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MONDAY NOTEBOOK

HINES CAPTURES SECOND CAREER INDY PSM CROWN - Throughout the weekend, the Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammates Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec struggled – at least to their standards.

When it mattered most, Hines, who qualified No. 7, was at his best Monday.

The reigning world champion won by a red light over Hector Arana Jr. For good measure, Hines did clock his best elapsed time of the weekend at 6.862 seconds.

“Starting in the No. 7 spot, that’s tough,” said Hines, 33. “I’ve had a good motorcycle as of late, but I just haven’t been qualifying very well. We missed the good session (Sunday) and we didn’t 60-foot very well. I knew the potential of my Harley, I knew I had a bike that could make me go rounds. We just had to pick on it here and there and get the tune-up right. We’re struggling with 60-foot, we have been for races, it’s no secret there, but we’re getting closer to finding something that’s working for us in the heat and it’s pretty consistent, and it makes it easier as a rider to go up there and know that when I pull the clutch it is going to do the same thing.”

This was Hines 47th career victory, increasing his all-time record in the class, and fifth this season to go along with his titles at Charlotte, N.C., in the spring, Chicago, Denver, and Brainerd, Minn.

“I’m happy I made my best run in the weekend in the final round, it doesn’t get much better,” Hines said.

Hines now has two U.S. Nationals victories with the other one coming in 2012 when he beat Hector Arana Sr.

“This race is so big,” Hines said. “It’s a home race for us, our shop is just two miles down the street. I try not to hype it up too much because I can overthink things and that’s probably why I haven’t won a lot of these in the past. I always found a way to lose on Monday, but that run in the final I turned on my pre-stage bulb and I was sitting there and I saw that Hector Jr. had staged and I started rolling and ‘I said this is it. This is the U.S. Nationals. Then, I was like what am I doing thinking of that right now while I’m rolling into stage?’ Obviously my head wasn’t totally in the game, I was thinking how big this race was. We had a great turnout here, fans were awesome and to be a hometown team and take our trophy back to Brownsburg is just phenomenal.”

On Monday, Hines ousted Melissa Surber, Jerry Savoie, LE Tonglet, and Arana Jr. Tonglet defeated Krawiec and Hines to win at Sonoma July 31.

“There’s always motivation for us, every single round,” Hines said. “To get one back on LE, that was a tough round. He took out my teammate (Krawiec in the second round), which is the same thing that had happened in Sonoma. It seems like as of late if people win, they’ve kind of taken us out on the same day, going through eliminations. I had a heck of a day. Melissa Surber has come a long way in her riding, she has Chip Ellis and Junior Pippin power, so she’s fast and then I go up against Gator Jerry there in the second round, and the whole field was just stacked. It’s brutal out here. These guys are making it tough and we’re mixing it up within a few hundredths here and there, so a lot of these races come down to the starting line and luckily I feel comfortable right now with how I’m seeing the tree and letting go of the clutch.”

Hines and Krawiec (three) have combined to win eight of the 10 Pro Stock Motorcycle races this season. Angelle Sampey (Englishtown, N.J.), and Tonglet (Sonoma, Calif.) are the only non-Harley winners to claim victories.

With numbers like that, Hines is very optimistic about the remainder of the season, especially since he enters the Countdown to the Championship first in the points standings.

“That’s big,” Hines said about entering the Countdown in first place. “I didn’t think I would catch Eddie, he built up such a big lead there in the middle of the season. Lately his bike has been there for him, but we just haven’t been able to put the 60-foot down for him to help him get those round wins. It’s frustrating in our camp. We feel like we’re giving away win lights here and there, and you see that out on the race track. We just pick up each other’s slack. If one bike goes down, we do are hardest to make sure the team is really laser focused on exactly what we should be doing. We might make a mistake here or there and that might cost us a round, but with him going out we were able to focus more on our bike and we picked up the performance in the final round.” 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE NOTEBOOK SUNDAY

RIGHT WAS RIGHT FOR ANGELLE – When Angelle Sampey prepared to make her fourth qualifying run at Indy Sunday morning, she didn’t have high expectations for her Star Racing Buell.

