SCHUMACHER ELECTRIC PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLES IN MEMPHIS: TREBLE WINS FIRST RACE FOR DSR, ELLIS GOES OUT EARLY
Craig Treble rode the Schumacher Electric/Albrecht's Fast Track Suzuki today to his first Pro Stock Motorcycle victory in his first final round as a member of Don Schumacher Racing, his first in three final rounds this season, and the 12th of his career in 26 final rounds.
At the 21st annual NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park, the third round of five in the Countdown to 1 playoffs, his teammate and No. 1 qualifier Chip Ellis rode the Schumacher Electric/XXX Racing Fuels Suzuki to a first-round finish.
Ellis dropped to No. 7 in the points while Treble moved up to No. 8 with two races remaining in the class to decide the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series class champion.
CRAIG TREBLE, Schumacher Electric/Albrecht's Fast Track Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle:
Treble dispatched Michael Phillips in the opening round with a 7.034-second pass at 187.00 mph, GT Tonglet in the quarterfinals with a 7.061/184.60 and Angie McBride in the semis with a 7.047/185.79 to set up a final-round match-up against Eddie Krawiec.
In the money round, Krawiec broke at the starting line and Treble blazed to a 6.985/188.57 pass.
"The entire Schumacher Electric/Albrecht's Fast Track Suzuki team works so hard," said Treble. "It's just a privilege to be a part of this team. My teammate Chip Ellis is an awesome rider and he's struggling on the tree a little bit right now, but he'll be fine. He's a great rider and a pretty darned good racer.
"I'm not as good a rider as he is, but maybe on Sunday I'm a little bit better racer and if we can combine our efforts I think we can be a pretty tough duo.
"We busted out a 6.98 in the final round and I don't know what Steve (Tartaglia, crew chief) did to that bike but it was ripping out there. I had the best 60-foot times of my life today on all four runs: 1.056, 1.055, 1.048 and a 1.052. Coming into today my best was a 1.059. It's just unbelievable.
"I was going to go out on my own after the race in Reading, but then the Schumacher deal popped up. Don gave me this opportunity and here we are capitalizing on it."
"Craig rode awesome this weekend," said Tartaglia, who has won with both Schumacher Electric Suzukis this season. "He had great lights every round and he did a great job on the bike. I couldn't ask for anything more. We've been struggling with Treble's bike but it seems like it's coming around. Chip's bike has been fast all year."
CHIP ELLIS, Schumacher Electric/XXX Racing Fuels Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle:
Ellis made the quickest run of the first round with an elapsed time of 6.920 seconds at 191.43 mph against GT Tonglet, but was disqualified for a red-light start after leaving five-thousandths of a second before the green light. There were five red-light starts in Pro Stock Motorcycle during eliminations today.
"First off, (crew chief) Steve Tartaglia gave me a great bike today," said Ellis, who qualified No. 1 for the second straight year in Memphis. "It's just so frustrating. The bikes are just so quick off the starting line, we're all holding back. It's who can hold back the best and be consistent that goes rounds on Sunday. Even I was holding back during the first round.
"It's a double-edged sword. If you hold back too long you're late and if you leave too quick you go red. I'm beyond frustrated at this point. I hate it for the Schumacher Electric/XXX Racing Fuels Suzuki team. These guys worked hard and have devoted a lot of their time to this deal. I'm frustrated with myself but I know on the other hand that I'm doing the best that I can. I couldn't believe that I red-lit. I was shooting for a .050 and I go -.005 red. You see yellow and you go. You squeeze the clutch lever hard and it's not supposed to red-light but when you've got a great bike that reacts fast and you react fast it's not a good combination.
"If there is any consolation, it's not just me. It's a tough game out here. We'll just go to Las Vegas and try it again."
The next race Chip Ellis and Craig Treble and the Schumacher Electric Pro Stock Motorcycle team will be the 8th annual Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 30-Nov. 2.
UNOFFICIAL PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE COUNTDOWN TO 1 POINT STANDINGS, after three of five Countdown to 1 playoffs events:
1. Matt Smith, 2319
2. Eddie Krawiec, 2277 (runner-up today)
3. Chris Rivas, 2240
4. Angelle Sampey, 2217
5. Steve Johnson, 2200
6. Andrew Hines, 2187
7. Chip Ellis, 2176
8. Craig Treble, 2167 (winner today)
9. Matt Guidera, 2114
10. Karen Stoffer, 2080
ALBRECHT’S FAST TRACK SUZUKI RIDER TREBLE IN TOUGH CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE
Schumacher Electric/Albrecht's Fast Track Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Craig Treble will be fighting to stay in the hunt for the championship this weekend at the NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park. With just three events remaining in the Countdown to 1 playoffs for the class, there is little room for error among the 10 riders battling for the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series PSM crown.
Treble, in his fourth race riding for Don Schumacher Racing and ninth in the point standings (189 points out of first), was a semifinalist in Memphis last season and he's eager to return to one of his favorite tracks.
"I love the track in Memphis," said Treble, who qualified No. 8 in the 2007 Memphis event and has 11 national-event career victories in 25 final rounds. "I used to live in Little Rock, Ark., and I tested there a lot and it's a nice, smooth surface and the shut-down area is awesome. At this time of year the weather should be good and we should see some good numbers come out of that track. It's a nice facility and I just hope we can go some rounds on this Schumacher Electric/Albrecht's Fast Track Suzuki and move up in the standings.
