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WIND IN THE P38 Hall Wins Rain-Delayed Great Lakes Nationals T he NHRA Pro Stock Motor- cycle class made its first appearance at historic U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, September 18-21, for the inaugural Dodge Great Lakes Nationals, and on one of the season's most unpredictable days, Outlaw Light Buell's John Hall claimed his first win of the season. Facing first-time finalist Marc Ingwersen, Hall left with a nearly perfect reaction time and rode to a 6.808 elapsed time for his fifth career victory. The race actually ended on the starting line after Ingwersen left one-thousandth of a second too soon and red- lighted. With the win, Hall also moved into second place in the stand- ings behind reigning champ Rich- ard Gadson as the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA's six-race playoff, kicked off in Michigan. "This is big. We did the same thing last year when we won the first race of the Countdown in Pennsylvania," Hall said. "I've got a trend going, and now I just hope I can keep it going. "I've been wanting one of these [commemorative 75th an- niversary NHRA diamond Wally trophies] all year. I almost got one at the first race in Gainesville back in March. I'm glad I finally got it done here." Hall's road to the final round was not easy as he had to race Clayton Howey, team owner and crew chief Matt Smith, and Ron- nie Procopio, a veteran motorcy- cle drag racer who was extremely impressive in his NHRA debut. Hall got a big jump off the starting line in his race against Smith and held on for a holeshot win with a 6.809 run that beat Smith's quicker 6.764. Rain plagued the Michigan event to the point that final eliminations had to be postponed until Monday, September 21. The adverse weather also produced some interesting qualifying results, as Ryan Oehler claimed the top spot for the first time in his career with a quick 6.71-second run. Plenty of upsets came in the opening round, including a loss by two-time World Champion Gaige Herrera, who appeared to have eaten an engine in a loss to Ingwersen. Ingwersen, took full advan- tage of that break and made his way to his first career final in 74 starts with additional wins against reigning champ Richard Gadson and low qualifier Oehler. The Pro Stock Motorcycle class will not have much time off as they head straight to Rockingham, North Carolina, for next weekend's inaugural NHRA Nationals at the Rock. Kevin McKenna Final 1. John Hall (Bue) (0.0053) 6.8084 194.22 mph 2. Marc Ingwersen (Bue) (No Time) John Hall won the first round of the six- race NHRA Playoffs in Michigan.