FROM MOTHBALLS TO MAINSTREAM

Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie McBride improved DSA_4114from 17th to 16th Friday, then jumped to ninth by the time the field was set. That's especially remarkable, because, as Rush Racing team owner Karl Klement said, "this is the first time the bike's been cranked up in a year. It's just been sitting there. We've been working the bugs out." The Buell -- the very one that Peggy Llewellyn won this race aboard in 2007 and the same one Angelle Sampey rode -- had clutch problems at the start of the weekend. But, Klement said before the final qualifying session, "We think we got it figured out now." He was right.

Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie McBride improved DSA_4114from 17th to 16th Friday, then jumped to ninth by the time the field was set. That's especially remarkable, because, as Rush Racing team owner Karl Klement said, "this is the first time the bike's been cranked up in a year. It's just been sitting there. We've been working the bugs out." The Buell -- the very one that Peggy Llewellyn won this race aboard in 2007 and the same one Angelle Sampey rode -- had clutch problems at the start of the weekend. But, Klement said before the final qualifying session, "We think we got it figured out now." He was right.
 
"Everything's there -- we've just got to get the bugs worked out of this one, Klement said. "We should have gone out an tested before we came here, but it's going to work out OK."
 
Klement, from nearby Decatur (north of Dallas), said this is the last race for which he plans to bring the bike -- "unless something changes." He indicated he doesn't expect anything to change, though. He said he's pleased with McBride's riding.
 
Asked if he's actively seeking sponsorship, Klement sighed a bit and said, "Oh, I don't know. I've got so many companies that are suffering from the economy that I need to be there more than anything. Being absent from them is what hurts." He declined to say how many businesses he owns and said he didn't quite know how to label himself as an entrepreneur -- "might be 'Broke,' if it keeps going the way it is."
 
In the positive sense of the word, McBride will go for broke Sunday, starting with opponent Shawn Gann in Sunday's first round of eliminations.

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