He looks to change that this weekend at the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park. Gann knows to win the PSM title, he has to put last week behind him and focus on the task at hand: winning rounds.

"We knew going into this deal that guys like (Hector) Arana and (Eddie) Krawiec were gonna have to stumble a little to have a shot," said Gann, a four-time Nationals event winner. "But we gotta do our part, too. Going out in the first round isn't how to win a title. We have to start winning and it has to start at Memphis."

It will be a fun weekend for Gann and the XTremeRebellion.com/RumBum team, as the North Carolina native feels right at home in Memphis. "God, I love Memphis!" he said with a smile. "Memphis is just a good, down-home spot. It's near where Johnny Cash grew up. I mean, how can you not love that?"

Several NHRA racers including Gann are participating in Memphis Motorsports Park's annual FanFest, held this year at the Hooter's location at 250 Peabody Place, Suite 101, in Memphis. The drivers are signing autographs from 7-8 p.m.

Gann and the rest of the NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle class qualify for Sunday's eliminations for the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals Friday at 2:15 p.m. CST. The second qualifying round on Friday is scheduled to start at 4:45 p.m. Saturday's qualifying for the bikes is scheduled to start at 11:15 a.m. with the final round starting at 2:15 p.m. Sunday's eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

For more information about the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park, visit them on the Web at MemphisMotorsportsPark.com. Event qualifying can be seen on ESPN2 Saturday at 9:30 p.m. CST. Eliminations air at 6 p.m. CST Sunday and again Thursday at 2:30 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.

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)

. This season represents Gann's first appearance in the Countdown to 1

. Gann is currently eighth in NHRA Full Throttle Series PSM points, 21 points ahead of ninth-place Craig Treble and only two points behind seventh-place Karen Stoffer

. Gann has earned five career top qualifier awards: Las Vegas (2006); Englishtown, Madison (2003); Houston, Pomona (2002)

. Gann's career round wins record is 121-121, including 12 final round appearances

. Gann round win record in 2009 is 9-14

. Gann did not qualify for this event last year

. 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