Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128321
Prostar goes two for two without rain STORY AND PH OTOS BY MATT P OLITO/ DRAG BIKE.COM ast year at this time Prostar was struggli ng with its second stra ight weather-affected event, unable to put one in the books. A year later the sun was shining on Prostar during the MTC Elmer Trett Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. With good weather for the opening two events, a new class structure, and a revised, popular schedu le, the sanctioning body is poised for perhaps its best year eve r. In Top Fuel action , defend ing champion Larry "Spiderman" McBride continued the win streak he started at the opening event of 2003 as his co nsistency and unto uchable performances continued to overwhelm his competitors. McBride took the number-one qualifying position on the Pingel/Trim-Tex fueler with a S.97 elapsed time at 239 mph , more than half a second quicker than number-two qualifier Chris Hand, who ran 6.S3 at 21B on the Winnebago-backed Redneck Express . McBride's worst run , an early shutoff 6.37 during a semifinal bye, outpaced every other competitor. In the final against Hand , McBride put together a 6.04 at a honking 240 mph as Hand strug gled down track to a 6.64/197. Second year Funnybike rider Korry Hogan has established himself as the rising star in the PMFR-backed class, taking his third straight number-one qualifying performance as on his Sha-Sha Racing tur bo Suzuki as he looked for his second straight win. L Hogan ran a pair of 6.7s in qualifying, securing the pole with a 6.75 at 202 mp h, followed by Gle n Nicklebe rry at 6.87 and reigning champ Travis Davis at 7.02. Hogan looked like he was on a laser beam to the final with consistent 6.7s in the first two rounds of eliminations, but a faulty electrical switch put him on the trailer in the semifinals against Nickelberry, w ho turn ed in a strong 6.74 on the Tommy Bolton-tuned Kawasaki Turbo. The other side of the ladder had no semifinal opponent, as the only pair of quarterfinalists, Davis and Perry Hollie, left before the tree was activated , yielding no w inner and giving Nickelbe rry a solo in the final. Wanting to make a strong run in his first win since St Louis in 2003 , Nickelberry did a monster burnout but broke the shifter linkage, forcing him to stage the bike and just inch off the line to secure the w in. Like McBride in Top Fuel, reigning Lectron Pro Mod champ Charlie Farrar can do no wrong on the C&W Cycleworks Kawasaki. Farrar took the pole with a one-lap qualifying effort of 6.83/180 (Farrar was timed out during staging in his second qualifying attempt). Following Farrar in qualifying was Monte Campbell at 6.95, Bernard Johnson at 6.97 and James Rester Jr. at 6.98. In eliminations Farrar ruled the day, scoring the low elapsed time of every round of eliminations to remain undefeated for the season. He took out alternate 52 APRIL 28,2004 • CYCLE N EWS Mimmo Marciano in the semifinals and lined up against the Billy Vose-tuned Suzuki of Be rnard Johnson in the final. Johnson got the holeshot in the money round , but the bike broke up down track as Farrar clicked off a clockwork-like 6.91 The Accel Pro Stock field saw tight competition w ith the top four qualified riders in the 7.20s led by former champ Todd Doege on the Ward Performance at 7.2 1 and including current cham p Keith Dennis on the MSP Suzuki at 7.25, Dean Frantz at 7.26 and K&N Filter's Steve Johnson at 7.27. One of the best races of the day happened in the first round when vetera n Paul Gast matched up with Ryan Schnitz 40th Anniversary o M",zzy ZX- 12R. Gast got the holes hot , .407 to .41 I, but Schnitz had more on the big end, running 7.34 for the win to Gast's 7.36. Schnitz was take n out by Doege in round two, giving Doege a semifinal bye. On the other side of the ladder, Frantz got by Shane Estes 7.29 to 7.39. Frantz looked strong all day and put a good lap down in the final, getting the holeshot and turn ing in a 7.25 at 180 mph, but Doege, who had low e.t. of eve ry round, didn't let up as the Rick Ward -powe red bike came through for the win wit h a 7.2 1 charge . Mike Siowe continu ed on his spectacular rookie debut in the Mickey Thom pson Streetbike Shootout class w ith his seco nd straight w in fro m the pole. Riding the Velocity Racing Turbo Honda CBR I 100XX, Siowe led all qualifie rs with a 7.68 e.t. at 187 mph, followed by reigning champ Rickey Gadson on the Muzzy ZX-12R turbo at 7.72/ 189 and the Ho nda of Kent Stotz at 7.77/189 . With Velocity Racing owner Barry Henson missing the event due to a street riding accident and tuning in by telephon e from his hospital bed, Siowe ran the table in eliminations, scoring low e.t. of eliminations and making his second straight final with a sem ifinal win over Q uicktime Motorsports' Eric Sanzottera. On the other side of the ladde r, Gadson struggled and was taken out in the quarterfinals by Chad Trahan, who lost to Stotz in the semis. The all-Honda final was over at the line as Stotz hit a rare red light foul but steamed to a booming 190 mph speed as Siowe ran a consistent 7.68/187 for the win. Team Green's Chip Ellis moved to the top of the points in the Zero Gravity 600 SuperSport class with his second final round appearance and first win of the season . The class, which was once dominated solely by Kawasaki ZX-6Rs now sees Suzuki GSXRs and Yamaha R6s in contention for the top spots. That being said, Ellis still dominated