"At the beginning of the season our goal was to qualify at every event," said Horne, the only rookie still in contention for the PSM championship this season. "Now we went to the semifinals at Indy and we are sitting at number 5 in the Countdown. It's a feat for any team and we are really excited about it."

Not only has Horne accomplished his goal and qualified for all the NHRA Full Throttle national events this year, but also has not lost in the first round of eliminations since the opening PSM event in Gainesville. He caught the attention of the racing community early in the season when he made two straight final appearances at Houston and Atlanta.

It hasn't been so easy since. In the eight races leading up to Indy, Horne has lost in the second round six times.

"After the two straight finals you expect to make the final every time," said Horne. "The summer was tough. It seemed like the second round was my worst enemy. Qualifying has been our biggest problem. The eight and nine spot is tough place to be and we have been there a lot."

Doug's father, team owner and manager Steve Horne, wasn't going to settle for a mediocre result. He went back to basics and re- assembled the team that supported Doug when he was cutting his teeth in AHDRA V-Rod Destroyer competition - Gary Tonglet on clutch tuning and riding technique and fuel injection specialist Matt Gross. They join crewchief Bob Taft crewman Jim Brown.

"Gary is good at looking at a lot of little things with the track and weather conditions," said Steve Horne. "He developed Doug as a rider. We have also had a lot of success with Matt over the years. I saw the change in our program immediately after I brought the team back together. Doug has lot of trust with the team from years of running AHDRA. That is raceday experience and you cannot replace that with any amount of testing."

Tonglet and Gross made their first appearance in the tricky conditions at Denver. Their effect was immediately noticed at the next event on the schedule - Sonoma - where Horne ran in the sixes and made the semifinal for the first time since early in the season.

"I think getting Gary and Matt back is going to be our turning point," said Horne.

Horne saw more success at Indy where he won holeshot decisions over Eddie Krawiec and Matt Smith to make it to the semifinal against Michael Phillips. Horne got the holeshot on Phillips - known as one of the best leavers in the class - but could not stay in front as the certifiably hot Phillips went on to his second straight final.

"Getting past Eddie was a personal feat for me," said Horne of his first round win over the rider with the #1 on his bike. "He beat me every round we met this year, he is the champ. To him out at Indy was a big deal. That was like my final."

Indy was also a reunion of sorts for Horne as he got to race with his V-Rod Destroyer teammate LE Tonglet. The pair practically owned the AHDRA class for the two years they ran it. Horne won an AHDRA Pro Fuel championship while still competing in VRD.

With their NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team re-invigorated, Steve Horne can reflect back on what got them there and what it will take to win.

"There are a lot of positives," said the team owner. "We took the Frank Hawley class in February and now we are winning rounds at Indy. We are in the championship chase in the number five spot and we are 60 points out of first. It's been an unreal journey. It flew by."

"Consistency is want it takes to come out of this thing on top and consistency is what we are striving for," he continued. "All we can control is the bike we brought to the track. We are going to continue to do our deal. That is what got us here."

While consistency will win you some races, having a rider that can bust out some holeshots doesn't hurt.

"I cannot be more proud of Doug," said Steve. "He shows a lot or responsibility for a 21 year old kid. He has handled himself will in a national stage under a tremendous amount of pressure."

Coming into Indy Denso Sparkplugs joined longtime Horne Racing sponsor Chesapeake Harley-Davidson and this season's new addition of Dragstar Apparel.

The NHRA Countdown to One starts two weeks after Indy and kicks right into high gear with three straight events at Charlotte, Dallas and Memphis. That is fine with the rookie rider. "It's going to be fun," he said. "I don't like when we have to take a weekend off."

With his recent success the young rider is amped up.

"When we were in a slump my dad said this championship is not out of reach and that got me excited," said Horne. "Taking out two previous champions on holeshots at Indy shows us that we can compete with the best. I am going into Charlotte on a high. We are going to give this Countdown all we got."

Courtesy of Matt Polito