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A Good Start
for Calmes Motorsports
By: Jack Korpela
Photo: Matt
Polito
Calmes Motorsports'
NHRA Pro Stock Bike team, of Fred Camarena and Michael Phillips
debuted with a strong performance at the season-opening NHRA
GatorNationals in Gainesville, FL.
In an extremely competitive
class of 35 motorcycles, the team managed to qualify both bikes
in the top 12. Fred Camarena posted a career-best lap-time of
7.23, which placed him in the number eight spot, while Michael
Phillips qualified number 12 with a solid 7.29.
Louisiana-based team
owner, Kevin Calmes, was pleased with the duo's qualifying results.
"We struggled the first two sessions, but we put up pretty good
numbers on Saturday," said Calmes. "We are doing all of the
tuning ourselves, so I think we did good for the first race."
Michael Phillips matched
up against number-five qualifier, Mike Berry in round one. Unfortunately
Phillips' 7.28 was not enough to take out Berry's 7.23 for an
upset victory. Despite the first round loss Phillips was upbeat
after the race and already optimistically looking to the future.
"I knew when I left the line that I slept a little," said Phillips.
"Right now I'm looking to go back and getting ready for Houston.
We are going to run the whole season and I think we did good
for the first time out. We ran into a few problems this weekend
trying to get the clutch set-up right. By the end of the weekend
we found a nice little baseline on the clutch package and ran
the best 60-foot time that we have ever had with this bike,
with a 1.11. So we are definitely creeping up on some quick
runs and I'll be ready for Houston."
Camarena took on rookie-sensation,
Brian Schultz in round one. Schultz had problems at about 1000
feet and Camera was able to drive around for the win with a
7.38. "I knew Brian was going to be tough because he is such
a good tuner," said Camarena. "He learned a lot from his dad
and I wasn't about to take him lightly."
In round two, Camarena
jumped out to a huge starting line advantage against number-one
qualifier, Angelle Savoie. However Savoie's rapid 7.25 was hard
to match, as Camarena was second to cross the stripe with a
7.34. "We cut a good light on her," Camarena said. "We just
spun the tire a little bit on the line because we didn't compensate
for all the heat on the track."
Team Calmes Motorsports
was pleased with their first race and feels confident about
their chances the rest of the year. The team even plans to add
a third bike, to be driven by former AMA/Prostar champion Tommy
Miceli.
For only its first
race together, the Calmes Motorsports team displayed incredible
potential and hopes to develop into a serious contender. Along
with Kevin Calmes, Kevin "Big Bear" Fryar is on-board to help
turn wrenches and make tuning calls.
Michael Phillips
stated, "I think the team is doing very well. I expect all of
our bikes to finish in the top ten this year." Fred Camarena
echoed Phillips comments by stating, "I'm really hopeful and
I think we have the ability to do very well in the NHRA. I like
everybody on the new team, and their input has really helped
me out."
Team Calmes Motorsports
extended a special thanks to all of its sponsors that helped
make this season possible - Embee Performance Coatings, Laundryparts.com,
Bob Peters Fire Protection, Roosen Trucking and Joe from Vance
& Hines Motorsports.
Make sure to check
out the Calmes Motorsports team at their next race in Houston,
Texas, on April 10th-13th.
Jack Korpela can be
contacted at Lumberjack@dragbike.com
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