Gearing Up for the Big Race

© Ryan Kuhnly / RumBum.com

At work in the shop.

Wednesday afternoon at North Carolina's Mountainside Restaurant, Rum Bum racer, and local celebrity, Shawn Gann, tries to keep his toddler's intent fingers off his daddy-sized pulled pork BBQ. "He's got his own grilled cheese, but whatever he has is never as good as what I have," Papa Gann said. 

Father and son share the moment at the eatery (voted #1 in it's county) where the owner personally serves the Ganns at least once, sometimes twice, a day. They chow down between hours dedicated to boosting the performance of the Rum Bum Buell Pro Stock Motorcycles – hours that have been continuously increasing in significance leading up to the possibly biggest race of his season.

The race in Vegas, that begins on Friday, October 30th, marks the NHRA Full Throttle Nationals, an event second only to the Finals. Though it's been a few weeks since the last race, there's been no rest for Gann and the Rum Bum race team. Fueled by his deep-seated need for speed – and some scrumptious Mountainside grub – Gann lurks (works) in his cave (the shop) concocting a supreme mechanical force to take down the competition. A major task at hand is improving their four motors – one motor for Gann and one for his Rum Bum teammate, Bailey Whitaker, plus a backup for each as well. Thus far, these high performance motors "start fast, but pucker out after four or five runs," said Gann.  "Now," he added, thanks to some Gann magic, "they're not gonna pucker out."

Since he's placed in the Top 10, Gann (currently 8th) is still in the running to win the competition.  Whitaker, whose performance continuously improved during the series – his first on pro stock motorcycles – will keep racing, though he barely missed a slot in the top ten. "Everyone still races no matter where they're at," Gann explained. "It's in your blood. You just can't get away from it."