“I don’t how we will be able to get done in the right lane, I don’t like it,” Sampey said.

Sampey changed her mind about the right lane when she clocked a track record 6.812-second elapsed time at 196.62 mph at Lucas Oil Raceway. She also set the track record speed of 197.02 mph on an earlier qualifying pass.

“I have to be honest with you, I didn’t think we had an 81,” Sampey said. “The guys know better than me, they build the engines and they dyno them. When we ran that 81 I was so excited and so proud of my Star Racing team. We have a great bunch of guys and they give me a fast motorcycle. I did say I preferred the left lane and I went No. 1 in the right lane, so now it really doesn’t matter. I will take whatever lane they give me.”

Sampey’s No. 1 qualifying spot was the 48th of her career and second this season as she also started No. 1 at the last event in Brainerd, Minn. (Aug. 18).

“I wasn’t sure what I was going to do because are No. 1 and No. 2 engines are in Cory’s corner this weekend,” said Sampey about her Star Racing teammate Cory Reed. “The No. 1 engine is in his bike and the No. 2 is his back-up because as you know getting him in the Countdown is very important and we wanted to make sure he has the best we have. I’m not sure where the engine I’m running this weekend is on the ladder, but we came into this weekend trying to do the best we could. I didn’t have really high expectations and now I feel very guilty for feeling that way. It shows how awesome my Star Racing team is. When they told me I ran an 81 I lost it down there, it was like I won the race.”

Sampey draws No. 16 qualifier Hector Arana Sr. in round one.

Sampey acknowledged piloting a Pro Stock Motorcycle is far from easy, but things came together in her lap Sunday morning.

“Cory and I both struggle with getting our shift points perfect,” Sampey said. “To compete out here against the competition these days you have to be perfect. That run I did it at the right time. I shifted on time every gear and the bike went perfectly straight and I got tucked in really well. We got every bit out of the motorcycle that we could get out of it on that run. It was perfect timing for us.”

When Sampey made her top qualifying run, it didn’t go unnoticed by her daughter, Ava, 5.

“When I came back after the run she said ‘Mommy you won No. 1,’” Sampey said. “She thinks that something you win, the No. 1.”

Speaking of Ava, Angelle did share a story about her.

“She’s hanging out in the Vance & Hines pit right now, she asked to be dropped off there instead of coming up here with me because she has a little affection for Declan Hines right now,” Sampey said. “(Sunday morning) I got a picture from Andrew (Hines) and it’s a picture of Ava with a Vance & Hines hat on. So, my daughter is a traitor.”

 

REED EYES COUNTDOWN SPOT – When Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Cory Reed arrived at his first U.S. Nationals he had plenty at stake.

Reed came to Indy 13th in the points with a 302 total, but he’s definitely in the hunt to finish in the 10th spot and make the six-race Countdown to the Championship which begins Sept. 16-18 at Charlotte, N.C.

Reed is 24 points behind veteran Steve Johnson who was 10th in the points. Reed, who is in his rookie season competing for Star Racing and owner George Bryce, was solid in qualifying, grabbing the No. 8 spot with a 6.868-second elapsed time at 194.41 mph. Reed meets No. 9 Steve Johnson in a match-up with major Countdown to the Championship implications.

Michael Ray (326) and Karen Stoffer (326) are tied for 11th just five points behind Johnson. Ray qualified No. 12 and Stoffer is No. 14.

“I have to beat all three of them, so I just need to go one more round than those guys,” Reed said. “I think if we keep going the way we are going and nothing breaks on us I have a legit, honest shot to make the top 10. If I go to the semifinals I feel very confident that I will have spot in the top 10 locked in.”

