Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis, Ind.
(Sept. 1-6)
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Chip Ellis G2/Star Racing Pro Stock Bike |
Reports: Monday Sunday Saturday Friday |
Indianapolis, Monday: After a history-making debut, Chip Ellis' bid for a win at the 50th annual NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals was ended by a five-dollar part.
Ellis, aboard the G2/S&S/Star Racing Buell, campaigned by G Squared Motorsports, was in the staging lanes preparing for his first-round match up with Kurt Matte, when the team discovered a problem with the throttle linkage. Subsequent efforts to correct the problem were unsuccessful and a broken throttle linkage prevented Ellis from continuing his pursuit of the Pro Stock Bike title.
G Squared Motorsports co-owner George Bryce explained, "You focus on the things that are likely to go wrong and you over prepare. Then every now and then something will pop up that you never thought would be a problem. We had a throttle linkage break. I've been doing this for 25 years and this is the first time I had a throttle linkage fail. You can bet we now have one more item on our checklist to check."
Qualifying ended with Ellis making history. His track record run of 7.115 seconds was good for the top qualifying spot and in the process Ellis became the first Pro Stock Bike rider in his first race to take the top spot.
Eliminations ended with disappointment.
"We're disappointed," said Ellis, a two-time AMA Prostar champion. "For us to come out and accomplish what we did in our first race out after sitting out four races is an amazing achievement. With the exception of the throttle breakage, this G2/S&S/Star Racing Buell preformed flawlessly all weekend. The S&S engine has us flying. The team at S&S Cycle, Star Racing and G Squared Motorsports will go back to the shop and have us ready for Reading."
George Smith, co-owner of G Squared, added, "It was not the engine. It was not S&S. It was not Star Racing. It was not G Squared Motorsports. It was just the failure of a five-dollar part. The bottom line is that we still have a good bike, we still have a good engine and we definitely have a good rider.
"In closing, I want to especially thank Snap-on Tools for your makketing support and we're going to make you proud in Reading."
The next race for G Squared Motorsports is the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, near Reading, Penn., September 16-19.
Indianapolis, Sunday: Jim Nabors, who played Gomer Pyle on the Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle, USMC back when black and white were the only colors you could get on a television set, had a favorite saying: "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!"
How aptly this saying applies to the G2/S&S/Star Racing Buell, prepared and owned by G Squared Motorsports and driven by newcomer Chip Ellis.
G Squared Motorsports, owned by George Bryce and George Smith, returned to action at the 50th annual NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals after a four-race hiatus and immediately became the talk of the pit area by qualifying No. 2 on Friday.
Then the conversation picked up again on Saturday, when Ellis craved out a 7.137-second pass to takeover the top rung on the qualifying ladder after three of five qualifying session.
Ellis and the G2/S&S/Star Racing Team went out in the first qualifying session on Sunday and lowered the low elapsed time to 7.115 seconds. His speed was his fastest of the weekend 186.85 mph. Now Indianapolis Raceway Park was abuzz.
After five sessions of qualifying ended at the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, the Bryce & Smith G2/S&S/Star Racing Buell with Ellis aboard was No.1. Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
"Like I've said before, the time off has paid off for us," said Bryce. "Let me explain what time off is for us. It means we work a lot harder than when we come to the races. We stayed home and did the development work required. The S&S guys came up with some more horsepower. The team at G Squared and Star Racing did a lot of changes to the bike to make it user friendly and tunable, resulting in better performance.
"And after all the development was completed, our new driver, Chip Ellis painted the bike. Since this is his first trip to Indy, we keep him away from getting caught up in the festivities that surround the event. To him it's just a test session. I like the way he's thinking right now. He just wants to make the bike go straight and fast."
Ellis, who became the first rookie in Pro Stock Bike to win a No. 1 qualify position in his first race, had the following to say regarding claiming the top position. "I just treated this like a test session. After all I've only been on this bike for eight runs. I'm still trying to get use to it. I'm just trying to remaining calm out there. I'm having fun.
