Tue, 25 Jan 2005, 09:05 PM U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle Team Dips Below Seven Second Mark in Testing

Courtesy of Chris Dirato Photo copyright 2005 Auto Imagery, Inc.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle team, with drivers Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown, broke the magical seven second mark in pre-season testing here Monday at Gainesville Raceway.

Sampey vs. Brown

Sampey, who is a three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion, recorded a 6.989-second pass at 189.70 mph, before Brown posted a 6.995-second jaunt at 190.35 mph.

"We realize this is just a pre-season test session, but it was pretty darn cool to see both of them get below seven seconds," said Steve Tartaglia, who recently assumed the crew chief duties for the U.S. Army team. "This is something that's never been done before, so we're all pretty pumped up."

Tartaglia credited superb weather conditions in helping Sampey and Brown get down the track the way they did.

"The conditions were pretty awesome," he added. "The temperatures have been pretty cool here. Frankly, we probably should be going a little quicker."

The U.S. Army team will continue testing in Gainesville on Tuesday and Wednesday with hopes of improving the best elapsed time to 6.950-seconds.

"There's definitely room for improvement," said Tartaglia. "Neither of those sub-seven second runs was particularly stellar. We'll just keep working on it."

Sampey and Brown finished second and third, respectively, in the Pro Stock Motorcycle point standings last year.

While the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season starts in Pomona, Calif., Feb. 10-13, the Pro Stock Motorcycles don't hit the track for the first time until the Mac Tools Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., March 17-20.