Having an opportunity to make the Countdown seemed unlikely for Reed as he has three DNQs in nine races. Reed has made it to the second round at Norwalk, Chicago, Denver and Brainerd.

“It would be great to make the Countdown,” Reed said. “I would be all in at that point. Even if we don’t make the top 10, I’m still going to be happy. I’m just going to go and try and win races at that point. It is racing and you don’t show up thinking you are going to lose ever. You show up wanting to win. I don’t care that I’m a rookie and this is my first time at Indy, or my first time at any track, I still want to show up and do the best I can.”

Although the pressure will be at a paramount for Reed Monday, he’s not getting lost in the moment.

“I have to amp myself up,” Reed said. “I have to get in my own little zone. The way dirt bike racing was for me, there was so much adrenaline all of the time. Now that I’ve stepped back from that, I got really calm after I stopped racing dirt bikes. I realized how gnarly dirt bikes were for me and I got hurt a bunch.”

GANN MISSES U.S. NATIONALS - Veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Shawn Gann had competed in 15 U.S. Nationals in a row, but that streak ended this weekend.

According to Blake Gann, Shawn’s father and crew chief, his son missed the 2016 version of the Big Go because he stayed home in Stoneville, N.C., to take care of his son, Drew.

Drew suffered a severe injury to his right leg while skateboarding during the weekend of the Sonoma (Calif.) Nationals July 29-31. The injury required surgery and left Drew immobile.

The elder Gann did have the family’s Clonex Racing motorcycle at Indy with driver Lance Bonham. Bonham, however, failed to qualify.

Shawn Gann has five career national event wins – his last coming at Denver in 2013 when he beat Hector Arana Jr. in the finals. Gann’s career-best points finish was third in 2003. Gann’s best finish at Indy was a runner-up in 2001 to Angelle Sampey.

HELPING HAND – Veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Joe DeSantis had a familiar face in the pits helping him out – Michael Phillips.

“I just come and help him and try and get his bike figured out for him,” Phillips said.

DeSantis came up short with a best ET of 8.551 seconds.

Phillips said he plans on competing on four more races this season on DeSantis’ bike in St. Louis (Sept. 23-25), Dallas (Oct. 13-16), Las Vegas (Oct. 27-30) and Pomona (Nov. 10-13).

In 2017, Phillips expects to be back competing in Pro Stock Motorcycle full-time, something he hasn’t done since 2012.

“The plan is to go out and run my own stuff next year,” Phillips said. “I have a pretty good deal working right now and it’s looking really good. I’m going to run a Suzuki, I’m a diehard Suzuki guy. Since 2012, I’ve just been messing with a lot of my street bike stuff. I’ve been doing a lot of grudge racing stuff. I have some pretty fast street bikes.”

Phillips was fortunate to make the trip to Indianapolis for the U.S. Nationals since he lives in Baton Rouge, La., where historic flooding took place last month.

“I got no damage at all to my house,” Phillips said. “My daughter (Mekel, 14), and I walked down at like 2 in the morning and put a mark down. She couldn’t sleep and she kept going down and checking the mark to see how high the water was getting. If it would’ve made it past the mark then we would’ve got all the bikes and stuff out and got all the equipment was. We survived it, thank God for that. A lot of people had 10 to 11 feet of water in their houses. It was crazy.”

ARANA JR. UPBEAT – Hector Arana Jr. has had a frustrating season competing on his Lucas Oil Buell.

However, Arana Jr. arrived at Indy with a little bit of momentum as he was ninth in the points on the strength of back-to-back semifinal efforts at Sonoma, Calif. (July 31) and Brainerd, Minn. (Aug. 21).

“It (Indy) is enjoyable, and we got lucky this year, we had beautiful weather,” Arana Jr. said. “We’re running pretty good, but everybody is running good now.”

Arana made his best run this weekend in the Q4 session as he clocked a 6.853-second elapsed time at 195.56 mph to move up to fourth on the qualifying ladder. Arana Jr. faces Michael Ray in round one.

