Bad Dog Racing 2005

May 26, 2005

Greg's VW is proud to be an active Sponsor of a group of dedicated motorsports enthusiasts. Together we have formed a race team known as, "Bad Dog Racing". Based in Northern California, we have built racecars and successfully competed at many venues throughout California and neighboring states. Since it's inception over 15 years ago, Bad Dog Racing has aquired a number of Championship titles. The Team's efforts have brought it to the forefront in many catagories of motorsports

We are not a start-up or novice group of competitors. We are a team with a foundation of seasoned racers. We have been together for a number of years. We are highly visible at each event. Our Drivers and Crew are well groomed and have a very professional appearance. Our team is always looking sharp, as well as being fast. Our tools and pit equipment are in good order and well maintained. Our pit crew members are friendly and knowledgeable. Other competitors often look to us for help, and information. Whether it be to borrow tools, parts, or manpower, we assist in any capacity. Our group is envied and respected among our peers.

Whenever possible, we communicate our efforts and adventures to the local Media. Members of our team have appeared on network and cable television. Our Racecars have been seen on Prime Time news highlights (ABC KXTV-10). Driver profiles have been the focus of Spotlight interviews (TNN Motor Madness). Speedvision has captured images of the Bad Dog Racing Team dominating "The Battle of the Imports", recently held at Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield. Most recently many team members have appeared on Ocean Street Video DVD's, and the new Xtreme VW's DVD.

The Bad Dog Racing Drivers have quickly risen to the top ranks of the NASA Pro-VW Drag Racing Series. The year 2000 proved to be highly successful with wins in five out of six races. The 2001 year brought a second "Rookie of the Year" Tittle, along with many top 5 finishes. In 2002 BDR captured it's first Championship in the NASA Pro-Vw Drag Racing Series. 2003 was an especially memorable year for BDR as Lynn "BlondeDog" Urrutia finished in the Runner-up position in the NASA Series. Her achievement has historic significance, for she is the first woman to finish in the top 3. Rick DeLeon made a strong run at the 2004 Championship, and finished in the Runner-up position. The year 2005 and beyond promise to be exciting and victorious, as the team continues to be perennial championship contenders. Our success strives from a brilliant aptitude for racing, expert technical abilities, and strong support from family, friends, and first-class sponsors.

We have developed this web page to post events, results, and driver standings. Updates are performed on a regular basis to keep information fresh and current. Our performances for the 1999-2004 seasons are well documented. Our team is well established and consistent. Our drivers are accomplished, determined, focused, and will continue to demonstrate the ability to win Championshipsl. We pledge to improve and impress in the 2005 Season. Follow our progress as we compete in the NASA VW Drag Racing Series.

Sponsorship Inquires

NASA Race 1

Rising Stars Make Their Mark In Season Opener

Most talked about story leading up to the first NASA race of the year was the weather. The forecast seemed to change every few hours. Although it was looking very doubtful that we would get this race in, Sixteen racers made the trek to Sacramento Raceway. Our group would run in our own lane on the kick-off event for the California Modified Imports.
The determined racers paid for their tech cards and were told about the possibility of rain checks. The track staff went about their regular routine of track preparation ignoring a light sprinkle that started to fall. As the event promoters looked to the skies, they seemed pressed to make a decision on the days activities. An hour after the gates opened practice started for those who had passed tech. A short while later another decision was made to cancel the event and a rain date of April 24th was set. The track would stay open for two hours of practice for those that wanted to run.
We were about to pack-up and issue bonus points to those racers that braved the weather when the event promoter approached us with some very exciting news. Being that our group was small he would close the staging lanes to all but NASA members, have his staff man their positions, and weather permitting allow us to get this race in. It was just about this time that a glimpse of the sun broke through. It was ON!
The drivers meeting was especially memorable with our first ever raffle for a $50.00 gift certificate courtesy of new series sponsor Donsco Performance Center, followed by a warm and reassuring invocation from Chaplain Richard Wharton. Pairings were made, and off to the staging area our racers went.
What a treat it was to have exclusive use of the facility. The staging lanes were empty. NASA received the red carpet treatment as the fine staff of Sacramento Raceway stayed above and beyond the call of duty to let us race. No Lines, No Waiting....No Problem! Unhurried and without any delays, our group quickly went through four rounds of eliminations.

