Fri, 20 Jun 2008, 04:08 PM Pro Stock Motorcycle Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Larry Sullivan

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Pro Stock Motorcycle at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals listing lane, rider name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Right Lane: Ryan Schnitz Runs 7.528/177.56, Now #1

3:49 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 82 degrees, relative humidity 37 percent, barometer 29.90 inches, adjusted altitude 2,108 feet, track temperature 114 degrees.

There was a long delay before starting the session, the last TAD qualifier thoroughly oiling the left lane.

Schnitz lost a lot of time in the first 60 feet, postinga 1.269 short time.

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Left Lane: Joe DeSantis Runs 7.210/187.13, Now #1
Right Lane: Wes Wells Runs 7.244/188.31, Now #2

DeSantis is 66 years old - still a competitive rider.

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Left Lane: Mike Berry Runs 7.143/186.56, Now #1
Right Lane: Junior Pippin Runs 7.159/187.18, Now #2

Two nice runs, Berry right down the groove to take the early pole position.

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Left Lane: Steve Johnson Runs 7.002/192.36, Now #1
Right Lane: Shawn Gann Runs 7.077/190.32, Now #2

Gann flirted with the centerline. Johnson blasted down the groove, a very nice way to start his weekend.

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Left Lane: Hector Arana Runs 7.005/191.16, Now #2
Right Lane: Karen Stoffer Runs 7.019/189.10, Now #3

Arana almost matched Johnson's pace, then had problems stopping, ending up on his face in the sand pit. He was opkay, the bike appeared to be okay, but will need a lot of detailing before the next round to get the sand out of the working parts.

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Left Lane: Craig Treble Runs 7.182/190.24, Now #8
Right Lane: Eddie Krawiec Runs 7.002/190.81, Now #2

Nice run by Krawiec, but he loses the top spot to Johynson on speed. Treble lost a lot of time to Krawiec in the first half of the track.

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Left Lane: Angelle Sampey Runs 7.030/188.04, Now #6
Right Lane: Chris Rivas Runs 6.932/191.21, Now #1

Buells, a pair. Rivas made a great run, dipping way into the six-nineties to take over the top spot. Chris Rivas' incremental times: 60ft-1.069 sec., 330ft-2.872, 660ft-4.409/159.14mph, 1,000ft-5.762

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Left Lane: Matt Guidera Runs 6.997/190.78, Now #3
Right Lane: Chip Ellis Runs 6.967/190.46, Now #2

Rivas' run was a career-best ET.

Two nice runs here, and 190s are cheap this round - the new track surface appears to be very smooth and that should be good for all the categories.

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Left Lane: Matt Smith Runs 6.952/191.38, Now #2
Right Lane: Andrew Hines Runs 7.212/170.64, Now #15

Hines lost a lot of time to Smith in the first half of the track and even more on the top end, slowing well before the line. Smith made a strong effort to slide into the #2 spot, a couple hundredths behind Rivas.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink