This year's AMA/Prostar drag racing season proved to be nothing short of spectacular with all of its "first-time happenings" and record setting performances occurring seemingly at every event. After the conclusion of the World Finals in November, I came up with a very perplexing question; what was the greatest moment of the 2002 season? With so many sensational performances this year I soon found that question is very difficult to answer, let alone name the top ten moments of 2002. Over the next month I will count down the greatest, most memorable moments of the season, unveiling two moments at a time and starting with #10.

Since compiling a top ten list is a rather subjective process, I attempted to define in my own words what marks a truly sensational moment in motor sports. After looking over the AMA/Prostar record sheet, it seemed as if there were dozens of records broke this season, which brought me to the conclusion that great, standout moments are not always determined solely on performance. Other factors such as overcoming adversity, accomplishing what has never been done before, the element of surprise, and flat out making people's jaws drop with astonishment also play a big role in the selection process. Defining the unknown in terms of the known seemed to help me assemble my list, but still made it very difficult to rank the moments in order of importance or impact. Thanks to Brian Johnson's films and the home movies my father recorded, I was able to look back at some of these particular instances and observe aspects such as the reaction of the spectators, to aid me in my endeavor.

To my surprise, selecting the 10th greatest moment was actually the most difficult, as the ones not selected would be left off the list entirely. I came up with over a dozen moments that deserve at least an honorable mention and someone could more than likely make a case for them not being on the list. However, to keep this from turning into a top 20 list, I strictly enforced the criteria above to make my selections, as I present to you the top 10 moments of the AMA/Prostar 2002 season.

I was once told by Scooter Kizer, AMA/Prostar president, that, "timing is everything." My selection as the 10th greatest moment of the season epitomizes that phrase, as it is more about the time at which the event occurred than anything else.

Fred Collis comes out of retirement to win Atco while setting a new elapsed time and speed record.

Do to an illness sustained earlier in the season, Paul Gast elected not to compete at this year's Orient Express U.S. Nationals held at Atco Raceway in New Jersey. However, in the best interest of the team Gast decided to offer former two-time Lectron Pro Stock champion "Fast" Fred Collis an opportunity to race the FBG bike at the event, to which Collis graciously excepted.

After hearing the news I must admit that I was a bit skeptical of just how well the team would perform. I recognized that the newly formed team definitely had the right personnel with much experience to their credit, but certainly Collis would be a little rusty after not competing for nearly two years. I also presumed that setting up the motorcycle designed for Gast, to a shorter more compact Collis would be lengthy process.

As Team FBG took to the track for their first qualifying run Saturday morning, they immediately began discouraging my doubts by not missing a beat. It was clear that Collis planned to pick up right were he left off two seasons ago. It was also clear that Earl DeGlopper, in my opinion one of the greatest Pro Stock crew chiefs of all time, was on his game as well. By the end of the weekend Collis had defeated Geno Scali in the final, collected his 9th career victory and set a new Pro Stock elapsed time and speed record in the eighth mile with an impressive 4.524 at 156.48 mph.

In a post-race interview I asked Collis how he managed to stay in mid-season form without making a lap in such a long time. Collis replied, "This is one of the things we try to teach at the George Bryce drag racing school; you don't have to physically make runs to be good. Mental preparation is much more important. I stay sharp by visualizing my runs over and over. When I found out that I would be racing at Atco two weeks prior to the event, I began making laps in my mind. I wasn't concerned about being rusty, I just wanted to go out there and do what I know how to do."

Fred's comments reminded me of a story told to my wrestling team by our well-respected coach, that at the time my teammates and I regarded as nonsense. He told us of a man who was an averagely skilled golfer and was drafted into World War II. While in battle the gentleman was captured by the enemy and sentenced to a POW camp for over 8 years. To keep his spirits up in the harsh conditions of the camp, the man would sit in the dark and play round after round of golf in his mind everyday. When he was finally released from the camp, he was good enough to be a golf pro. Interpret the story as you choose to, but after listening to the testimony of guys like Fred Collis, I wonder just how unbelievable my coach's tale was.

I pointed out to Fred that I thought he adapted to team FBG very quickly for never working with them before and asked him to elaborate on what it was like functioning with Paul, Earl, and Kevin. Collis stated, "It was great. Paul called me before the event to let me know that they had a "gazillion" rear wheel horsepower. He wouldn't give me exact numbers but I knew they had a lot of steam. I found that Paul and I think a lot alike. We like to goof around in the pits but we know when we crank up the bike it's time to get serious. My philosophy is that you have to go to the racetrack to have fun. It's not always about winning and losing. I have fun at the races and if I win I have more fun. I go to every race I enter to win, but my intention is to have fun in the process. The success was a total team effort. Earl is our "wrench." He is awesome, he can handle anything. Kevin took the role of brains of the operation, constantly studying the data from each run, always looking for unobvious. Paul added his experience in between playing salesman, pushing his T-shirts and other FBG products."

