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/128322
'i\J1 of the te ams out here are so tough," Stoffer said. "We beat the Harleys back to back in the second and third rounds and then had to come back and race the Army team in the fi nal. I think we showed that we can handle this level of competition and make a push for the championship. Why not? The way I feel right now, I think anything is possible." Fittingly, Stoffer's final round win over Brown was the best race of the day. Brown left the starting line first and appeared to be headed towa rd his 12th career victory, but Stoffer inched ahead just before the finish line, winning by less than three feet . "I don't know if I've absorbed all of this yet ," Stoffer said. "The fans were scream ing, and so many people told me they stayed to root for us in the final. One guy even missed a flight out of here. They say you never forget your first win, and I certainly believe that's true. The feeling I have right now just keeps getti ng better and better." Though he didn't win, Brown couldn't help but be relieved after reaching the final round for the first time since his win last August in Brainerd. "Igot to the final , but it was stilla rough weekend for the U.S. Army team ," Brown said. "We 've been try ing a new engine combination , and we still don't have it perfected yet. Between me and Angelle [teammate Savoie) I think we hurt four engines. By the time I got to the final, we were lucky that we had enough parts to be able to race with. "It was a good weekend, and I'm happy for Karen becaus e she's worked for this for a long time, but if I'd been just a couple of hundredths quicker, I would have been able to hold her off. Honestly, if we had changed tires before the final , we probably would have run quick enough to win, but hindsight is always 20-20." The Pro Stock Bike teams headed into the Houston race anticipating the spo rt's first six-seco nd Pro Stock Bike pass, but it never materialized, largely due to warmer-than-usual we ather conditions. Still, Hines set the track record with his 7.07 during qualifying. In addition to the prestige, the first rider to record a six-second elapsed time in Pro Stock Bike will get a $ 10,000 bonus from Mickey Tho mpson tires. "That was a pretty good run, especially since it was made during the heat of the day," said Hines, w ho leads the points after the first two rounds . "We're going to run in the sixes soone r or later. It's just a matter of finding the right mixture of weather and track conditions. When it happens, I just hope I'm the fi rst one to do it. Of course , the first six will be nice, but it isn't our main focus. We want to win a cham pionship for Harley-Davidson, and that's the most important thing right now. I didn't make a good run in the se mis against Karen, and she got by me, but I still managed to hang on to the points eN lead." HOUSTON RACEWAY PARK BAYTOWN, TEXA S RESULT APRIL 15 -18, S: (ROUND 2 OF 2004 15 1 PRO STOCK FINAL: I. Karen Stoffer (Suz) 7. 15/186 .38 2. AntTon Bro wn [Suz] 7.17/186 .05 . NHRA POWERADE PRO STOCK MOTORCYC LE SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 2 of 15 events): I. Andrew Hines ( 196/ 1 win); 2. Karen Stoffer ( 190/ 1 win); 3. Gena Scali ( 153); 4. Antron Bro wn ( 15 1); 5. GTT onglet ( 150) . UP COMING ROUNDS: R 3 . Com ound merce, Georgio, Moy 13·16 R 4 . Joliet, Illinois, Moy 20-23 ound NAM E _ Maillo: ADDRESS - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - CITY STATE - - - -- ZIP • You can alII changeyouraddress onlina al www .cyclenews.comladdrnsiconlacLasp_ besure to Include your new addre and eld addre In requesl. ss ss www.cyclenews.com - Circulation Dept. Cycle News, Inc. 3S0S·M Cadillac Avenue C o s t a Me s a . C A 92626 CYCLE NEWS • MAY 5, 2004 51