18TH ANNUAL NHRA O'REILLY SPRING NATIONALS: Qualifying
G SQUARED MOTORSPORTS OWNERS: GEORGE BRYCE & GEORGE SMITH NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: G SQUARED S&S BUELL RIDER: CHIP ELLIS HOUSTON RACEWAY PARK - HOUSTON (BAYTOWN) TEXAS APRIL 8-10, 2005 Qualifying: Session 1 Friday: 7.403 seconds at 182.77 mph (# 21) Session 2 Friday: 7.217 seconds at 182.43 mph (# 15) Session 1 Saturday: 7.104 seconds at 187.00 mph (# 4) Session 2 Saturday: 7.104 seconds at 186.59 mph (# 4) Ellis in at No. 4 Faces Valetti in opening round of eliminations BAYTOWN, Texas (April 9, 2005) - With qualifying in the books for the 18th annual NHRA O'Reilly Spring Nationals Chip Ellis placed the G Squared/S&S Buell in the No. 4 qualifying position. Ellis recorded his best of four qualifying runs in Saturday's first session when he cruised the Houston Raceway Park quarter-mile in 7.104 seconds. In fact, the Americus, Ga., driver recorded two passes of 7.104 seconds today. "We made two good runs today and went 7.10 (seconds) both times. We're back on track. We going to get our name back," said Ellis. "We were disappointed with yesterday's outing but redeemed ourselves today with a pair of good passes," said George Bryce, co-owner and partner with George Smith in G Squared Motorsports. "Those runs proved that we made the right decision when we changed engines for today's action. "Chip is getting all his shifts down and doing a good job of handling the G Squared/ S&S Buell. Also, our tuning quartet of Ken Johnson, George Smith, Jackie Bryce and yours truly are making the right calls and the motorcycle is running better and better." "We're very happy with today's runs," said co-owner George Smith. "George Bryce and Ken Johnson came up with the best tune up we've had to date. The entire crew did their job. "On the runs today, I actually thought the second run was the better of the two. One, it was made in the heat of the day and two, we did it on a new tire. Tomorrow we are as well-prepared as we can be and we're going to try to get straight As on our report cards." In addition to Ellis, two of the three other S&S-powered Buells built in the shop of G Squared Motorsports entered here at Houston qualified for tomorrow eliminations. Chris Rivas was No. 5 with a run of 7.111 seconds at 186.72 seconds and Ryan Schnitz with a run of 7.120 seconds at 188.78 mph finished No. 7. In the first round of eliminations, Ellis will do battle with Scott Valetti, who qualified No. 13 with an elapsed time of 7.159 seconds. SCHEDULE: With Smith, Bryce and Ken Johnson calling the tuning shots, Ellis begins his quest for the Pro Stock Motorcycle title on Sunday with eliminations for all classes beginning at 11 a.m. All times are local Houston time (CT) and subject to change at anytime. TV: Qualifying highlights for the NHRA O'Reilly Spring Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 tonight (Apr. 9) from 7-9 p.m. (repeats: early Sunday morning, Apr. 10 from 3-5 a.m.). ESPN2 will also air same-day television coverage of eliminations from 7 until 10 p.m. on Sunday evening (Apr. 10). The elimination show repeats on ESPN2 on Wed., Apr. 13 from 3-5 a.m. Television times are Eastern Time (ET) and subject to change at anytime. Check local listings.