ARTICLE BY JASON CULLEY / PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF BRIAN WATTS

Silver Bugget Racing can trace it's roots back to 1987 when Lance Gregory, then of the Locals Only VW Club teamed up with Shawn Bergerson and Rich Grise'' of the SoCal VW Club to form the Der Neue Aufstrag (The New Order).  After a few years, mini-trucks replaced the VW’s but the love for the little car was always there.  Fast forward to 2001 and Lance was bitten by the VW Bug (that was horrible and I apologize) once again.  Soon after the purchase of a ’65 bug to restore, Shawn and Rich decided to get in on the fun and before they knew it there were five VW’s in the Gregory garage.  Flipping through the pages of Hot VW’s they saw an advertisement for a Karman Ghia race car named “Bad Attitude” (former ‘80s race car known as “Bad Karma”), a trip to Arizona was arranged and the car was purchased.   After an unsuccessful and frustrating season the Karman Ghia was sold to Joel Mohr of Mohr Performance and the search was on for a replacement.  A donor bug was acquired from Jeff Richards, which had been formerly ran in PRA events and the tear down began.  With help from Ron Lummus at RLR, John at Topline, Sam at Rancho Performance and Lenny Copp at West Coast Classics Restoration the car was built in just 3 months and Lance debuted the car at Bug-In 32 at Fontana, CA in April 2005.  Not wanting to be left out Rich purchased a ’65 Bug that was run in the NASA Pro-VW Drag Racing Series in Northern California and Shawn purchased a ’57 Oval Window Bug from former PRA Super Comp Champion Nick Wharton.  In 2006 they added the fourth member of their racing team, Steve Atkinson and in 2007 Jon Schweers became the fifth and latest member.

 The most successful Silver Bugget drag racer during the 2007 season is no doubt Rich Grise' and his 1965 VW Bug named “REDRUM”.  Rich finished the year with a 10-4 (.714 winning percentage) record in eliminations and finished a mere 1 point behind PRA Super Gas Champion Troy Palmer.  Troy won the season finale at “The Strip” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway while Rich lost in the first round versus Albuquerque, New Mexico drag racer Monty Foster.  Rich made it to at least the semi-finals in 4 out of 5 races and won Bugorama #59 at Sacramento Raceway Park against fellow Silver Bugget driver Steve Atkinson.  Jon Schweers finished 11^th and Steve Atkinson finished 13^th in the PRA Super Comp class while Shawn Bergerson finished 7^th and Lance Gregory finished 10^th in the PRA Super Comp class.

The 2008 season did not start out like the Silver Bugget Racing Team would have liked.  In Phoenix at the Bugorama, Lance broke his turbo and did not run, Shawn lost in the second round, Rich fouled (Red Light) in the first round and Steve blew an engine in the second round.  There is still plenty of season left and I am sure you will see these guys going rounds and getting wins at a drag strip near you.

LANCE GREGORY
Hometown: Mira Loma, CA
Class: PRA Super Comp (Finished 10th in 2007)
Car: 1963 VW Bug "Silver Bugget" (1,380 pounds, pan based car)
Best Times: 10.06 ET @ 139 MPH (1/4), 6.46 ET @ 108 MPH (1/8)
Motor: 2300cc Autocraft Engine w/T4 Turbo (Marty Staggs)
Transmission: KCR built (3.88 Ring & Pinion, 3.55 (1st Gear), 2.07 (2nd Gear), 1.56 (3rd Gear), 1.04 (4th Gear))

 

RICH Grise'
Hometown: Lake Elsinore, CA
Class: PRA Super Gas (Finished 2nd in 2007)
Car: 1965 VW Bug "REDRUM"
Best Times: 11.48 ET @ 118 MPH (1/4), 7.17 ET (1/8)
Motor: 2332cc Bad Bergie Performance built
Transmission: Rancho Performance built (3.88 Ring & Pinion)

 

SHAWN BERGERSON
Hometown: Murrieta, CA
Class: PRA Super Comp (Finished 7th in 2007)
Car: 1957 Oval Ragtop "Anger Management"
Best Times: 9.98 ET @ 126 MPH (1/4), 7.33 ET @ 97 MPH (1/8)
Motor: 2387cc M-Spec Motorsports built (Marty Staggs)

 

STEVE ATKINSON
Hometown: Santa Ana, CA
Class: PRA Super Gas (Finished 13th in 2007)
Car: 1959 VW Bug Ragtop
Best Times: 11.20 ET @ 116 MPH (1/4), 7.09 ET @ 95 MPH (1/8)
Motor: 2332cc Turbo
Transmission: 407 Speedshack built (3.88 Ring & Pinion)

 

JON SCHWEERS
Hometown: Yorba Linda, CA
Class: PRA Super Gas (Finished 11th in 2007)
Car: 1963 VW Bug Choptop
Best Times: 11.52 ET (1/4), 7.68 ET (1/8)
Motor: 2276cc M-Spec Motorsports Turbo built (Marty Staggs)
Transmission: Rancho Performance Pro Comp

No drag racer yet alone a drag racing team can be successful without family, friends, supporters and sponsors.  The Silver Bugget Racing Team is no different as they show up at every race together, help each other out to make sure they make it to each event and they are the first to step up when other racers need help or assistance.  Along with the their friends and family they would like to say thanks to following sponsors and supporters:  REDRUM “Killer Rum”, Bugpack, Exact Color, LLC., Bad Bergie Performance, M-Spec Motorsports, Winegard, Designs and Lines, The Samba, GFR (Grise' Family Racing), Bayhawk Ales, 407 Speedshack, West Coast Classics Restoration, Jagermeister, Ron Lummus Racing, KCR, Heads Up, Automic Designs, Pixel Art Minded, JAYCEE Enterprises, Geers Engineering, Turbosmart, Bonaco, Competition Engineering, VanGordon Racing, LME, Innovate, Vee Dub Parts Unlimited, RIMCO, Clyde Berg Heads.  One person in particular they would like to thank is Marty Staggs who has built three of the five motors powering Silver Bugget Racing this season.

You can check out the Silver Bugget Racing website at www.silverbugget.4t.com.