"I am getting more comfortable with the bike and the team with each run down the track and we expect to be a factor in the outcome of the race this weekend."
CRAIG TREBLE QUICK FACTS:
* No. 9 in the Countdown to 1 playoffs point standings after three of five events, 189 markers out of first place
* No. 9 in "regular" season points. Clinched a spot in the top 10 for the Countdown to 1 at the U.S. Nationals in Indy
* Qualified No. 8 at last year's Memphis event, advanced to the semifinals
* Reached two final rounds in 2008, runner-up in Chicago (Chris Rivas) and Norwalk (Hector Arana)
* Finished 2007 season No. 6 in points, two wins in three finals
* Won the U.S. Nationals in 2007
* Has finished in the top 10 in the point standings 10 straight seasons
* Best career finish is No. 2 in 2002 with four wins in six finals and three No. 1 qualifiers
* Appeared in four finals in 2003, won two races
* Appeared in four finals in 2004, won one race
* First No. 1 qualifier in Sonoma 2002
* Has won career-best 11 races in 25 final rounds
* First career PSM victory was Brainerd, Minn., 1999
* Qualified for eight straight Ringer Gloves Pro Stock Bike Battle bonus races (1999-2007), won in 2002.
* Two-time Reaction Time Challenge winner (2000-01)
* Age 43 (Sept. 1965), born in Valparaiso, Ind., now lives in New Orleans, La.
* Joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2008, prior to then U.S. Nationals
MEMPHIS PSM TRACK-RECORD HOLDER ELLIS CONFIDENT HEADING BACK TO TENNESSEE
Schumacher Electric/XXX Racing Fuels Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Chip Ellis is confident that he can move back to the top of the pack in the Countdown to 1 playoffs points battle this weekend at the NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.
With only three races remaining in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class to determine the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champion, Ellis enters the event No. 6 in the rankings and 104 markers out of first place. The Florida native reached the quarterfinals last weekend in Ennis, Texas, and knows he'll need a strong performance this weekend at a track where he performed well last year. He was No. 1 qualifier, set low elapsed time (6.892 seconds) and top speed (193.21 mph) - both track records. He advanced to the second round in eliminations and lost to his now DSR teammate Craig Treble.
"Since they moved the date of the race to later in the year, the air last year was really, really good there," said Ellis. "We went fast and I set the track records for elapsed time and speed. Hopefully this year the air will be good again and we can get the Schumacher Electric/XXX Racing Fuels Suzuki to go fast. The track is really nice and we'll just do the best we can.
"At every track we go to the fans are always great. Memphis Motorsports Park is a good facility. I remember going there a couple of years ago when the temperature was over 100 degrees, so just to go there and not have to deal with all of that heat is great for us and great for the fans. Hopefully, we'll get some 70-degree weather and get one of the two DSR Suzukis in the winner's circle."
CHIP ELLIS QUICK FACTS:
* Enters the third of the five-race Countdown to 1 playoffs No. 6, 105 points out of first place
* Finished third in the 'regular season' point standings after 12 of 17 events (one victory in two final rounds, five semifinal, two quarterfinal, and three first-round finishes)
* Qualified No. 1 at last year's event at Memphis Motorsports Park, advanced to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Craig Treble
* Holds PSM track records in Memphis for elapsed time (6.892) and speed (193.21), both set in 2007
* No. 1 qualifier for the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle in Indianapolis, advanced to quarterfinals
* Clinched spot in the Countdown to 1 in Brainerd, Minn.
* Qualified No. 1 in his NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle debut at the 2004 U.S. Nationals
* Has won six races in nine career final-round appearances
* Career round win/loss record is 87-58
* 2008 is first season with Don Schumacher Racing
* Finished career-best third in the points last season, just eight points shy of wining the championship
* Went down to the final round at the final race to decide the 2007 championship
* Qualified for all 64 NHRA races he has competed in Pro Stock Motorcycle since 2004
* A graduate of the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School at Gainesville Raceway
* Had two runner-up finishes and five No. 1 qualifiers in 2007
* Qualified No. 1 12 times
* Won first national event at Las Vegas 2 during his rookie season in 2004
* Ran an abbreviated 2004 rookie season with a No. 1 qualifier at U.S. Nationals, No. 4 at Reading, No. 2 and event win at Las Vegas, and No. 1 qualifier and semi-final appearance at Pomona
* Born in Daytona Beach, Fla., on 2/20/70
* Lives in Brownsburg, Ind., with wife Kathy and daughter McKenzie (10/23/01)
* AMA/ProStar Formula Super Bike champion in 2003
* AMA/ProStar Funny Bike champion in 2002
SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, Sept. 26 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3:15 and 5:45 p.m.
SATURDAY, Sept. 27 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.
SUNDAY, Sept. 28 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Sept. 27, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 10:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, Sept. 26, 11 - 11:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 10K (11900 MHz, horizontal)
Saturday, Sept. 27, 7 - 7:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 10K (11900 MHz, horizontal)
Sunday, Sept. 28, 7 - 7:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 10K (11900 MHz, horizontal)
