car's ability to get down the track and look to continue to build on the car's performance.

"We've been working on the new clutch system the last two races and now we feel we can get down the track on all four qualifying runs," said the Hall of Famer Dunn.  "You can't learn anything if you go out and smoke the tires; there's not a lot of data when you're only going 300 feet.  You've got to go under the line, go slow, and then start coming up to the line.  

"When it smokes the tires it shuts the car off and we can't get a full-run read.  We'd rather go a tenth slower and see where we're weak.  That's what we've been doing.  We've just got to get more aggressive with it.  We'll get after it a little more this weekend at Englishtown."

Toliver had good side-by-side runs in eliminations both at Topeka and last week at Chicago, and despite first-round losses, the team is encouraged by both A-to-B runs and now looks to step up its learning curve.     

"We still need to get the timing and the clutch together," Dunn said.  "We put everything under the line to be safe until we get a good run.  We've just got to get more aggressive with it.  We'll start stepping it up to hurt it a little bit now." 

A one-hour telecast of qualifying coverage for the NHRA SuperNationals can be seen on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD on Saturday, June 13, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (ET).  Coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD continues on Sunday, June 14, when NHRA Race Day will kick off eliminator coverage starting at 11:00 a.m. (ET), and concludes with three hours of final-eliminations coverage beginning at 10:00 p.m. (ET).

CANIDAE Continues to Roll in the Lone Star State at Freestone Raceway!

The CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki team has been the talk of the motocross world with great performances in both the 250 and 450 classes for the first 2 rounds. Tommy Hahn has been flying around the California tracks and has consistently the top finishing non-factory rider in the class. PJ Larsen and Kyle Cunningham have also shown signs of front running speed in the always tough 250 class. Nothing changed when the series moved outside of California to Wortham, TX. 

First race up was Moto #1 for the premier class where CANIDAE rider Tommy Hahn would continue to battle the biggest names in the sport. Tommy would blast out of the gate mid-pack and finish lap 1 in 20th position. Hahn would move up four spots into 16th place by the end of the second lap before Hahn found himself on the ground after a hard crash in a tricky section of the Texas track. Hahn would remount quickly and begin to charge towards the front, feeling the urgency to regain valuable points. Hahn would push the limits too far and while going for a pass for position, Tommy would crash violently ending his first moto only 6 laps in. Certainly a tough break for the rider from Decatur, TX. 

Moto #1 for the Motocross Lites riders was next and CANIDAE riders PJ Larsen and Kyle Cunningham would jump out of the gate to a good start with Larsen in 10th and Cunningham in 17th. Larsen would move up as high as 8th place before he crashed in a high-speed turn and lost several positions on the track, not to mention the abuse to his body. With adrenalin high, Larsen would dig deep and finish in 12th place for the moto. Cunningham, who has been battling a broken finger and 13 stitches in his forearm, somehow manages week after week to block out the pain. Kyle would charge hard and make it all the way up to 13th place at the end of the moto, a nice finish for both riders. 

Moto #2 for the 450 guys was underway and it was not looking good early on for Tommy Hahn. After his first moto crash, Hahn was extremely sore and rounded the first corner at the back of the pack. Tommy, who earned the “Ricky Carmichael, Hard Charger Award” at last week’s race in Hangtown, put his head down and went to work. Hahn would pass at least 10 riders before completing the first lap in 17th place and another five more on the second lap. As Tommy moved up in the standings, the riders got harder and harder to pass. By the halfway point of the race, Hahn was well inside the top ten in 8th place but not finished with his charge. Hahn would get all the way to 5th place when the checkered flags flew and his great ride in Moto 2 would earn Hahn a 12th place finish overall for the day. 

Moto #2 for the 250 riders was next and PJ Larsen knew he was in trouble during his sight lap. Always one to battle, PJ would line up for the start but only make it a few turns before pulling into the pits, ending his day. Cunningham, the only CANIDAE rider left on the track, would jump out to a good start and finish lap 1 in fifth place. Trying to concentrate with his incredible pain may have caused the young rider to make a few mistakes during the moto and drop back as far as 12th place but Cunningham would dig deep and finish the moto in 10th place giving him a great 10th place overall for the day! 

CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki has proven to be top-notch performers and as tough as anyone on the track. The series heads to Mt. Morris, PA next week so make sure to stop by and say hi. See you there!

Jason Cobb

Toliver's Top Speed of Weekend Not Enough at Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Funny Car veteran Jerry Toliver drove the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Chevy to its fastest pass of the event in today's first round of eliminations at the United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, but unfortunately it was not quite enough for the California native to turn on the win light against first-round foe Cruz Pedregon.    

Pedregon made his best pass of the weekend with a winning elapsed time of 4.104 seconds 302.21 mph as Toliver in the CANIDAE car got off the starting line first but had a slower elapsed time of 4.220 seconds at 301.07 mph.  Toliver qualified the Jim Dunn Racing entry 12th on the Funny Car grid with an elapsed time of 4.192 at 299.73 mph in yesterday's third qualifying session.   

"Our qualifying time would have been better but we blew a spark plug out when Jerry hit the throttle," said team owner/crew chief Jim Dunn.  "It didn't drop a cylinder but we had a spark plug out.  We tuned it up and it actually went two miles per hour faster today.

