Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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DRAG RACING NHRA MELLO YELLO PRO STOCK SERIES ROUND 8/JULY 20, 2014 BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY/DENVER, COLORADO P104 races this season. "This new bike is more stable than my old one and it took me a little while to get used to it," Hines said. "I started to manhandle this bike even when I didn't have to. Once I learned to just leave it alone, I start- ed making straighter runs and that has made a difference. We've also got a lot of power now. Our engine program has come a long way since the first of the year." Although he didn't win the final, Michael Ray had plenty of reasons to be encouraged by his perfor- mance in Denver. Slumping since he qualified number one at the first two races of the year, Ray reached the final by beating Mike Berry, Petrol- head Buell's Scotty Pollacheck, and Hector Arana Sr. on race day. "I'm a little frustrated that we didn't win, but I'm proud of how hard our team worked this weekend," Ray said. "We had to work really hard for this. We blew up two engines and re-built another one and we still managed to win three rounds today. That says a lot about our Star team. We never gave up. Hopefully, this is the start of something really good for our team. There is still time for us to make a nice run at the champion- ship." CN FINAL 1. Andrew Hines (Harley-Davidson) 7.246/184.35 mph 2. Michael Ray (Buell) 9.033/103.64 mph Briefly... Savoie made the last-minute de- cision to stay home due to heavy rains that threatened to wipe out a large number of alligator eggs. Savoie actually flew to Denver on Thursday and then returned home immediately after seeing the weather forecast. His bike and rig remained in the Denver pits all weekend. Andrew Hines, Eddie Krawiec, and Hector Arana Jr. have clinched their spots in the upcom- ing Countdown to the Champi- onship, NHRA's six-race playoff to determine the season champi- ons. The field of 10 riders will be set following the next two races in Sonoma and Indianapolis. John Hall expects to announce a new sponsor, perhaps before next weekend's event in Sonoma. Hall has been using his MSR Buell to banner Doug Herbert's B.R.A.K.E.S. Foundation, a non- profit organization that teaches teenagers safe driving habits. Despite a strong showing in Den- ver, Jim Underdahl and his fa- ther, Greg, have elected to skip the upcoming Sonoma round in order to better prepare for the big- gest race of the year, the U.S. Na- tionals in Indianapolis Labor Day weekend. Arana family patriarch Hector Ara- na Sr. has struggled to win races since his championship season in 2009, but he appears to be finally showing signs of life. Arana Sr. was a runner-up at the two most recent NHRA rounds in Chicago and Norwalk and he made it to the semi finals this weekend in Den- ver. Arana Sr., who began racing Pro Stock Motorcycle in the mid- 1980s, has also started to win rac- es via holeshots, including a key race against his son, Hector Jr. "I could not hear him so I knew I was going to win, but it was not an all- glory win when you beat your own kid," said Arana Sr. Shawn Gann, the winner of the 2013 Denver race, qualified sol- idly for this year's event with a fourth-best 7.230 on Friday, and then decided to sit out both of Sat- urday's qualifying rounds in order to save parts. Gann explained that with the NHRA tour headed west to Sonoma, California, next week, he couldn't afford to hurt parts so far from his North Carolina home base. Charlie Sullivan, the father of Pro Stock Motorcycle pro Katie Sulli- van, was riding the family's Suzuki this weekend. Sullivan qualified for his first race and threw a scare into low qualifier Hector Arana Jr. with a great reaction time. Sullivan indicated that Katie may be back on the bike next week in Sonoma. The Denver race also set the field for the upcoming Miramonte Re- cords Pro Bike Battle next week in Sonoma. The special event is open to the top eight riders in the field based on their 2014 qualify- ing results. Eddie Krawiec, Hec- tor Arana Jr., Andrew Hines, Matt Smith, Michael Ray, John Hall, Hector Arana Sr., and Scotty Pollacheck will compete for the $25,000 top prize.