The '98 Buell that is the heart of this machine has been subjected to no internal work, just fitted with a Mikuni carb and Felony Flyers' own intake and exhaust...and a NOS setup. The machine relied on light weight, a good chassis setup, and a local national champion racer to pilot it. Steve Huff has appeared on these pages as a builder in the past, but where he's really made his mark is as an All Harley Drag Racing Association champion. The "Felons" called him up to pilot their Pinks machine in the days before the race. He readily agreed.
Ironically, that same day, Steve's landspeed record sponsor, Destination Harley-Davidson, called to ask him to pilot their Screamin' Eagle V-Rod Pinks contender. It turns out that the two bikes were slated to race each other, so after some deliberations, the Destination H-D folks decided to let Steve do a little freelancing. Destination owner Ed Wallace Jr. would be defending his shop's honor (and bike).
So with the full knowledge that in the next lane would be a stock, but potent, machine with a talented, but not pro, rider, Steve and the Felony Flyers crew were feeling pretty cocky.
On the day of the event, things didn't go exactly as planned. A record number of cars had shown up, bumping the less-important (to ratings) bikes down the list until they were just hanging on. In the end, instead of a three-race format for ownership of the competition's machine, this race was to be a one-drag exhibition for broadcast on the internet and no pinks would be exchanged.
Once at the line, the Felony Buell got the holeshot, and pulled a considerable gap on the V-Rod right from the start. Unfortunately, with no time to do any practice runs, the ergonomics were all screwed up for the 6-foot-plus Steve, and he had trouble getting his foot up to the forward controls to complete his first shift, which allowed Ed to close the gap some.
The nail in the Buell's coffin came when someone forgot to turn the spigot on the nitrous bottle prior to the run, and the 120+ horsepower V-Rod sped past once it hit its power band. So, despite the heartbreaking loss, the Felony bike remained in their possession at the end of the night...and Steve still had a sponsor.