“We try and hit the home run every run,” Arana Jr. said.

Arana Jr. also is ready for what’s ahead at Indy Monday.

“I try to look at this like another race and not let the pressure get to me,” Arana said.

Some drivers competing at Indy for decades and never get to taste victory, but that wasn’t the case for Arana Jr.

“My first time at Indy in 2011 I won,” Arana Jr. said. “It’s a good race. I love this race. I plan on continuing my success here.”

JOHNSON WEIGHS IN ON HIS SEASON – Veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson came to the U.S. Nationals barely hanging on to the No. 10 spot in the season standings.

Through qualifying he remained in the No. 10 position, but he hasn’t had the best of races, especially in qualifying. Johnson, however, responded with his best run of the weekend with a 6.872-second ET at 195.56 mph. That left him qualified No. 9.

Now, Johnson will have to hold off a slew of racers to keep the No. 10 spot and qualify to compete in the six-race Countdown to the Championship.

“I think the mindset at Indy and what most racers do is they have a go-to setup and understand the environment and make the best decision that will produce the best results. Drag racing is all about making these little changes.”

Johnson, who competes on a Suzuki, has pretty much seen it all in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class as he made his NHRA PSM debut in 1987.

After spending decades in the class, Johnson does see his driving days closer to the end than the beginning.

“I’m looking at the end,” the energetic Johnson said laughing. “As soon as I get done with this year I can be done. I said that I wanted to win a championship before I quit, but it is a tough sport. Financially and the wear and tear, I don’t know what I want to do. I was at my buddy’s shop (former crew chief) Mark (Peiser) and he’s manufacturing a step (Trick Step) for bass boat fisherman and it’s the greatest invention in the world he doesn’t know a lot about marketing.”

MATT SMITH IN SHOW – Matt Smith last won drag racing's most prestigious and longest-running national event, and the way the Victory Motorcycles factory rider sees things, 10 years is long enough.

Smith's 6.876-second pass at 193.52 mph down Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis placed his Victory Gunner comfortably in the field, although he said the powerful motorcycle hasn't shown its full potential as of yet.

"There's plenty left in this Gunner," Smith said in a press release. "This bike is fast and when we tested it was flying. It seems like something little has popped up every round here, and we're still running well despite our issues. If we can get everything cleaned up, I'll take on anyone in the field and feel confident going into the race."

Smith's first opponent will be No. 6 qualifier LE Tonglet, who rode to a best elapsed time of 6.860 at 196.44 mph in qualifying his Nitro Fish machine. Both Smith and Tonglet are sponsored in part by Nitro Fish apparel.

Angie Smith, Matt’s wife and teammate, failed to qualify.

SUBER TURNS SOME HEADS – Melissa Suber caught the attention of her fellow PSM competitors when she qualified No. 10 for the U.S. Nationals.

The California rider clocked a 6.875-second time at 194.38 mph on her Buell. Suber will face Hines Monday in first round.

That No. 10 qualifying spot tied Suber’s best effort of the season as she also started there in Atlanta. She has one round win this season at Atlanta over LE Tonglet at Atlanta.

SATURDAY

SAVOIE REMAINS ON TOP – On Saturday, Jerry Savoie was a little better than he was Friday and the bottom line is he’s still the fastest bike at the U.S. Nationals.

Savoie clocked a 6.841-seond elapsed time at 195.19 mph to keep the top spot, but he wasn’t thrilled.

“We have been struggling this weekend with a couple of issues, tire issue and clutch issue,” Savoie said. “We really haven’t made a clean pass yet. Friday we bogged it on the line and the first hit (Saturday) it bogged a little and it was fairly decent, but we should’ve went 81. (Saturday night), we had a fuel leak and we didn’t know it. They (NHRA officials) were going to stop me and they were in the process of trying to put everything together and I was gone. We got all up on the tire and everything and we still went 89.”

