NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

As he continues to work to regain the forum that led to a pair of victories in 2020 and 2021, Pro Stock Motorycle’s “Flyin’ Ryan” Oehler has filled in an important piece of the puzzle by signing El Bandido Yankee Tequila as a sponsor of his 199-mph Buell v-twin.

“Obviously, getting into this sport we all want to win at the finish line and get our Wally collection started, which I have been very fortunate to do without a major sponsor,” said Oehler.  “Now we have got our first big wins with landing a full season sponsor and plan to work hard with the NHRA and launch a major marketing campaign.”

“To get a company like El Bandido Yankee Tequila to come forward with a contract took a long time and a lot of hard work,” said Oehler. “My job is to help them grow their brand and make more money and in NHRA, they see an opportunity for a marketing campaign with me as their salesman. Now, I have to deliver."

Oehler scored his first win in Indianapolis during the Covid shortened 2020 season and quickly followed with a second victory at the Four Wide event in Las Vegas in 2021. The 2022 season proved to be a bit more difficult as Oehler struggled to find consistency. Oehler qualified at all 15 events and managed a Top 10 finish, but race day success was tough to come by. He expects things to be drastically different in 2023.

“I would think that on-track, this is going to be a big help because of the resources I now have available,” Oehler said. “Last night, and the night before we were on the dyno. I also got a chance to go test in Florida. That’s the sort of thing the additional funding will provide.”

“It took all of year last year to get some breathing room with our program,” Oehler said. “You can’t run a Pro Stock Motorcycle like a nitro car. Getting one to four runs from an engine isn’t sustainable. Thankfully, we seem have that program under control and we should be able to return to where we were in 2020 and 2021 where we were very competitive.”

In addition to his Pro Stock Motorcycle team, Oehler also operates Tampa Bay Race Rentals, a drag racing driving school in Clearwater, Fla. At Tampa Bay Race Rentals, students get to drive and compete on an eighth-mile track in the school’s 450-horsepower 2020 Ford Mustang GT’s.