NLR News

Hogan Blisters Indy!
Friday, August 26, 2005

Hogan Blisters Indy!
Record-setting Funnybike is For Sale

AMA/Prostar Funnybike champion Korry Hogan electrified the atmosphere at Indianapolis Raceway Park with a 6.498 ET at 213 mph on his turbo/alcohol Suzuki. Run in round 1 of eliminations during Prostar's Pingel Thundernationals, it was the first time a Funnybike has lapped in the 6.40's since Gary Clark ran 6.48 and 6.45 at the 2000 World Finals in Gainesville.

The crowd was already titillated by Chris Hand's personal best 6.07 Top Fuel lap, run just before Hogan and the Funnybikes hit the track. "Tony Williams did a fantastic job of prepping the track," said Korry, a 27-year old resident of Arvada, Colorado. "We saw Chris run the 6.0 in the left lane and we thought we would run a low 6.60. The tire shook 'til about 100 feet out and then it hooked up. We never thought it had anything like that in it right then."

Indeed, the Hogan Speed team's testing and qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday hadn't given any indication that they would nearly break the longstanding ET record on Sunday. The Suzuki was chronically breaking its axle adjuster during Friday's test 'n tune. "Because we couldn't get another torsion sprocket, we went to a rigid sprocket and new chain, and that changed made the bike chew up the axle adjusters," said Hogan. "That was the new weak link, and we've never had that happen in two and a half years of racing that bike. The bike would try and layover as soon as I sat the front wheel down. It would move a foot over to the left and try and layover, that's why my qualifying was off." Korry ran a 6.951 at 205.57 in round 1—a good lap for most of the field, but not for Hogan.

"We were slowly getting the problem solved on Saturday. My dad Dennis, Mark McNichols and my friend Preston Morinville (Korry's co-worker at EssentiaLink) ended up just working on that, and I honestly don't know what they did, but they took care of it." Hogan's second round MPH stayed consistent at 205.38, but his ET lowered to a 6.693—on the high end of average for the team.

"The problem was gone on Sunday." True enough, as Hogan ran the .49 at a quickest-ever 213 in his first round scheduled bye run. "Jim Kizer came up to me at the end of the track and said 'You ran a .49!' Then Keith Lynn got there and congratulated me on the run, and then my dad got there and he was all excited! As unexpected as that .49 was, we still feel there's more room for improvement. I had a 1.13 60-foot time and Gary said his .45 had a 1.07 60-foot time. So we left so soft, it's ridiculous." Hogan was being conservative with the clutch tune-up after the change to the rigid sprocket and the resulting axle adjuster issue. Still, he ran a record 177 mph in the eighth mile, eclipsing Steve Stuter's 175.06 mark from 1999, and his 4.25 eighth mile ET was just short of Clark's record 4.248.

Hogan stayed strong in round 2, ousting former champ Travis Davis with a 6.541 at 212.33—fast enough to back up the record 213.00, breaking the 210.18 mark that Chip Ellis set on Steve Rice's Kawasaki in 2001.

Really dialed in now, Hogan ran another 6.54 at over 212 in the semi to put Norwalk winner Keith Lynn on the trailer. And that's where the Indy race left off, as rains postponed the Funnybike final 'til the next event in Memphis. There, Hogan will face Norwalk runner-up Perry Hollie. "We still have the final round to break the ET record," Korry said confidently.

The weekend after Indy, Hogan displayed the bike at the Suzuki Cyclefest in Copper Mountain. Suzuki president Mr. Kato flipped his hat around backwards and proudly posed for photos on the record-setting Funnybike.

Back at Hogan Speed headquarters, the team set about replacing the aluminum axle adjusters with steel parts, preparing the bike for a further assault on the record book at the last two rounds in Memphis and Gainesville.

And after the World Finals, the record-setting Suzuki could go home in your trailer. Hogan—who loves the smell of nitro in the morning—announced that the bike is for sale. "It's a turn-key operation," said Korry. "It's the current Funnybike World Champion, the current MPH record holder, and the first Suzuki to run 6.60, 6.50 and 6.40 quarter-miles. $59,500 for the complete operation, available after the last pass at the World Finals."

You can contact Hogan at (720) 341-3782, or kolaho@hotmail.com. "Serious inquiries only, baby!"

Korry thanked all of the companies and individuals that made the parts and pieces that went into the record-setting bike: Schnitz Racing for the Pro Series 2 box, Gary Clark Race Crankshafts and Fuel Systems, MTC for the pistons, block and multi-stage lock-up clutch, Bill Robinson Industries for the 3-Speed Transmission, Harry's Machined Parts for the billet clutch hub and rocker arm assembly, Vanson Leathers for the suit and gloves that "fit right and look great," Colorado Powersports for "all the components that are such a help," AAI Speed Equipment for the expert machining and fittings, PMFR for the front and rear sprockets, World Wide Bearings for the ceramic bearings on the entire bike, NLR for the NLR-spec turbocharger and AMS-1000 boost controller, Mile High Crankshafts for all of the terrific support and service, Dynatek for the data-logging capabilities to ensure consistent passes, Fitz Graphix for the terrific 213 mph paint, Acme Vinyl Graphics for the terrific graphics, and Sha-Sha Shoes for all the Xtremely great looking shoes for the team.

"And I want to thank my mother and father and family. Without them this wouldn't be possible. And Wendel Douthat, the '2KTuner,' for knowing exactly what to do and when to do it, even over the phone. I want to thank Gary Clark, Steve Rice and Steve Suter. Without these terrific racers, we wouldn't have anything to shoot for at each race! I also want to thank Prostar (www.amaprostar.com) and Keith Kizer for giving us a great racetrack and Tim Hailey (www.usridernews.com) for the terrific coverage at each race this season."

This release was prepared by Tim Hailey, www.eatmyink.com