Scott Stump earns H-D Sportster championship

STUMP HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER PERFORMANCE CHAMPION AGAIN AFTER 11 YEARS

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Oct. 6, 2005) -- You've got to give Scott Stump credit for sticking to it. It took 11 years for the 35-year-old rider from Warminster, Pa., to do it, but he finally won back the Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Championship with a riveting victory in the season finale on the Du Quoin (Ill.) Mile on Oct. 1.

Stump, who won the championship in 1994, earned his second Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Championship on the strength of three wins and three additional podium finishes in the nine-race series. He beat out archrival and defending champ Chris Hart in a winner-take-all finale at Du Quoin to secure the championship. Stump credited Lima Harley-Davidson and his mechanic Jeff Eibling for allowing him to have such a successful 2005 campaign.

"Riding for Lima Harley-Davidson made all the difference in the world for me this year," said Stump, who is a 17-year AMA Pro Racing veteran. "We came out at Du Quoin and had problems with the bike early on, but Jeff (mechanic Jeff Eibling) got it fixed and I had a great bike for the final."

Stump said the championship was won on a magical final lap on Du Quoin's Magic Mile.

"On the tenth lap (Chris) Hart came by me on the back straight like I was sitting still," Stump explained. "On the last lap I never came out of the throttle. I just gritted my teeth and went through every turn wide open. I've never had a lap like that in all my years of racing. It was pretty crazy, but it worked and I pulled it out."

Stump becomes only the second rider to win more than one Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Championship title. Willie McCoy was the other two-time winner of the series.

Stump had considered retiring from full-time racing after this season, but after winning the title he's reconsidering.

"Lima Harley-Davidson is out of racing now," he said. "All they wanted was to win the championship and we accomplished that. If I can team up with Roger Gutterridge (Gutterridge Harley-Davidson) next season I may consider coming back for another run."

Stump's 2005 effort was backed by Lima Harley-Davidson, Jeff Eibling, Todd and Mark Joyce, Widman Motorcycle Sales, Fast Plates, Silkolene, Works Performance, Motion Pro, Max Lindeman, Wiseco, Bike Works, Spallinger, Swickraths Auto Body, Simpson, ASK Powersports and Bromleyn.

About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the THQ AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Motocross Championship, the AMA Superbike Championship, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.

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