In the end, taking first place and stealing the spotlight was Mike Soliven in only his second time racing. Not new to the series, Mike has been the official photographer for the past year, has crewed on other racecars, and has been a dedicated cheerleader for the series. It's great to see a guy that goes to school, works nights bar tending at a popular nightclub, and builds a car all at the same time have some success at the season opener.
Mike thanks his friends Rich Dickson for hooking up his tach and helping him with electrical problems the day before the race, Andrew "2-stroke" Foldhazi for welding in his Berg intermediate mount, and Justin for helping him wrench the car back together. "Without them, this would not have been possible" Soliven went on to say, "I had a great time even though I was tired as hell with no sleep the night before".
For his efforts Mike takes home the Winner's Trophy, $50.00 gift certificate from new sponsor Bugformance of Sacramento, his share of the Jackpot money, first place in points, and the very coveted winner's sticker. Congratulations Mike, you are the next target of the next Bounty Hunter Award!
Giving Mike a good run for his money was rookie Simon Ramirez finishing in the Runner-Up position. This was Simon's first time ever on a racetrack. He made the long trip from Costa Mesa to take up an offer to fill the seat of the racecar sponsored by Greg's VW Service. He may be a rookie to driving a car, but not to the series. He has been Crew Chief/Crew Member for many of the Bad Dog Racing Team cars. He is also the official web master for the NASA drag racing site ( www.nasavwdragracing.com ). For his successful introduction to the series, Simon picked up the Runner-up Trophy, $50.00 worth of engine machine work from Jansen Enterprise, his share of the Jackpot money, and a T-shirt from Wolfgang International for highest finishing rookie.

Also in the limelight was rookie sensation Alan Camyre. Alan was handsomely rewarded for laying down the best light of the day (.003). For his efforts and fine performance he receives a $50.00 gift certificate from series sponsor Bugformance of Sacramento.

In other earned prizes, veteran racer Chris Brown claims the Bounty Hunter Award. Beating previous race winner Michael Meyer in round two is good for $50.00 cash from Greg's VW Service.

Thanks to all our series sponsors:
www.actop20.com, www.carapace-design.com, www.donscoperformance.com, www.bugformancesuperstore.com, www.gregsvw.com, www.wolfgangint.com, www.bigwigracecars.com, www.cal-look.com, www.oceanstreetvideo.com, www.ranchoperformance.com, www.lowbugget.com, Air Cooled Engineering, and Jansen Enterprise.
Without their support our passion for racing could not be realized.

Points Standings

116 Mike Soliven
96 Simon Ramirez (R)
76 Chris Brown
76 Wayne Axford
76 Alan Camyre (R)
56 Michael Meyer (CH)
56 Brian Gomez
36 Shannon Brown
36 Nick Wharton
36 Dan Ruble
36 Gloria DeLeon
36 Jason Lang
36 Rick DeLeon
36 Daniel Vetter
16 Lynn Urrutia
16 Rich Dickson (R)