"George Bryce's 50th birthday is on Monday and the finals of the 50th anniversary U.S. Nationals are on Monday. I would love to give George a win on his birthday. That's a high goal to set, especially in my first NHRA race, but to do it would be awesome."
George Smith continued to give accolades to all the people at S&S Cycle, Star Racing and G Squared Motorsports for making this No.1 qualifying position happen. "It took a lot of hard work from a lot of people to make this happen," said Smith. "We appreciate their effort."
Ellis will face Kurt Matte in the first round of his first NHRA eliminations. Matte qualified No. 16 with a pass of 7.264 seconds at 183.82 mph.
Indianapolis, Saturday: After surprising the crowd at the 50th annual NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals last night by qualifying No. 2, Chip Ellis moved to the top rung on the qualifying ladder as the second day of qualifying came to an end.
Proving that Friday's run of 7.201 seconds was no fluke; Ellis aboard the G2/S&S/Star Racing Buell blazed the Indianapolis Raceway Park track in 7.137 seconds at 185.69 mph in Saturday's first session.
Holding off the challenge of 32 other motorcycles, Ellis ended the third of five qualifying sessions with a firm hold on the No. 1 position.
"This is like a dream come true," said Ellis, who is in his debut race aboard the G2/S&S/Star Racing Buell. "It's awesome. This entire team is responsible for giving me not only a competitive motorcycle but one that can run at the front of the pack."
George Smith continues to sing the praises of the program, which two months ago needed a shot in the arm, but today is healthy due to the work of the combined G2/S&S/Star Racing team.
"It has been a rigorous several months for the G Squared/S&S team," added George Smith, who along with George Bryce, own G Squared Motorsports. "We done a lot of testing in other venues and it has paid off. I'm happy with this storybook start in our return to NHRA. The question is can we keep it going tomorrow. My answer is that I think we can.
"I would like to congratulate the Screamin' Eagle guys (Matt Hines and GT Tonglet) for finishing one-two in the K&N Filters Pro Stock Bike Klash today. I think that's good for V-Twins, good for the class and we hope to make that competition even better by having an S&S-powered V-Twin join then in the Klash next year.
"I'm hoping that the S&S folks back in Viola, Wis. are seeing this qualifying on TV. It is because of their efforts that we've been able to show our stuff this weekend."
Indianapolis, Friday: They've done their homework and it shows. G Squared Motorsports, owned by George Bryce and George Smith, returned to action at the 50th annual NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals with a new rider, Chip Ellis and immediately got the attention of the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.
Ellis, in his debut race aboard the G2/S&S/Star Racing Buell and first-ever NHRA race, cruised the Indianapolis Raceway Park quarter-mile in 7.201 seconds at 184.27, good for No. 2 after the first of five qualifying sessions. Ellis finished just eight-thousandths of a second behind the top spot.
"We wanted to make sure we were ready," said Bryce. "We sat out four races while we worked closely with S&S to make changes that were needed on the motorcycle and to develop more horsepower. Tonight we were ready.
"Todd Olson and the boys at S&S, along with our new driver Chip Ellis and the gang back at the shop did an incredible job to prepare this bike to perform like it did tonight. It was a great comeback."
"This is my first race on the G2/S&S/Star Racing Buell," recounted Ellis after the run. "No one was expecting anything out of me and I think we sort of caught them by surprise. To lay one down like that, right off the truck, was awesome. And the best part is that I think we have more for them tomorrow."
George Smith was all smiles and had the following thoughts.
"I'm very happy with what we saw. That's more like it. We didn't have enough clutch in it tonight, so I think you'll see improvement tomorrow. One thing is for sure, we certainly have enough to work with. Coming prepared to win is the only way to go. The time we took off paid off in spades. All the team associated with this program has done their home work and it has paid off," concluded Smith.
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