It has been a season of ups and downs for the North Carolina native. He has qualified for each event on the PSM schedule and has been winning rounds, but a busted crank last weekend at Joliet, another track he has won at, left him despondent. Making matters worse was the fact his Buell was one of the most consistent bikes in the field, making speed on the quarter-mile while his competitors saw their times slow drastically. His first-round loss to Steve Johnson, whom he is now tied for eighth with in the PSM points, was a bitter pill to swallow considering he beat the two-time U.S. Nationals champ off the line and was ahead well past the halfway mark.

But the time to dwell on the past is over. It's now time to look at this weekend's United Association NHRA SuperNationals and Gann is excited about returning to a track that has been good to him and one he enjoys racing at.

"I do like (Raceway Park)," said the four-time Nationals event winner. "It's an extremely nice facility with nice people there. It's a good spot."

While Raceway Park ranks high on his list of faves, nothing everything about the weekend is positive for the out-spoken Gann.

"Englishtown is really one of my favorite tracks."

But?

"Not so much the location. You can't drive in Englishtown. If you have to drive somewhere, you ain't going back the way you came or you're not going back to where you were. There's no way.

Fortunately, Gann isn't racing through the streets of Englishtown ; he's doing it on the quarter-mile and after completely rebuilding his XTreme Rebellion/RumBum Buell this week, he might see a clear path back to where he belongs: The Winner's Circle.

Gann and the rest of the NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle class qualify for Sunday's eliminations for the United Association NHRA SuperNationals Friday at 3 p.m. EST and again at 6 p.m. Saturday's qualifying for the bikes is scheduled to start at Noon with the second round starting at 3 p.m. Sunday's eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

For more information about the United Association NHRA SuperNationals at Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., visit them on the Web at ETownRaceway.com. Event qualifying can be seen on ESPN2 Saturday at 7 p.m. EST and again at 11:30 p.m. Eliminations air at 10 p.m. EST Sunday and will re-air Wednesday at 2 a.m. EST. 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.

SHAWN GANN FAST FACTS:
* Gann is a four-time Nationals event winner in the NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle class: Joliet, Denver (2004); Englishtown (2003); Las Vegas (2001)
* Gann has earned five career top qualifier awards: Las Vegas (2006); Englishtown, Madison (2003); Houston, Pomona (2002)
* Gann's career round wins record is 116-112, including 12 final round appearances
* Gann round win record in 2009 is 4-5
* Last year at this event, Gann lost to Angelle Sampey in the first round
* Gann's highest finish in the year-end points standings in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class is third (2003) on the strength of one win, one runner-up, and a final round win record of 21-14
* Won the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle at the U.S. Nationals at Indy (2001)
* Gann's career-best speed is 193.65 (Houston, 2006) and career-best ET is 6.952 (Reading, 2006)

Courtesy of HighSideMedia