Savoie had a 6.848-second time on Friday, and he’s upbeat about Sunday’s final two qualifying runs in his Suzuki for White Alligator Racing (WAR) Pro Stock Motorcycle team.

“We like weather changes, some of the guys out here can run fast in cold weather, but they can’t do the job in hot weather. Those guys who can do the job in hot weather shine on race day, so we like it when the temperature changes. Tim (Kulungian, Savoie’s crew chief), is a guru. He has a handle on this thing.”

Savoie, the defending U.S. Nationals champion, knows he’s facing stiff competition this weekend, especially with Harley-Davidson teammates Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines.

“Watch the Harleys is all I can tell you,” Savoie said. “You can rant and rave all you want, but those guys are good and consistent. I think there are some of these guys who haven’t hit it yet, but everybody out here is fast. (Sunday night) if we can hold on to it, it will be my first No. 1 qualifier this year.”

HARLEY-DAVIDSON REPORT – Harley-Davidson riders Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec have been dominant for years.

Hines and Krawiec are trying to continue their stronghold on the class at the U.S. Nationals. Krawiec is qualified third – through Saturday – (6.852 seconds) and Hines is fourth (6.867).

Hines has one career U.S. Nationals win in 2012 and Krawiec also has one in 2014.

STOP THE NIGHTMARE – Anthony Vanetti is making his 2016 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle season debut at the U.S. Nationals.

Unfortunately for Vanetti, the experience was far from memorable, especially his first two qualifying runs.

Vanetti is piloting a Lucas Oil/Protect The Harvest Buell – the same Buell Hector Arana Sr. drove to the 2009 PSM NHRA world championship.

During Vanetti’s lone qualifying pass, his motor died just as he prepared to leave the starting line.

“I had a broken TPS (Throttle Positioning Sensor),” Vanetti said. “Word is there has been problems with it and it was just my luck. It’s no big deal, it’s just one run I just didn’t get. I was starting to question myself. I was like 'man did I not have my hammer cocked'? It was on the two step and I let go of the clutch and absolutely nothing. My bike didn’t even move.”

As hurtful as Friday was, things got worse for Vinetti on Saturday’s first qualifying run. Vinetti’s motorcycle had brake issues right after the finish line and he went into the sandtrap.

“I’m not sure,” Vanetti said moments after his accident. “My U.S. Nationals debut, I sure as H*ll didn’t want it to go this way. We will just regroup and go back to the pit area and get it right. That one is behind us and hopefully the bike is all right.”

In his third qualifying pass, Vanetti clocked a 7.653-second time at 186.33 mph, which is 23rd fastest.

VANCE ADDS HIS THOUGHTS – Legendary Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Terry Vance was doing some guest commentary in the tower during Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying.

During the Q2 session Saturday, announcer Alan Reinhart asked Vance why he thought so many women have competed in Pro Stock Motorcycle over the years.

“There are so many girls who want to ride the bikes,” Vance said. “I think they come up through the ranks riding motocross bikes or different kinds of motorcycles and they think ‘hey I can do that.' (race a Pro Stock Motorcycle), and a lot of them can do that. Look at what Angelle Sampey) has done with her career. I will never forget at Houston when she walked up to me and introduced herself and said I’m Angelle and I’m going to start winning races. I looked down her and she just looked like a little kid. I tell you, she has done just a fabulous job over the years.”

Sampey has the most all-time wins by a female with 42 Pro Stock national event victories – her latest was at Englishtown, N.J., June 12. Sampey is driving for Star Racing this season.

Sampey, a three-time PSM world champ 2000-2002, also has won the U.S. Nationals twice in 2001 and 2002.

Sampey is qualified No. 2 so far at 6.851 seconds at 194.52 mph.

BRYCE WEIGHS IN ON STATE OF PSM – George Bryce has nothing to prove in the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks. He has won six NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championships.

So, when he speaks about issues in the PSM class people will listen.

