When Jan told me that he was going to build a drag bike I had my doubts.  Then he told me that our son, Jake was going to race. . . well, I surprised even myself by being completely okay with it!  For our first year out we were very competitive even though we had a short season.  The Chariots of Fire race team was able to keep up with seasoned riders.  Our times and mph were consistent in the classes we competed in.  We had 36 runs and no major breaks.  Our rider, Jake Knobbe, was told by seasoned riders that he did an excellent job his rookie year.  Jake was very focused on race days exceeding our expectations.

The classes we competed in were S/G (super gas), S/E (super eliminator), and E/T (estimated time).  As of the writing of this article, Jake placed 18^th in S/G out of 40 competitors and 49^th in E/T out of 60 competitors.  S/E was a non point class.  Not bad the first year out huh?

Our success drag racing can be traced back to many individuals.  Special thanks to Pastor Terry Burke for his spiritual guidance and technical experience;  fellow racer, David Hembeck for his technical advice;  Rich & Ray Vreeland of Vreeland Harley Davidson out of Bloomsburg, PA for their hospitality, technical advice, and racing pointers for Jake; James McCloud for his welding expertise and structural technical assistance; our race team Jake Knobbe, Jan Knobbe, Doug Dillon, and Jim Childers.  We would  like to thank our customers, friends, and family for their support and good wishes.

We are also very thankful for all of our sponsors:  Dennis Martin – Thunder Roads Magazine, MO S.IL;  Julie Roeder – Thunder Roads Magazine, Ohio;  Ultima Products; David Kessler – State Farm Insurance;  Todd Gilliam – Terry’s Machine Shop;  William Cheesseman & Craig Lazzaro – Steel Point Guns;  Mike Burke – Cherry Street Bar & Grill;  Bob Lowe – Ink Master’s Tattoos;  Doug Sauer – Full Contact Fitness & MMA; Hershel – Hershel’s Signs and Graphics; Koby – KCL Creations; Paul York – Thompson Choppers;  Jay Brake;  Baker Drivetrain.  Any businesses interested in sponsoring us next year are welcome to call Jan at 636-356-9015 or e-mail him at [email protected].