C.R.A.V.E. of New Jersey
Houston Cycle Fest

C.R.A.V.E. of New Jersey recently competed at the Houston Cycle Fest in Houston, TX. Four days prior to the event, our bike, while still waiting for parts, was not ready. This is where the real teamwork behind C.R.A.V.E. came to light.

Two members of our team, Ben Hatcher and Walter Harper, truly deserve to be recognized as MVPs. While Ben and Walter were waiting for parts to arrive they took four days off from work to tear down the bike to its frame to relocate our electrical and battery package and rewire the bike. After four days of around the clock work, they delivered the bike to Houston, TX for competition in the AMA/ Prostar race.

If not for the hard work and dedication, Ben and Walter would not have been able to make a showing at this event, let alone break some of C.R.A.V.E's records. (For anyone who saw us run in Houston, you know what I am talking about.) I would like to thank them and other team members present in Houston, Jaci Donnell, Donna Johnson, Janet & Walter Krawtschenko and Don Riggs, without your help our program would not be what it is today, THANK YOU.

About our track performance, all I can say is "WOW!" This bike is dialed in and hooked up. The new MSD MC4 ignition is awesome and works like nothing we have ever used before (and we've used them all). Our new engine from Winning Combination Motorsports was incredible. This motor has power enough to take 710 pounds into the high 7's easily.

Our first qualifying round was all on the shoulders of the driver (yes, I forgot to turn on the shift button). What a difference in the second round when it uses 4 of the remaining 5 gears. Round two we ran solo and came in at 8.013 at 153 mph, shutting down at the 1000 foot mark since I knew I was going too fast. This didn't help our qualifying position and put us near the back of the pack.

In round one of Top Gas eliminations I had to shut the bike down because of a broken part. We immediately fixed the problem in time to get out for Pro E.T. In that round one I hit a .550 light and covered my competition earning us a win. In round two our opponent gave us the win light when he red lighted to our .506. Round three was lost when I overreacted with a .494 giving our local competitor a free pass to round four.

We have a new motor and MSD MC4 and are very happy with how the bike is responded our first time out. We had our best 60 foot ever and we picked up 8 mph on our speed as well as acquired valuable seat time with the new combination. We now feel we are ready to be competitive. Even Ben said I did a great job. With our great team, new parts and dedicated sponsors, we are now ready to focus on RACING!

I'd like to thank the following for their support of our successful anti-violence program:

Joe Krawtschenko
Executive Board President, C.R.A.V.E of NJ
www.craveofnj.com

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