"Conditions weren't that good, but I went fast today and that's real good," said Gann, the 2004 winner of this event. "I was like the second- or third-fastest in the second session so that's good. The weather was about the same as first round, but like everyone slowed up. We did good, though; we're ready. We're going to go out there and get them tomorrow, for sure."

Boosting morale within the XTreme Rebellion/RumBum camp is the new paint scheme for Gann's Buell. "I love my new bike, it stands out, for sure," Gann said. "And I got the new orange firesuit and it's a little stiff, but it'll wear in just like my old one. I named my bike 'Jupiter.' If you look at my bike and you look at me and you know me, that's all it could be."

Top qualifier for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class going into Saturday's two rounds of qualifying is rookie Doug Horne with an ET of 6.936 and a speed of 191.84 mph. Hector Arana, this year's Gatornationals winner, is second (6.954/191.89).

Second round of qualifying for Gann and the rest of the NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle class for the United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals is scheduled to start at Noon CST Saturday with the second round starting at 3 p.m. Sunday's eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

For more information about the United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, visit them on the Web at Route66Raceway.com. Event qualifying can be seen on ESPN2 Saturday at 9:30 p.m. CST with eliminations airing at 3 p.m. CST Sunday and re-airing Wednesday at 1 a.m. CST. The race can be heard via live streaming Sunday at NHRA.com.

Fans can follow Shawn Gann at Twitter.com/ShawnGann or on his page on Facebook.

Courtesy of High Side Media