CHRIS BURDEN RETURNS TO RACING AFTER 10 YEAR HIATUS
Mount Pleasant, WI – After 10 years out of the seat, bracket racer Chris Burden is proud to announce his return to 
racing with Gorilla Mill sponsoring his Chevy S10 race truck.
Chris Burden is a third generation racer that was blessed to grow up with the opportunity to travel the country racing NHRA Super Gas from its inception. He helped his uncle, Gary Christofferson, finish in the top 5 multiple times in both division 3 and National points. Chris started driving at 17 and was fortunate to win one NHRA wally in the stock division at the first Topeka national event. He bracket raced up until 2008, when he stopped competing to focus on his children and expected that his racing career had come to an end. In November of 2017, Chris’s wife, Kari, had “had it” with Chris buying an endless list of “toys” to try and satisfy the hole in his life that had been drag racing. She told him to go buy a car because she knew it was his passion.
With his reintroduction into the motorsports industry, Chris and Kari decided this was also the perfect time to start their own business. CM Racing Services brings you personalized experience and the products that Chris believes in. They carry a full line of Pit Pal products, as well as electronics by Digital Delay and shifters from Quarter Pro Shifters. With 25 years of experience in the manufacturing industry, Chris can work with you on custom components. They also carry a full line of promotional apparel and other items that can be customized to help you build your brand. CM Racing Services can be found online at www.cmracingservices.com.
Chris was back at Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, WI in May. He is racing a 1986 Chevy S10, all-steel body, 434 cubic inch small block Chevy engine on alcohol with an FTI 2-speed Powerglide transmission and Spragless converter. It has a Ford 9” rear end with Wilwood brakes on all 4 corners, ladder bar rear suspension and Digital Delay delay box and equipment.
Chris’s professional experience is in the machine tool industry, having worked in this field for over 25 years. Chris became re-acquainted with Gorilla Mill products when looking for a solution to speed up a high-volume production job. The initial process on the job was producing 12-14 ipm (inches per minute). Kevin, one of the owners of Gorilla Mill, personally visited the job site to work on process improvement. When they were finished, the job ended up at 57 ipm, resulting in a 54% decrease in cycle time.
Carbide Grinding Company was founded in 1974, and in 2006, the Gorilla Mill brand was introduced. They are headquartered in Waukesha, WI. Gorilla Mill and Chris Burden found that they were a great fit. As in racing, the one thing that matters most is performance in the machine tools. Gorilla Mills® will reduce chatter, decrease cycle times, extend tool life and create a superior tolerance and finish. Each Gorilla Mill® is designed on our 3D CAD simulator, then crafted on state of the art CNC, auto loading cutter grinders, assuring absolute perfection and repeatability.
Gorilla Mill® regrinds are sharpened using a modified version of the same program that is used to manufacture it new, thereby insuring 80% to 100% of a new Gorilla Mill’s® performance. Custom Gorilla Mills® are routinely produced in special diameters, radii and lengths. Chris and Gorilla Mill entered into a sponsorship agreement, and Chris’s S10 was taken to Rage Wraps for the fantastic vinyl design proudly displayed on the truck.
The original intent was to just bracket race locally due to the cost of getting back into the sport. With the Gorilla Mill partnership, Chris now has the opportunity to chase the dreams he thought had ended ten years ago. Earlier this month, Chris traveled to US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, MI for the SFG Promotions FTI Summer Shootout. In the $50k Friday race, Chris proudly went 6 rounds. Saturday’s $100k race was off to a great start, with Chris beating the previous night’s runner-up, “Nasty” Nick Hastings in the first round, but his day ended in the second round. Sunday’s $50k race was off to another good start, until a loose bumper ended the weekend in the 3rd round.
In addition to his local track, Great Lakes Dragaway, Chris plans to race the Gorilla Mill S10 at the SFG Promotions Buckeye Bracket Nationals August 9-12th, as well as the remainder of the SFG races this year.