“If we had a new winner at every race that would be great, or if we had two or three people win other than the Harley team it would be great,” Bryce said. “Our goal here at Star Racing with Angelle Sampey and Cory Reed is to go as fast as we can, win as many rounds as we can and push the Harley team really what they do have.”

Reed is qualified No. 5 (6.870) at Indy so far.

The lone Harley-Davidson team of Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec also bothers Bryce.

“The real difference is and I don’t want to kick a dead horse, but if there were other Harleys racing and if there were other people with the same package, we would see what the possibilities are,” Bryce said. “Like if you look at Pro Stock car, the Chevrolet cars and the Dodge cars push each other to see who has the fastest Chevrolet and who has the fastest Dodge, bu they all have the same rules. That makes it interesting and they police each other with that performance. In our class, we have lots of Suzukis and lots of S&S-powered Buells, but we only have one Harley team and nobody knows how fast they will go and they only stay in front of us as much as they need to, in order to win rounds and put them in position to be No. 1 and No. 2 in the points championship, and maybe we will see them pull the sandbags off during the Countdown.”

The six-race Countdown to the Championship begins Sept. 16-18 in Charlotte, N.C.

ELLIS TALKS ABOUT HIS SEASON – Veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Chip Ellis has had a solid season as he came to Indy seventh in the season points standings. He’s No. 8 on the qualifying ladder through Saturday at 6.876 seconds at 194.46 mph.

“Barring anything crazy, we should be ok,” Ellis said about getting in the six-race Countdown to the Championship. “We started out really good on a new bike and then we started having issues so we went back to the old bike. We kind of struggled a little bit since then. We went and tested at Darlington (S.C.) Dragway last Wednesday and we only made 3 runs but we struggled with the clutch a little so we made 2 little short hits and then we made a full pull and on that full pull we had a very conservative tune up and it hauled butt so I’m excited to see what we can do do. I’ve struggled with my ride the last couple races and part of the reason is I’ve been really exhausted. I’m not making excuses but we’ve been trying to move from Brownsburg, Indiana to North Carolina.”

Ellis acknowledged there is not enough time in the day for him to do with he wants with work and his family.

“Our shop that I work in is in North Carolina and my family has been up here in Brownsburg so we’ve been apart,” Ellis said. “I (also) worked out in an oil field for two years, so basically for 3½ years I haven’t been home. We were originally from the South, I wanted to get back South.”

The South is where Ellis is headed after this weekend at the U.S. Nationals.

“I’m in the process of moving right now,” Ellis said. “We’re going to get the last load when we leave after this race and take it to North Carolina. We have a place in China Grove which is about 30 minutes from Charlotte.”

Ellis and his wife, Kathy, have a daughter, McKenzie, who is 14.

“My wife is so awesome,” Ellis said. “She’s never complained about it once. But with my daughter is just starting high school this year and I’ve been gone for 3½ years. I was doing the oil filed thing, I’d be gone for 3 months at a time and then I started doing this deal with Junior Pippin and I’m gone for 2 or 3 months at a time I just didn’t want to do it anymore. It’s just me and Lon and Brad at the shop working on this stuff and I’m driving the motorhome. I’ve just been really tired. So that’s why I think I’ve been struggling a little bit. I think if we can get through this race and everything goes good, then with the move out of the way it’ll give me more time with the family and more rest.”

Ellis clearly excited about his future.

“Everything is falling into place for us,” Ellis said. “It’s been a struggle, I won’t lie. I’ve struggled to get the bike down the race track, get these guys some good data. It’s frustrating because we’ve made thousands of runs on this motorcycle and at Brainerd, I barely qualified. It wasn’t the bike it was me. So I was like ‘what the heck is going on? Why can’t you ride this motorcycle?’ I just had to come to the realization when you work 18 to 20 hours a day, 7 days a week and you’re trying to move and you’re traveling back and forth from Indianapolis to North Carolina. Like I said, I’m not making excuses, I’ve sucked as a driver.”

