Ryan Oehler
Claims
Second NHRA
Pro Stock
Motorcycle
Victory
R
yan Oehler grabbed his sec-
ond NHRA Pro Stock Motorcy-
cle victory at the Denso Four Wide
Nationals in Las Vegas, but his path
to a victory was anything but easy.
During Friday's first qualifying ses-
sion, Oehler suffered a brake failure
and put his EBR into the sand trap
at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway. Things didn't get much
easier on race day when Oehler
and his team had to swap engines
after the first round of eliminations.
Somehow, Oehler persevered and
won the final quad of the unique
event over Cory Reed, Steve John-
son and Scotty Pollacheck.
"This is crazy. We started the
weekend off in the sand at the
end of the track and we had to fix
the bike," Oehler said. "Then, in
round one, we basically ruined
an engine. It had no oil pressure
all the way down the track. We
changed motors and made a rapid
turnaround. Then, we go out and
get our second Wally [NHRA tro-
phy]. There's gonna be more."
Oehler won the first race of the
Covid-shortened 2020 season and
ended the season with a runner-up
finish in Houston. He finished the
year as the number seven-ranked
rider in the class, but for all his
recent success, Oehler admitted
that he still wasn't quite sure about
the four-wide format, a twice-a-
year spectacle that features four
bikes at a time instead of two. The
first two finishers in each "quad"
advance until the final round. The
presence of a second Christmas
Tree starting system and the lights
at the end of the track that signal
the winner and second-place fin-
isher, have been known to confuse
even the most experienced racers,
and Oehler wasn't immune.
"It took a few rounds, but I
finally know how the lights work
here," Oehler said. "If the light
in your lane, is flashing, you're
the winner. If it's solid, you're the
runner-up. We want to see more
of those flashing lights."
Oehler kicked off eliminations
with a win against Denso EBR's
Angie Smith and Suzuki racer
Kelly Clontz. Oehler was first off
the starting line and rode to a 6.97
to cover Smith's quicker 6.94.
Clontz trailed with a 7.21 elapsed
time. Oehler finished second to
MacRak Suzuki's Steve Johnson
in the second round but that was
good enough to reach the final.
The last round of the day fea-
tured Oehler and Johnson along-
side Denso EBR's Scotty Pollace-
heck and the Reed Motorsports
Suzuki of Cory Reed. Pollacheck,
the favorite, took himself out of the
running with a red-light start allow-
ing Oehler to win with a 6.91 while
Reed was credited with a runner-
up finish after his 6.94.
With the win, Oehler finds himself
at the top of the Camping World
NHRA points standings for just the
second time in his career. After two
of 16 rounds, he's got 209 points,
26 more than reigning NHRA cham-
pion Matt Smith and 57 more than
Johnson, who is celebrating his
34th season in the class. The next
event will be the Southern Nationals
at Atlanta Dragway, April 30-May 2.
Kevin McKenna
Final
1. Ryan Oehler (EBR)
2. Cory Reed (Suz)
3. Steve Johnson (Suz)
4. Scotty Pollacheck
IN
THE
WIND
P54
It was a rough weekend
in Las Vegas for Ryan
Oehler, but he didn't
give up and grabbed
his second NHRA Pro
Stock Motorcycle
victory of 2021.
PHOTO: MATT POLITO
