NHRA Kerker King of the Coast - The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Spee dway
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NHRA KERKER MOTORCYCLE SERIES THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2002 EPERJESI CROWNED KING OF THE COAST Las Vegas - The NHRA Kerker King of the Coast was held on Saturday in conjunction with the Las Vegas Gambler Shootout, presented by Short Line Express Market as Shane Eperjesi of Lake Dallas, Texas, earned the event win. Four of the premier riders from each of NHRA's divisions that run the NHRA Kerker Motorcycle Series participated in this invitational all-star race. Originally established in 1999 as a competition between the Pacific and Northwest Division, the program expanded this year to included competitors from the West Central and South Central Divisions. "Kerker/SuperTrapp Industries, Inc., is excited about partnering with NHRA in this program," said Ted Bradley of Kerker/SuperTrapp Industries, Inc. "I believe that the motorcycle class will rise to new prominence and I take pride in knowing that we were the first to assist them in helping the racers obtain this success." The King of the Coast final featured a battle of South Central and Northwest Division racers, as Eperjesi faced off against Wayne Stebing of Marysville, Wash. Although Stebing had a better reaction time at the starting line, the Northwest Division competitor broke out by .005, giving Eperjesi the win. "I had a gut feeling that he was probably going to break out," said Eperjesi. "He passed me up around the 1000 foot mark and never looked back." Racing competitively for division points for the past five years, Eperjesi will end his racing season in third place in the South Central Division. Mechanical problems prevented him from racing his own motorcycle his last three events, but he was still able to compete after fellow motorcyclist Chris Oravecz loaned Eperjesi a motorcycle. Eperjesi's father Larry also competed in the King of the Coast, but lost in the first round to Donnie Durenburger of Dayton, Minn. Larry will end the season ahead of his son with a second place finish in the South Central Division standings. "My dad took me to the track when I was two weeks old. Its been in my blood ever since," said Shane. "I would like to thank him, Chris, and Kerker for the opportunity to race here this weekend." For more information, call NHRA at (626) 914-4761 or visit www.nhra.com. The following are final results from the NHRA Kerker King of the Coast at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: NHRA KERKER KING OF THE COAST Round 1 Jeff Lanoue, Zimmerman, Mexico, '00 Kawasaki, 8.278 seconds, 154.19 mph def. William Keele, San Antonio, Texas, '82 Kawasaki, 9.500, 132.09 Shane Eperjesi, Lake Dallas, Texas, '00 Suzuki, 9.638, 132.96 def. Curtis Spracklin, Omaha, Neb., '78 Kawasaki, 9.989, 132.44 Gerald Jordan, Buda, Texas, '00 Suzuki, 9.839, 131.19 def. Brian Johnson, Ramsey, Minn., '02 Suzuki, 9.254, 140.05 Donnie Durenberger, Dayton, Minn., '93 Suzuki, 10.108, 125.99 def. Larry Eperjesi, Lake Dallas, Texas, '00 Suzuki, 8.118, 152.11 Eddy Palmer, Salinas, Calif., '91 Suzuki, 10.242, 126.68 def. Leeland King, Shelton, Wash., '90 Ninja, 10.242, 126.68 Wayne Stebing, Marysville, Wash., '78 Kawasaki, 9.310, 137.01 def. Greg Liskey, Salinas, Calif., '95 Suzuki, 9.235, 139.26 Buff Kobs, Courd'Delene, Idaho, '95 Kawasaki 7.842, 166.95 def. John Widmann, Garberville, Calif., '93 Kawasaki, 9.128, 134.73 Mike Scott, Sumner, Wash., '00 Kawasaki, 9.031, 144.06 def. Trace St. Germain, San Jose, Calif., '78 Kawasaki, 9.837, 129.73 Quarterfinals Eperjesi, 9.664, 122.93 def. Lanoue, 8.277, 147.91 Durenberger, 10.076, 127.87 def. Jordan, 9.791, 135.29 Stebing, 9.291, 139.50 def. Palmer, 10.090, 130.89 Kobs, 7.843, 170.13 def. Scott, 8.952, 147.25 Semifinals Eperjesi, 9.573, 134.31 def. Durenberger, 10.072, 129.03 Stebing, 9.296, 138.53 def. Kobs, 11.906, 105.19 Final Eperjesi, 9.614, 132.61 def. Stebing, 9.335, 127.05 -- 30 --