After two of four qualifying sessions, Ellis No. 4
NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: G SQUARED S&S BUELL
RIDER: CHIP ELLIS
25TH ANNUAL NHRA SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT SOUTHERN NATIONALS
ATLANTA DRAGWAY - COMMERCE, GA.
MAY 12-15, 2005
Qualifying:
**Session 1 Friday: 7.213 seconds at 187.03 mph (# 3)*
*Session 2 Friday: 7.159 seconds at 184.65 mph (# 4)*
After two of four qualifying sessions, Ellis No. 4
COMMERCE, Ga. (May 13, 2005) - At the end of qualifying on day one, Chip
Ellis, from Americus, Ga., is in the No. 4 qualifying position at the
silver anniversary edition of the Summit Racing Equipment Southern
Nationals presented by Pontiac.
Ellis, aboard the G Squared/S&S Buell, covered the Atlanta Dragway
quarter-mile in 7.159 seconds. He actually tied two other riders in
elapsed time (E.T.) but the Pro Stock Motorcycles rules place riders
that run the same E.T. by their speed. Thus Antron Brown who ran a
speed of 189.95 mph was placed No. 2, Chris Rivas (184.83 mph) was No. 3
and Ellis (184.65 mph) fourth.
"In the first session today the track was hot and slick and we spun the
tire much more than we anticipated," said Ellis. "We're even happier
with that last run. We improved but just didn't quite pull enough speed
on the top end.
"The guys (George Smith, George Bryce and Ken Johnson) did a good job of
taking the computer data from the first run and adjusting to give us the
needed improvement. I did an okay job of riding today. I'm excited and
looking forward to the final two runs tomorrow.
"The air will definitely be better in the morning and should be the
coolest qualifying session of the four. I've got the best guys in the
business working on this G Squared/S&S Buell. All I've got to do is
shoot it down through there and make it go straight."
Of note is that there are currently three G Squared-built, S&S-powered
Buells in the top five positions. In addition to Ellis in fourth, Chris
Rivas is No. 3 and Ryan Schnitz is No. 5. Andrew Hines leads all
qualifiers with a pass of 7.094 seconds at 189.87 mph.
*QUALIFYING SCHEDULE:* With Smith, Bryce and Johnson calling the tuning
set up, qualifying for Ellis and the G Squared/S&S Buell concludes with
two additional sessions on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. 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
EASTERN TIME (ET) and subject to change at anytime. *
*TELEVISION:* Qualifying highlights for the 25th annual Summit Racing
Equipment Southern Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 Saturday evening (May
14) from 7-9 p.m. ESPN2 will also air same-day television coverage of
eliminations from 7 until 10 p.m. on Sunday evening (May 15). The
elimination show repeats on ESPN2 early Monday morning, May 16, from 2
until 3:30 a.m. *Television times are EASTERN TIME (ET) and subject to
change at anytime. Check local listings.
*
*G SQUARED MOTORSPORTS:* When Harley Davidson accelerated their effort
in NHRA, *S&S Cycle* decided in 2002 to join the battle. Because of his
vast R&D experience, coupled with his racing background, S&S asked
*George Smith* to head their project to field a competitive S&S V-Twin
bike on the NHRA circuit. Smith immediately asked *George Bryce*, who
had been working with S&S Cycle on a similar project, to join the new
endeavor and *G Squared Motorsports was formed in 2003*. Both Smith and
Bryce knew if they collaborated on the project, joining the resources,
knowledge and talents of S&S and Star Racing, they could produce a
competitive bike to race in Pro Stock Motorcycle competition on the NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series. *The G Squared/S&S-powered V-Twin Buell
debuted in 2004*.
