From 1972 to 1975, the High Gas class of bike drag racing was turned the wrong way up when Harley-Davidson’s utter domination of the world championship was ended by a radical machine in-built Wisconsin. Regardless of the Dairyland birthplace of Hogslayer, the machine that may seize 4 consecutive NHRA class titles was not powered by a V-twin.
As a substitute, Hogslayer was powered by British Norton Commando engines, mounted in tandem in a radical, stretched body. Constructed by John Gregory and T. C. Christenson, and working out of Sundown Motors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Christenson-piloted double-engine machine outran the dominant Harley-Davidson dragsters of the day. Its domination of Milwaukee’s V-twins within the High Gas class earned it the Hogslayer nickname. Christenson’s hair-trigger reflexes and all-or-nothing driving fashion enabled the Norton to interrupt data and safe titles.
The story of the Hogslayer was chronicled within the 2013 documentary Hogslayer: The Unapproachable Legend. Directed by James Slicing, Hogslayer was re-released in 2023.
Hogslayer has been displayed on the Nationwide Motorbike Museum in England since 2004.
Not too long ago, a gaggle of bike drag racing devotees approached Chris Illman, a pal of the Museum, with the thought of borrowing Hogslayer to place it on show at Dragstalgia 2024 on July 5-7 weekend as a tribute to Gregory and Christenson. Dragstalgia is held at Wellington’s Santa Pod Raceway, about 50 miles northwest of London. In-built 1966, Santa Pod Raceway was the primary everlasting dragstrip in England.
A lot to the shock of the Dragstalgia organizers, Nationwide Motorbike Museum Director James Hewing went even additional. Hewing provided to allow them to get Hogslayer operating and ridden on the legendary British drag racing venue.
The thought caught on. With the help of Gregory, now 90 years previous, and his long-time pal and photojournalist, Keith Lee, there’s an effort to arrange Hogslayer for a operating look at Dragstalgia 2024.
Gregory stated of the hassle to revive Hogslayer, “It’s nice that you simply guys are doing this. I simply want I used to be there to see it run once more.”
