Comeback
Complete
By: Jack
Korpela
Photos: Dragbikephotos.com
The Patrick Racing
Yamaha Team captured its second straight Hot Rod Cruiser championship
after strong performances at the final races of the AMA/Prostar
U.S. Drag Racing Series.
“The number-one plate was our goal all season long and
we never stopped aiming for it,” team owner Nigel Patrick
said.
Rider Mark Underwood
took a huge step towards locking up the championship in the
final of the rain-postponed MRE Sunshine Nationals from Gainesville,
FL, when he rode his Yamaha Road Star Warrior around his Harley-backed
rival, Rick McWaters, with a speedy 9.48 to McWaters’
9.75.
“That was
a sweet one,” Underwood said. “I got the holeshot
on him and never looked back.”
Underwood had low
elapsed-time and top speed of the event and was the only Hot
Rod Cruiser competitor to consistently hit the 9.40-zone all
weekend long.
“That thing
was running as consistent as a bracket bike,” Underwood
said. “We were running on the edge, but doing it consistently.”
At one point in
the season Underwood trailed McWaters by over 100 points.
The defending champ kept his composure and finished the season
winning three of the four final races.
“We refused
to give up,” Underwood said. “It got pretty frustrating
at times but we just kept on digging.”
Remarkably the
team qualified on the pole position for eight of the nine
races, running as quick as an unprecedented 9.42 at 142 mph.
“We got some
amazing numbers out of these Yamahas all year long,”
Patrick said. “We made the championship run a little
hard on ourselves, but we stayed focused and in
the end we got
the job done. Overall I am very pleased with the performance
of our team.”
The Patrick Racing
Team celebrated their second consecutive season title at the
elite and prestigious AMA championship awards banquet in Las
Vegas, NV.
“It was pretty
awesome to be honored among the best of the best motorcycle
riders in the country,” Patrick said. “We even
got to display the bike. It was an honor.”
“We had a
wonderful time,” Underwood said. “Vegas was pretty
spectacular for a small town boy like me. We want make it
back for next year.”
Patrick Racing
is already hard at work preparing to win a third straight
title in 2004.
“We may have
a few changes to our program, but the Patrick Racing Yamahas
will definitely be back next year,” Patrick said.
Patrick Racing
finishes the season with the quickest and fastest Hot Rod
Cruiser run in the history of the sport with an astounding
9.42 at 140 mph.
Patrick
Racing thanked all of its sponsors for their dedication and
is proud to present them with yet another number-one plate.
The Team thanked; Yamaha Motor Corporation, CP Pistons, VP
Racing Fuels, Web Cams, Vanson Leathers, Arari helmets, Corbin
Seats, RC Components, MTC Engineering, and Falicon.
