DALCORP/RADKE Take Top Honors at Bug-In 34! Top fuel driver wins Top Eliminator title in GNP/BG Oil Manx.

In drag racing there's nothing better than seeing your win light come on. And on Sunday, we saw it come on 8 times! On a day that saw more oil dumped on the track than was carried by the Exxon Valdez, Wyatt Radke drove the GNP/BG Oil VW Manx to the T-1 class win and then on to the Top Eliminator title. At the biggest Bug-In event in their history, Radke was near perfect all day as he sliced his way through the field with consistency and heads up driving. Crew chief Pat Selders had the EMPI carb'd Manx running perfectly and it, like the driver, never missed a beat all day. It can be very hard to keep focused on the job at hand when you have the number of oil downs that we had on Sunday. But nothing could keep Radke from taking the stripe. We knew we were in the hunt early in the day when Rad told the team, "Once I get 'er into 4th gear, no one's going by." And he was right. With the stands packed and three deep along the fence, Radke won race after race, some by seconds, one by .005 of a second! With conditions changing throughout the day, the team had to make several dial in changes. By the time it was all over, the dial had dropped from 12.15 to a 12.02. Great job guys!

On any given Sunday, you're either going to win or lose. There are times throughout the day when you need a little luck to win. The best definition of luck that I've ever heard came from Johnny Rutherford. "Luck is where opportunity and preparation meet." We were prepared, with a great car and crew, loyal sponsors and an awesome driver. We had the opportunity thanks to the hard working staff at Auto Club Dragway and the Bug-In gang. And in the end we achieved what we set out to do. It always feels great to win, but what makes the win even better is sharing it with those who make it possible for you to do what you love to do. Thank you Good Neighbor Pharmacy, BG Oil/PetroSpecs, Chicago Title Insurance and Chris Shevlin, AVCOMM Racing, EMPI Inc., and WR Trans. We also want to send out a special welcome to a new member of our team, CROW Safety Equipment. We've had their belts in our cars for years and now it's great to have them as one of our supporters. Thank you!

Lastly, we put a few pictures up of some of the cars that Wyatt Radke has driven over the years...and believe me, these are just a few of them. Last week when I was talking to a friend about the upcoming race and told him that we were letting Wyatt drive our car, he seemed surprised. "You're letting someone else drive your car?" I told him not to worry.....I'm pretty sure he can handle it.


At the start of the 2007 Baja 1000. In a
car that had been run by Dalcorp Racing, Wyatt,
his brother, Scott Graham and friends leave the start
line and finish the race in their first attempt!


Radke's no stranger to VW's....ya' think!

After Bobby Baldwin's untimely death in 2001,

Wyatt stepped in and filled his seat the following year

in the Western Rock Top Fuel Dragster.

With "seat cover" Teresa, Wyatt's fiance coming

back from tech...

....standing room only.

First round, first victim.

Picture perfect.

"Daddy Pat" lookin' after the water box.

In the water and ready to go under Pato's watchful

eyes.

I think he's done this before.....

Radke and Pato discussing the dial in for next round.

Here's the time slip everyone loves...the one from

the final round and it says "win."

First round towards the Top Eliminator title.

Check out the head start he had to give the other

car. Sadly, she, that's right, she turned on the red

light. She told us later that she didn't know who Radke

was until her crew and husband told her right before the

final round. "It made me a little nervous!" What were

you guys thinking?

Calling brother "Scoots" to give him the news.

.....no explanation needed.....

The class win trophy. Next year, all the trophy's

will have our car featured on them in recognition

of winning Top Eliminator in 2009.

And then, the presentation of the Top Eliminator

winner's jacket.

Oh, yeah....and the check!!!

....one of 34.

...and a good time was had by all!!!!