"We figured we were gonna be a little slower today," said Gann, who ran a 7.068 in Q3 and skipped the final round. "I don't think anybody improved over yesterday and I don't think we fell off as much as some of the others, either. We've been real fortunate to have a fast bike off the truck all year and we've been able to stay consistent when other riders are struggling."

Gann knows how important it is to win rounds on Sunday; he's only one point behind sixth-place Matt Smith and two points behind fifth-place Karen Stoffer. As has been the case all season, Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines, the winners of the last two PSM titles, have the bullseyes on their backs, followed by a strong Hector Arana. The North Carolina native isn't worrying himself about the championship right now, however. He's more focused on each individual round as they come.

"I can't worry about that (title) stuff," he said. "The only thing I can do is go round to round. I know Eddie and Andrew and Arana are good and have been good all year and I know they're gonna have to slip up. But I also know if I go in there and prepare for every round like it's the most important one, we'll do okay."

Krawiec is the top qualifier for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class with the 6.908 ET/192.55 mph run he made Friday. He faces Redell Harris in the first round of eliminations Sunday.

For more information about the O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex, visit them on the Web at TexasMotorPlex.com. Sunday's eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

Event qualifying can be seen on ESPN2 Sunday at 12:15 a.m. EST and again at 1 p.m. Eliminations air at 7 p.m. EST Sunday and again Friday at 1:30 a.m. 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 HighSideMedia