G Squared Motorsports: First day qualifying finds Chip Ellis No. 4
G SQUARED MOTORSPORTS OWNERS: GEORGE BRYCE & GEORGE SMITH NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: G SQUARED S&S BUELL RIDER: CHIP ELLIS 36TH ANNUAL NHRA K&N FILTERS SUPERNATIONALS OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP RACEWAY PARK - ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. JUNE 16-19, 2005 QUALIFYING: Session 1 Friday: 7.145 seconds at 184.55 mph (# 1) Session 2 Friday: 7.174 seconds at 178.87 mph (# 4) Ken and Kassi Johnson First day qualifying finds Chip Ellis No. 4 ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 17, 2005) - Chip Ellis, who rode the G Squared/S&S Buell to victory last weekend at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., picked up where he left off. The Americus, Ga., driver covered the quarter-mile at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J. in 7.145 seconds, good for the No. 4 spot on the qualifying ladder after the first day of qualifying. "The first run was good but I think that we just missed the tune up by a little bit in that final pass," said Ellis. "We've been used to running in hot air and now that it's a bit cooler we need to make quicker adjustments according to the temperature. We'll put our heads together and figure out our strategy for tomorrow. We've got two more runs." While longtime employee Ken Johnson is on the mend (see below), in his place G Squared is tuning by committee with team owners George Bryce and George Smith, along with Chip Ellis and Rick Maney, contributing to readying the motorcycle for competition. Smith feels the committee is working together and producing results. "The committee is doing a great job of tuning," said Smith. "Even though the bike slowed down in that last round, we feel we'll pick up again tomorrow. We're still trying to get things sorted out and apply what we learned during our testing session on Monday. We'll download the data and see what adjustments we need to make to put the S&S-powered Buell back on top. The committee will figure it out." KEN JOHNSON UPDATE: Ken Johnson (pictured above, with his wife Kassi, on Tuesday, June 14, as he accepts the "Wally," emblematic of the win at the CARQUEST Auto Parts Nationals) is resting comfortably following surgery on Wednesday, June 15 to amputate the left leg above the knee. Johnson's leg and knee was seriously injured in a non-race related accident on June 4. Surgery went as planned and Ken is already undergoing physical therapy. He is hoping for a release from the hospital early next week. A fund will soon be set up for financial donations to help to defray Ken's continuing medical expenses. The public will be notified as soon as this fund is established. In the meantime, for those who wish to make an immediate donation, your donations can be sent to: Ken Johnson, c/o Star Racing, P.O. Box 1241, Americus, GA 31709. Also, a "We Need Ken Back at the Track" fundraiser is in the planning stages. Details will be released as soon as they become available. QUALIFYING/ELIMINATIONS: Qualifying concludes with two additional sessions on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Ellis begins his quest for the Pro Stock Motorcycle title on Sunday with eliminations for all classes getting underway at 11 a.m. All times are local Englishtown, N.J. time -- Eastern Time (ET) -- and subject to change at anytime. TELEVISION: Qualifying highlights for the 36 annual NHRA K&N Filters SuperNationals can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday evening (June 18) from 8-10 p.m. The qualifying show repeats on the "Deuce" early Sunday morning (June 19) from 3-4:30 a.m. ESPN2 will also air same-day television coverage of eliminations from 4 until 7 p.m. on Sunday afternoon (June 19). The elimination show repeats on ESPN2 early Monday morning, June 20, from 3 until 4:30 a.m. Also, tune in to NHRA2Day on ESPN2, the weekly show that gives you up to date information about the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. NHRA2Day can be seen on Sunday, June 19 at 11:30 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.