The collective effort of the FBG boys landed the bike in the winner's circle for the third time of the season. To add, team FBG's success did not stop at Atco. Due to Gast's lingering illness, Collis raced with the team throughout the remainder of the season, qualifying #1 at every event and winning the prestigious World Finals in Gainesville, Florida.

Collis declared, "It was really nice to return to Prostar as a former champion and pick up right where I left off."

Fred's plans for the 2003 season are still unclear but as of now he admits that he will race Top Gas at some of the SEMDRA events. Talking to Fred one can sense his passion for motorcycle drag racing and can also tell that he is eager to get back to the drag strip.

While Fred's plans for next season are uncertain, one thing is for sure; due to the help of team FBG and some priceless mental preparation, Fred Collis was able to capture both ends of the 1/8th mile Pro Stock record at his first race back from a near two season hiatus.

Racers are always looking to get the maximum possible performance out of what they have to work with. I found my 9th selection particularly impressive because of the results the team yielded, given what they were working with, especially in terms of displacement.

Ryan Schnitz takes a virtually stock 600cc motorcycle into the mid 9-sixty zone.

Motorcycle drag racers were eager to get to Georgia for this year's running of the Star Nationals after the postponement of the season-opening MRE Sunshine Nationals one-month prior. Kawasaki/Muzzy backed rising star and Zero Gravity 600 SuperSport class champion Ryan Schnitz was not an exception.

With the help of his family and crew chief Richie Brotherton, Schnitz clicked off an unbelievable lap time of 9.656 at 140.63 mph, which proved to be the quickest and fastest run of all time in the category.

"I knew it was a good pass when I crossed the finish line", exclaimed Schnitz. "I looked down and the tach was at 14-grand. I usually go through the traps at anywhere from 13.7 to 13.8 (thousand RPMs)."

Although Schnitz continued to dominate the class for the 6 remaining races afterward, he could not seem to surpass his performance in Georgia.

I asked Ryan what made the run in Atlanta so hard to reproduce throughout the rest of the year.

Schnitz stated, "I wish I knew. We spent all year trying to duplicate it. We knew that the conditions in Atlanta played a big part. We had great air all weekend, the track was smooth, and I even noticed a slight tailwind on that particular run."

While weather and track conditions played a role in Schnitz's success, it was also the way they had the motorcycle set up to fully utilize the ideal environment, that contributed to their accomplishment. Because the 600 SuperSport class features "stock", street-able motorcycles compared to the "race only" machines in the pro classes, many people think that there is little to no maintenance and tuning work to be done on the 600s between rounds. Ryan filled me in on how this is simply not the case.

"We have tons of work and tuning decisions back at the pits, maybe even more so than Pro Stock because we have suspension to be tuned," stated Schnitz. "We also spend a lot of time on jetting and gearing as well. We have gone back and forth between using a stock clutch set-up and aftermarket aluminum plates, which also require constant tuning and maintenance."

While we use the word "stock" when referring to this class, it is understood that Schnitz's bike is much more quicker and faster than one right off the showroom floor because of the slight alterations that the rules permit them to make. For instance, aftermarket exhaust systems are legal in the category and Ryan told me that he believes his Muzzy pipe is the main reason for the bikes outstanding performance compared to stock exhaust. Ryan also utilizes a K&N air filter to improve airflow along with aftermarket wheel bearings, chain, and sprockets to make the bike roll smooth.

Although Ryan holds the record and is the defending champion of the class, it appears as if he will not compete in the 600cc. category next year, as he focuses on his NHRA Pro Stock project with Rob Muzzy and Steve Johnson.

"We are hoping to have the bike done and be ready for the NHRA Gatornationals," said Schnitz.

Ryan stated that he still plans to attend Prostar events whenever the NHRA schedule permits. And for all of you "Schnitz-aholics" out there that enjoy the luxury having an established dealer loaded with parts on-site at the races, don't worry. Ryan told me that as of now his mom and dad plan to attend every Prostar race as they did last year.

After only losing one race the entire season, Ryan leaves the category on the top of his game. In fact Ryan was just one event win away from completing a perfect season, which has never been done prior to this year. However, Ryan was very upbeat about not winning the final race and accomplishing perfection.

"I'm just glad we had a performance advantage on the field all year. Winning the last race would have been a great way to end the season but we are still very excited about running so well and winning the championship."

Ryan Schnitz may have missed out on a perfect season by just a couple of round wins, but that did not stop him from winning his second straight championship, and becoming the quickest man ever down "the 1320" on a 600 SuperSport.

Stay tuned to Dragbike.com for Jack's next installment of the Top 10 moments of the 2002 AMA/Prostar season.

Jack can be contacted by e-mail at LumberJack@dragbike.com

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