CHIP ELLIS TO RUN AGAIN FOR MATT SMITH RACING AT CHARLOTTE

by Tracy Renck    Wed, 2021-05-12 08:23

 

 

Pro Stock Motorcycle veteran Chip Ellis will be competing on an Erik Buell Racing motorcycle for Matt Smith Racing again.

Ellis will race at the NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C., May 14-16. 

This will be Ellis’s second race of 2021. He drove for MSR at the Four-Wide race at The Strip at Las Motor Speedway April 16-18 and made it to the semifinals. Ellis be aboard that same motorcycle in Charlotte.

“After I raced in Vegas, I helped Angie (Smith, Matt’s wife) work on her bike in Atlanta (May 1-2), and then I will be racing in Charlotte,” Ellis said. “The Vegas deal was a surprise to me. He (Matt Smith) called me the Monday before Vegas and said ‘Do want to come out and run this weekend?’ I think the main reason is that they were short on bikes that weekend. He had an extra bike there in the trailer and we came out in Vegas and we did pretty good. 

“I was supposed to run Gainesville (Fla.) last year and it got canceled so I told Matt lets just run Charlotte this year and then he had me come out and run Vegas.”

Helping MSR in Atlanta also was unplanned according to Ellis.

“One of their crew guys quit and it was kind of a spur of the moment deal and that kind of put them behind a little bit and Atlanta is not far from my house (in Mocksville, N.C.),” Ellis said. 

Back on Sept. 18, 2016, Ellis won the race in Charlotte, beating Andrew Hines in the final round. That was Ellis’ seventh career and most recent NHRA national event win.

“That track brings back some good memories,” Ellis said. “I like the track and it is close to my house, only an hour away, so I can go home and sleep in my bed each night. I’m just going there to have some fun and see what happens.”

Ellis is no stranger to Four-Wide racing and with that format brings a new game plan for him.

“You just have to really pay attention to what’s going on,” Ellis said. “A lot of times people don’t want to stage up in time so you have to be ready for that because you can get left if somebody doesn’t stage up and it counts down, you better be on the two-step and ready to go. Usually what I do is I will go in there and count to about five and if everybody isn’t in, I’m going to get on the two-step and be ready to go.”

Before the Vegas event in April, Ellis had not competed at an NHRA race since 2018. He ran a third Harley-Davidson for Vance & Hines in Indianapolis, St. Louis, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Pomona, Calif. He qualified No. 1 in St. Louis and made it to the finals in Charlotte before losing to Matt Smith.

“We were talking about that in Vegas that I had not been on a bike since 2018,” Ellis said. “It was funny because my daughter (McKenzie) drove me to the airport, and she asked me if I was nervous. I told her no I feel pretty good. I went out there and made good runs every run. I shifted on time and went straight. I had good lights. I left on everybody every round and we missed the clutch tune-up just a little bit in the semis and you can’t do that. We barely got outrun. I had a lot of fun. I enjoy working with Matt and Angie, we all get along good.”

Despite his recent endeavor back into the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, Ellis is not making any plans to compete beyond Charlotte.

“I don’t want to run fulltime or any of that stuff,” Ellis said. “I went to three races in five weeks and that’s a lot for me. I’m trying to do my own thing with my own shop.”

Ellis runs his Chip Ellis Racing shop where he builds stainless steel headers for cars and motorcycles. He also is busy with boat racing because his daughter, McKenzie, 19, drives their family-owned boat and he is the crew chief.

 

 

 
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