Dale test-riding the '37.
The plan was to have pit stops every 90 minutes for refueling and servicing, but no cat naps were included. It would be 24 hours nonstop-and not around a circle inscribed in the ground. The challenge would take place at no less than the legendary Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, AL. The track, about to celebrate its own 40th anniversary, measures a 2.66-mile oval complete with high banked turns up to 33 degrees. Its three straights see speeds "well in excess of 200 mph," as clocked by NASCAR competitors. The largest oval track in the Nextel Cup Series, it has seating for more than 175,000. On this day the stands stood empty, the entire track turned over to Dale and Wayne and the Wheels Through Time crew.
Fueling and fixing with no time to spare.
Fate dropped the hammer almost from the start, as a series of challenges faced the intrepid challengers. After the first few laps, Wayne and the Knuckle rumbled back to the pits, with the Wheels Through Time crew gathering 'round. Something was apparently amiss with the ignition timing and carb. Oddly enough, Fred Ham and his bike lost an hour of downtime back in the day when a stretched primary chain had caused some damage. In Wayne's case, the delay was 45 minutes, and then the electrical gremlins were resolved and Wayne was back in the saddle. But then on Lap 18, he was back with a more serious problem: The bike was losing power. "At this point, I realized the motorcycle was on the brink of disaster," said Dale. "Then I heard Wayne say, 'well, can we fix it?'"
In 2007, the Wheels Through Time Talladega Endurance Challenge Pit Crew consisted of Dale
Now, Dale is not one known to flinch in the face of disaster, so he got right down to solving the problem, even though it turned out to be a major one: a burnt piston on the rear cylinder. "Everybody hunkered down and worked together," said Dale. "We transplanted the entire cylinder and piston from my spare bike, with the whole ordeal lasting about 65 minutes. It was back on the track, running like new, Wayne nailing the throttle WFO the rest of the night."
It was nearly 9 a.m., and he was facing an icy headwind and deepening darkness, but Wayne managed to shave a second and a half each lap, the bike performing flawlessly throughout the night, averaging 82-87 mph. "It got dicey on the track at night, not much light coming from the bike's 6-volt headlamp," Wayne told us. There was only one rear tire change, at around 2:30 a.m., and the Knuckleduster was back kicking asphalt. "I would have ridden the tire bald," said Wayne, "but Dale was always looking out for me to make sure everything was as safe as it could be."
Several layers of clothing helped in the freezing temperatures.
Three hours later, the sun peeked over the horizon, long shadows stretching across the track, the chill finally fading from the air. Wayne and the Knuckle were now at full stride, the bike hitting between 90-104 mph, lap after lap, although the headwind slowed him down to 80 in the straightaways. A 10 a.m. pit stop to replace a worn-out primary chain took just 15 minutes.