NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series
Round 4: Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
ENGUSHTOWN, NJ, MAY 15·18
... raig Treble was heading for an
~ almost certain victory at the K&N
Filters SuperNationals in Englishtown, when fate and a faulty transmission intervened.
Leading final-round opponent
Shawn Gann by nearly a tenth of a
second off the starting line, Treble
was less than 200 yards from his
sixth career NHRA Pro Stock Bike
title, but when he hit the shifter for
sixth-gear, nothing happened. Instead
of pulling away for an easy victory,
Treble slowed and watched helplessly
as Gann cruised by for the second
win of his career, ending an 18month winless drought.
"I knew he had me, but I never lost
focus," Gann said. "I was trying hard
not to red-light, and I cut a bad light.
I knew I was in trouble, but I just kept
my head down and hoped that I could
catch him. I really needed this win.
We've struggled for more than a year.
We've had a great bike the whole
time, but every time I think I'm close.
things never do go in my favor.
Thankfully, this time it all worked out
for me this time. I've been praying for
a weekend like this."
The late Spring cold front that
blanketed the East Coast made the
Englishtown event one of the quickest and fastest races in NHRA history.
Thirteen of the 16 qualifiers recorded
a personal best elapsed time during
the event, and in qualifying Gann
claimed the No. 1 position with a
7.05, a run just a hundredth of a second behind Angelle Savoie's national
record 7.04. I took a 7.20 just to
make the field, eclipsing the previous
record bump spot of 7.26, set just
two races earlier in Houston.
Gann kept the pressure on with a
best of 7.07 in his wins over Chris
Reuter, Sean Conner, and Team 23's
Antron Brown during the first three
rounds of eliminations.
Treble struggled during qualifying
62
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STORY AND PHOTOS BY
KEVIN McKENNA
JUNE 4, 2003·
cue
I
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eVIls
and finished 11 th, which
meant that he had to face
reigning NHRA champ
Angelle Savoie's Team 23
Suzuki in the first round.
Treble got past Savoie with
a 7.07 and then stopped
points leader Geno Scali's
Trim-Tex bike with a 7.12.
Despite the final-round
loss, Treble was thrilled to
make it to the final, especially since he failed to
qualify at the most recent
race in Atlanta.
"I hate to give one up like
that, but it was totally my
fault," Treble said. "I double-hit the shifter for the
Shawn Gann, winless on the
NHRA tour since the Las
Vegas round in November,
2001, claimed his second
career titie at the K&N
Filters SuperNationals In
Englishtown, .....