Do you feel rested now?

“I do, I do,” Ellis said. “We had a busy week this weekend with testing at Darlington and we worked on (Melissa) Surber’s bike this week so we had a couple 18 hour days. Just getting home and sleeping in my bed last night I feel a lot better. Got up this morning and did some stuff around the house. I only live 4 miles from here. I still have my house here.The house is sold but when we leave here Tuesday everything goes with us.”

RAY TRYING TO MAKE THE COUNTDOWN – After running a limited schedule season last year, Michael Ray joined the Pro Stock Motorcycle class full fray in 2016.

“We own a chassis, the chassis that I raced with Star Racing and with Matt (Smith) for years, we own that chassis,” Ray said. “We had plans on coming back out this year full time and kind of partnered up with UPI Performance, kind of like what Scotty (Pollacheck) has done all year. When UPI Performance and the Kennedy family parted ways, as a business agreement and a business decision, why not split the bill instead of paying 100 percent of it. They approached me about riding their bike and I knew the Smalley family from when they were supporting Chaz and I.”

Ray arrived at Indy 11th in the points standings on his Buell. Steve Johnson is 10th in the points with a 331-point total, while Ray has 326 points. Ray is in the 12th qualifying position through sessions with a top time of 6.929 seconds.

“We’re here now and fighting tooth and nail to get in the most competitive Top 10 that there’s ever been on a Pro Stock bike,” Ray said.

Outside of the race track, Ray used to work at the Harley-Davidson shop in New Braunfels, Texas, but that isn’t the case anymore.

“I had been with them for years and my family owns a trucking company (in Gonzales, Texas),” Ray said. “My dad (Paul) is planning on retiring and in the sense of family business before he just throws me the keys and I know nothing about it, I went to work with him. I’ve been there a little over a year now. The name of the trucking company, Silver Eagle Environmental Solutions. We are in oil and gas, we haul fuel, different jet fuel, diesel, we do a little bit of construction. It’s all semis.”

Ray, who has been married to his wife Jennifer for four years, has no regrets about going into the family business.

“It was a good opportunity,” Ray said. “I was in a really good place with the Harley dealership. I’d been there since I was 19-years-old, I just turned 32 and this is something sustainable where it’s Monday through Friday. It’s been great. Definitely opened up the opportunity for me to continue racing and it not be such a headache because the Harley shop never stopped, it was 6 or 7 days a week. Our business on the weekend slows down a little bit and I’ve got a great, great group at the shop that keeps everything rocking and rolling.”

 

MR. & MRS. SMITH -  Matt Smith and his wife, Angie, aren’t having the best Indy. Matt is qualified No. 9 and Angie is 19.
 

FRIDAY

SAVOIE CHARGES TO TOP – Jerry Savoie admitted he didn’t make the best qualifying run, but there was no one better than the driver of the White Alligator Racing (WAR) Pro Stock Motorcycle team.

Savoie, the defending U.S. Nationals champion, clocked a 6.848-second run at 195.28 mph to take the provisional No. 1 spot.

“The run really wasn’t that great, I think there was an 82 or 83 out there, but this was a good start to the weekend,” Savoie said. “We will see what (Saturday) brings. We have a fast motorcycle and we will swing for the fences.”

Harley-Davidson teammates – Eddie Krawiec (6.852) and Andrew Hines (6.867) were second and third in the qualifying ladder.

TONGLET BRIMMING WITH CONFIDENCE – It’s a wonder what a win can do for a racer’s confidence.

LE Tonglet won the 2010 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion arrived at Sonoma, Calif. (July 29-31) searching for first national event win since he beat Hector Arana Jr. in the finals at Brainerd (Minn.) in 2011.

Tonglet broke his drought when he clocked a 6.813-second elapsed time at 196.73 mph to defeat Andrew Hines’ 6.864-second lap at 194.52 mph to win  the Sonoma Nationals.