Next race May 21, Sacramento Raceway

21st Annual Spring Meet at Kelley Park

Most anyone involved in the VW scene is well aware of the event celebrating vintage VWs at Kelley Park in San Jose. This has long been on my "must attend" list of revered and respected events in any calendar year. As the day drew near my anticipation grew more. This years event promised to be even more memorable for a number of reasons.
First off to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Karmann Ghia, the Golden Gate Chapter of the Vintage Volkswagen Club of America extended the Ghia classes to cover all Ghias 1974 and earlier.
Secondly, I was recently accepted into a local VW Club, Tru-Dubs of Sacramento and was looking forward to my first club caravan to a major VW event. Last but not least the weather promised to be sunny and warm, a condition that has not been experienced in the last few years of this premiere event.
I made plans with racing teammate Brian Gomez to stay at his place in Mountain View. We understood the turn out was to be huge this year with the one time only invitation to later model Karmann Ghias. We planned to get an early start the morning of the show to avoid being trapped in the endless line of participants that winds through the local surface streets.
The great thing about being involved with a local VW club is the great line of communication that has been developed. Plans were made to meet in a large parking lot the afternoon before the show to drive down to San Jose. I would split away from the pack once we neared the Bay Area and find my way to Brian's place.
A group of seven Club cars massed together. We went over some simple plans regarding the route we would take. After a few pictures we were soon on the road. Departing about 3pm, the afternoon traffic was moving at the limit. We kept a lazy, unhurried pace and enjoyed the sun and scenery. Passing us in the opposite direction was an ongoing line of classic Hotrods. There was obviously a show catering to the vintage V8 crowds somewhere north of us. It is always great to see a Custom Car Show in motion. I'm sure they were thinking the same thing as we exchanged approving glances and waves. It reminded me of sporting teams doing the 'High Five's" as the line of players pass each other.
I managed to click off some pictures in motion as we motored our way towards the Bay Area. Shortly after cresting the Altamont Pass, Trail Boss Kyle Madden lead us to a Quick Stop for a much needed refueling, and relieving break. I got a chance to stretch my legs, and the group made a plan to find their way to Kyle's sisters place in Hayward. They would rest there and find their way to the front gate of Kelley Park in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Our Pack was soon back on the road making our way thorough Livermore and Castro Valley. I waved to the group as they found their exit and I pressed on to Mountain View.
I pulled up to Brian's place to find him busy detailing his very red Ghia. We talked about leaving in the wee hours of the morning. Influenced by the club members I drove down with, I suggested 1:30am. We convinced each other it was a pretty good idea, so we set the alarm clock, enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by his wife Suzanne, covered up the cars, and hit the sack about 9pm.
Let me tell ya, getting up for a VW event at 1:30am is not the greatest feeling in the world. Typically that's about the time we crashout the night before a race. Some coffee helped us shake the cobwebs off, and by 1:45am I was uncovering the Ghia thinking to myself it was gonna be a great day for a car show. My thoughts were interrupted when the front door of the next door neighbors home flew open and there in his boxer shorts was Brian's neighbor staring daggers at me. I kinda smiled and froze in my tracks for a moment. He was half asleep, ready to box and yelled out, "What the F you doing!". Brian emerged from the garage assured him everything was cool and he faded back into the house. It must be comforting to know you have a "Watchdog" living next door.
We were soon on the road to Kelley Park, a short 25 minute drive from Brian's place. On the way there we saw Limos departing from the many night clubs and watering holes in the area. It felt a bit unusual for us to just be starting the day, when the rest of the world was winding down.
As we made the turn onto the road leading to the front gate we spotted the many busses that made their way to Kelley Park from BYOB already in line. We parked the tow rigs unloaded our racecars, and playfully challenged each other as we raced to find our place in line. Our two racecars were the first Karmann Ghias in line of the 40 cars I counted that were already in place. We found the Tru-Dubs crew that decided to find their way to the front gate at 9pm the previous night. They were about 20 hours into an all nighter. In addition to the Bus guys sawing logs, some of the club members found new ways to contort and somehow catch a few Z's in the confines of a Beetle.
We walked around a bit exchanging pleasantries with the many familiar faces. At about 5am we walked up to the corner and stood at the traffic light at Phelan and Senter St. We watched as swappers with large loads of parts they hoped to sell, and show cars both stock and some with throaty sounding powerplants found their place in line. A few minutes later we greeted some of San Jose's finest as they manned their positions to control traffic. We struck up a friendly conversation and learned that the first Sargent is a longtime veteran of the SJPD and is nearing retirement. He has signed up for this particular assignment for the past few years and is a VW enthusiast himself. The department has adopted a policy to let members of the force do some "moonlighting" in full uniform to supplement their income rather than allow other private agencies act as law enforcement. The Sarge was soon joined by 2 more officers to patrol the event. They had nicknames for each other, Grandpa, Dad, and Kid. The youngest member on the team had all the latest law enforcement gear and was envied by his elders. Grandpa said his wife would not let him buy anymore police gear because he was so close to retirement. We chatted for a few moments and expressed our appreciation for their services. They in turn thanked us for keeping an eye on things until they got there. Brian and myself looked at each other, shrugged and said "No problem, we're happy to help". They were great people.
Before long the front gate opened up and the long line filed in. Pulling into the show area I could see everything from a Fridolin to Rat Rods on display. After setting up our cars we made a trip around the park to take in all the sites. There was the usual impressive display of Splits and Ovals. The Bus classes are always huge. Type III's, Ghia's, and of course the swap meet area.
I made my way over to the show booth to sign up my entry into the Toy show, buy a T-shirt and plaque, and donate a gift for the raffle. New for this year was a DJ playing some tunes in the main Gazebo. Local college station KFJC 89.7 was on hand to play music adding a bit of ambiance.
We caught up with friends old and new, took a few pictures, and before you knew it the day turned into the afternoon and it was time to announce the awards. In honor of the 50th, the Karmann Ghia awards were announced first. I was overwhelmed to be the first name called and received a 2nd place award for 70-74 Ghia. Next name to be called was none other than my partner in VW crime, Brian Gomez for the first place award in the same class. We had traded a bit of smack talk all day about who was going to win. Funny thing is in all the years we have been going to Kelley Park this is the first time either one of us has won an award for a show car (or Bus) entry.
As the awards went on I was glad to see Tru-Dubs club member Kyle Madden win an award for the memorial display of his brothers car. It was also good to see Art Soto win second place in his class for his beautiful 64' right hand drive convertible. Art is a member of Tracy V-Dubs, another VW club that I have recently become a member of. I doubled up on awards with a 2nd place finish in the Toy category.
As things started to wind down I took some pictures with Kyle and Brian in front of our winning entries. I noticed a photographer making the rounds and stopped him to see what he was selling. He had some neat keyhole pictures on keychains. I bought 2, one for me and one for Brian. We broke down our displays, cleaned our surrounding area and hotrodded our way back to the trailers. It took a while to load the cars up and just about the time I was ready to go some members from Tru-Dubs showed up to see if I needed any help. What can I say about them? They are a great bunch of people and even waited for me before they headed out on the long trip back to Sacramento.
I said so long to Brian and found my place in the Tru-Dubs Caravan. It had indeed been a great day for a car show.
In closing I'd like to thank my Brothers (and Sisters) of Tru-Dubs of Sacramento for their friendship and camaraderie. It is far more enjoyable to roll to an event as part of a group than it is to show up as a lone wolf.

BDR 2004 | BDR 2003 | BDR 2002 | BDR 2001 | BDR 2000

Home | Bad Dog Racing | Staff & Crew | Calendar of Events

Links | Photo Gallery | Adopt a Highway | Sponsorship