G Squared Motorsports and Chip Ellis hope to be hot the last half of the season
G SQUARED MOTORSPORTS OWNERS: GEORGE BRYCE & GEORGE SMITH NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: G SQUARED S&S BUELL RIDER: CHIP ELLIS 26TH ANNUAL NHRA MOPAR MILE-HIGH NATIONALS BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY - DENVER JULY 15-17, 2005* MORRISON, Colo. (July 13, 2005) - You can rest assured that for the next several months the weather conditions will be hot. G Squared Motorsports, owned by partners George Bryce and George Smith, and Chip Ellis, driver of the G Squared S&S Buell, hope to be hot also. But they want to be hot on the track beginning with the 26th annual NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, near Denver, just north of the historic town of Morrison, Colo., this weekend. "We finished last year with a bang - going quick and winning Las Vegas," said Bryce. "This year everybody, including us, was surprised that we didn't jump out of the gate galloping. We started the year at a trot but have been making up ground as the season progresses. "Competition picked up some over the winter. We didn't get passed the second round until the fourth race. Then, in the fifth race at Chicago, we took home the win. Although we have run well since then, like Afleet Alex in the Kentucky Derby, we have stumbled the last two races. But, like Afleet Alex, we hope to get hot. Denver should be a race that will be kind to the big cubic engines of the V-Twins." Bryce indicated the Competition Eliminator class is a good example of the cubic engine premise. They have cars with engines of all sizes in that class and if you look at the qualifying sheets for the races at Bandimere Speedway you will always see the big cubic inch engines at the front of the pack and hardly any small engine cars. Larger cubic inch engines produce more power at the higher elevation. Because of the altitude the same holds true for the bigger cubic inch Pro Stock Motorcycles like the V-Twin Buells and Harley Davidson V-Rods. "But that will be just for this one race," added Bryce, "then we'll be back to the tracks that are at sea level and everything will equal out again. Our job will be to be hot from Denver on to the end of the season." Also, since Ellis left the starting line before the green light at the last race in St. Louis, he and Bryce have been working on Ellis' starting line procedures and will utilize their new procedures beginning at Denver. "We're going to focus on the things we've been doing right and do more of those and do less of the things we've been doing wrong. Instead of trying to be the quickest on the lights, Chip has a goal that he is going to make sure that every light is a green light start," said Bryce. Looking forward to the last half of the season, George Smith shared these thoughts. "There have been several reasons we failed to pick up at the beginning of this season like we ended 2004," said Smith. "The greatest among those has been the loss of Ken Johnson, although all the guys from both G Squared and S&S Cycle have stepped up to fill the void. "Our biggest downfall has been the lack of consistency and again the guys at G2 and S&S have been working closely to insure that we have maximum performance on each and every run. I think you will see us step up and realize this goal during the last half of the year. Denver will be a pivotal race for our team." Smith also added, "The other teams that are S&S-powered, the bikes of Ryan Schnitz, Chris Rivas, Matt Guidera and David Feazell, are performing outstandingly well and I expect that they will continue to do well for the remainder of the season. "While we will continue to lend a helping hand to these teams and others as they are added, our main focus is and always has been directed at the G Squared S&S-powered entry with Chip Ellis aboard." *QUALIFYING:* Qualifying gets underway for Ellis and the G Squared/S&S Buell with two sessions on Friday, scheduled for 4:15 and 7:15 p.m. Qualifying concludes with two additional sessions on Saturday, at 10:15 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. Ellis begins his quest for the Pro Stock Motorcycle title on Sunday with eliminations for all classes getting underway at 12 noon. *All times are local Denver times -- Mountain Time (MT): 2 hours behind the Eastern Time zone -- and subject to change at anytime.* *TELEVISION:* Qualifying highlights for the 26th annual NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday evening (July 16) from 8-10 p.m. The qualifying show repeats on early Sunday morning (July 17) from 3-5 a.m. ESPN2 will also air three hours of same-day television coverage of eliminations beginning at 9 p.m. on Sunday evening (July 17). The elimination show repeats on the "Deuce" early Monday morning, July 18, from 2:30 until 4:30 a.m. Also, tune in to NHRA2Day on ESPN2, the weekly show that gives you the latest information about the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. NHRA2Day can be seen on Sunday, July 17 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.*