“It took a while to get back in the winner’s circle and we finally did it,” Tonglet said. “It was huge to get that win. It brought a bunch of confidence back to our team. Whenever you can that (Harley-Davidson) team over there, it’s a huge accomplishment. We beat both of them (beating Eddie Krawiec in the semis in one day, and we didn’t get the win handed to us.”

Tonglet was quick to point out the keys to his recent success.

“My dad (Gary Tonglet) has been working on the clutch a lot and we got some new carburetors from Lectron Fuel Systems earlier this year and they seemed to have turned our program around.”

The engine Tonglet is using at Indy is same engine he ran at Sonoma. In his only qualifying run Friday evening, his Suzuki hit a cone and was disqualified.

“It was tough, but that should’ve never happened,” Tonglet said. “It shook a little bit and kind of started going left and I was so concentrated on the shift light that I wasn’t really looking where I was going. That shouldn’t happen out here. That’s very disappointing and it shouldn’t happen and you will not see it happen again.”

PERMANENT SMILE – Anthony Vanetti made his 2016 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle season debut and what better place to so than the prestigious U.S. Nationals.

Vanetti, is piloting a Lucas Oil/Protect The Harvest Buell – the same Buell Hector Arana Sr. drove to the 2009 PSM NHRA world championship.

“I’ve been racing my bracket bike out there in California at Fontana and Irwindale, getting as much seat time as I can on my 8-second bracket bike,” Vanetti said. “I’m just going to do the best I can here. The field is absolutely stacked (with 24 riders entered) and a lot of people tell me why don’t wait until the Countdown where there 16 to 18 bikes and have kind of a for sure race day. If you’re trying to prove yourself, you need to beat the best and you need to run with the best. That’s the way I look at it. I don’t care if there are 25 bikes or 40. I don’t even know how to feel (Friday) I feel like I’m the most blessed man in the universe.”

Vanetti made his career PSM debut in 2015 and competed at Denver and Sonoma, Calif.

During Vanetti’s lone qualifying pass, his motor died just as he prepared to leave the starting line.

“If I get in the field on Sunday night you might be seeing backflips off the trailer or something,” Vanetti said. “It’s a pretty lofty goal just because of how stacked the field is, but I know I have got the absolute best horsepower and if I do my job I think I have a pretty good opportunity.”

NO INDY HYPE FOR STAR RACING – The Star Racing team with owner George Bryce consists of Angelle Sampey and Cory Reed.

Bryce has is renowned owner, winning six NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championships, and he tries to keep things simple when it comes to the U.S. Nationals.

“We want to make them think that it is just another day at the races, but the fans and media and NHRA and FoxSports 1 try to make it big,” Bryce said. “It brainwashes the driver and crew a little bit to be extra excited and extra nervous.”

Cory Reed was fourth in qualifying at 6.870 seconds and Sampey was eighth at 6.912 seconds and Sampey, a three-time PSM world champ 2000-2002, also has always kept Indy in perspective.

“To me it is another race,” Sampey said. “I want to every race just like I want to win Indy. I have won Indy twice (2001-2002), but I want to win the Gatornationals, I want to win Brainerd and every single race so bad that I feel the exact same way about Indy. Now, that NHRA has changed it to points and a half it makes it a lot more exciting than any other race. But, when the helmet goes on to me it doesn’t matter what starting line I’m on, I want the trophy just as bad.”

Bryce did say he will have a special guests – Gino Scali, 2003 Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion and his team owner Joe Koenig. Koenig owns Trim-Tex Drywall Products and he’s an associate sponsor for Bryce at Indy.

Retail Fixture, company based out of Racine, Wis., and its owner Curt Woodard also is a special guest of Bryce. Woodward was a former driver for Bryce.

“These are guys from the past and they are successful businessman and they are looking at what we are doing and watching the new Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and watching the new Fox Sports 1 TV deal and they are excited about how the sport has turned. They excited about the direction it is going and they want to be involved.”