"We're getting after it and we're getting closer.  We've been working on a new clutch system the last two races and have been pretty conservative with our runs.  We still need to get the timing and the clutch together, but we're happy with it and we're slowly getting there.  We'll get after it a little more at Englishtown."

Tony Pedregon defeated Ashley Force Hood to claim the Route 66 NHRA Nationals Funny Car trophy for the second consecutive year.  

Next stop on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Series is the 40th annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway in Englishtown, N.J., from June 11-14.

Kirk Weeks

Friday, June 5, 2009

Team CANIDAE Revs Up for Baja 500

The 2009 Baja 500 started for Team CANIDAE the day we returned from the Baja 250. Countless hours of preparation, course mapping, mileage tracking, acquiring a few new chase truck and support vehicles, the list goes on. Not to mention repairs, changes, and testing to be done on the race car. Or fixing both pre-runners after the 250. Our preparation for this grueling 500 mile race is still going on as I type this from the office at home. The team of 22 men left our home base at 4am on Wednesday to make the trek to Ensenada to hopefully get two solid days of pre-running in before the race. Multiple pits are scheduled throughout the course with our crew carrying food, fuel and direction to keep everyone focused on the task at hand. The Gang hopes to each run their respective halves Wednesday and Thursday so they can get a good feel of the course and any potential “booby traps” that the locals may have set up. That is where the major carnage comes in. We are currently 3rd in points in our 1st year running the Score Series and although winning class in Baja is always the goal, finishing is the #1 challenge. We are confident that we have the preparedness, drive and the will to get the job done. Not to mention a kick-ass race car and two of the best drivers I have ever had the opportunity to ride with. Scott Whipple and Pat Gailey will run the first half of the race with Scott Gailey and Johnny Stroschein bringing it home! Keep your eyes on race-dezert.com for updates and photos to come. Be careful out there boys, and I wish I was with ya!!!! GO TEAM CANIDAE!!!!!!!

Mike DeNunzio

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

12th Annual United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Entering the second of three consecutive NHRA Full Throttle Series races, Jerry Toliver is excited to get the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Funny Car back on the track for this weekend's 12th annual United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.  In fact, the sooner the Jim Dunn Racing team can hit the quarter-mile the better.

"I think these back-to-back races are actually going to help us," Toliver said.  "At Topeka we had a new clutch system on the CANIDAE car and it really responded.  We had been dropping holes and having problems, but on our first-round run on Sunday we didn't drop any holes and didn't hurt anything.  Even though we lost, the car seems to like the changes we've made, so now it's just a matter of getting some more laps and getting a handle on the deal.  That's why I think loading up the car from one race and just going on to the next might not be such a bad thing."  
   
Toliver made his best pass of the weekend in Sunday eliminations at Topeka resulting in a solid albeit losing side-by-side first-round race with John Force, and the Temecula, Calif., resident is buoyed by the potential shown by the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Chevy.   

"I'm excited," Toliver said.  "I think we're going to start seeing some results from the team's hard work.  The motor program has been good, I like the way this CANIDAE car handles, and now it's just a matter of fine-tuning the new clutch program and dialing it in.  I'm ready to get back on the track."          

A two-hour telecast of qualifying coverage for the Route 66 NHRA Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD on Saturday, June 6, beginning at 10:30 p.m. (ET).  Coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD continues on Sunday, June 7, when NHRA Race Day will kick off eliminator coverage starting at 11:00 a.m. (ET), and concludes with two hours of final-eliminations coverage beginning at 4:00 p.m. (ET).

Kirk Weeks

Monday, June 1, 2009

Toliver Optimistic Despite First-Round Loss at Topeka

A new clutch system on his CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Funny Car leaves driver Jerry Toliver quite optimistic despite a first-round loss at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.    

Toliver in the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Chevy got off the starting line first against his first-round foe, John Force, but the No. 2 qualifier used the quickest elapsed time of the round to run Toliver down and turn on the win light.  Force had an elapsed time of 4.232 seconds at 290.94 mph to defeat the Jim Dunn Racing entry's 4.393 e.t. at 256.11 mph.   
       
"I almost messed up there in the first round," Toliver said.  "On the burnout I pulled on the brakes and the car just kept rolling almost to 330 (feet).  I thought the brakes were no good and when I went to stage the thing, the car just kept rolling in the beam and I ended up deep staging.  I didn't mean to.  I told Force afterwards that I didn't mean to do that.  I thought I was going to roll right through the beams." 

Toliver's elapsed time in today's first round of eliminations was his quickest of the weekend and gives him great confidence that the new clutch system employed for the first time this weekend has the CANIDAE car heading in the right direction.

"It's actually been a good weekend," Toliver said.  "Like I said, we're really focused on this new clutch program.  We already see a lot of improvement and the car's responding.  We didn't drop any holes today on our first-round run, so the problems we've been having are starting to come around.  I think Jim's (Dunn) happy we didn't hurt anything, and the guys have really stepped up.  Now it's just a matter of getting a handle on the deal.  It's coming around."  

Next stop on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Series is the 12th annual United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., from June 4-7.