Pomona II: Treble, Ellis final report

SCHUMACHER ELECTRIC PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLES IN POMONA: TREBLE ADVANCES TO SEMIFINALS, ELLIS REACHES QUARTERFINALS

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 16, 2008) -- Craig Treble rode the Schumacher Electric/Albrecht's Fast Track Suzuki to a semifinal finish today at the 44th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona (Calif.) Raceway, the season-ending race of the 2008 POWERade Drag Racing Series. It was Treble's third semifinal finish of the season and he finished No. 8 in the Pro Stock Motorcycle point standings.

Chip Ellis reached the quarterfinals aboard the Schumacher Electric/XXX Racing Fuels Suzuki. It was his fifth quarterfinal finish of the season and he ended the season No. 6 in the point standings.

CHIP ELLIS, Schumacher Electric/XXX Racing Fuels Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle:

Ellis began eliminations by defeating Steve Johnson with an elapsed time of 7.046 seconds at 186.59 mph to Johnson's 7.158/187.86. Ellis' quarterfinal opponent Eddie Krawiec had the jump off the starting line with a .019 (of-a-second) reaction time to Ellis' .043 (.000 is perfect) and that proved to be the difference at the finish line. Ellis' quicker 7.022/187.68 wasn't enough to catch Krawiec, who posted a slower but winning 7.042/186.46.

"I think I finally got a handle on my red-light problem and cut decent lights. Unfortunately, I got beat on a hole shot," said Ellis, who has qualified for all 67 NHRA national events he's entered. "We didn't show how good we could actually run. Our crew chief Steve Tartaglia did a great job this year tuning the Schumacher Electric/XXX Racing Fuels Suzuki.

"We should have finished a lot better than we did, but we were plagued with six red lights during the season. That's just the way it is. I'm honored to be a part of the Don Schumacher Racing organization and to work with the great team that I've had this year. I've learned a lot.

"We didn't do as well as we should have. We had an awesome motorcycle all year. I really feel bad for my guys because they definitely put in the effort; we just came up a little bit short."

CRAIG TREBLE, Schumacher Electric/Albrecht's Fast Track Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle:

Treble kicked off eliminations with an easy victory when his first-round opponent Angelle Sampey broke during her burnout. Treble roared to a 7.067/184.52 pass and gained lane choice over Karen Stoffer in the quarterfinals. Treble took the win with a 7.152/180.86 after Stoffer fouled out at the start. The New Orleans resident cut an excellent .027 of-a-second light in the semifinals against Chris Rivas and recorded a 7.119/181.52, but it wasn't enough to hold off Rivas' 7.049/184.95.

"The Schumacher Electric/Albrecht's Fast Track Suzuki ran great today," said Treble, who joined DSR at the U.S. Nationals Labor Day weekend this year. "In the first round it ran a 7.06 and Steve Tartaglia finally got a handle on the tune-up. For some reason when the bike gets to fourth gear it wants to nose over and Steve's been all over the place trying to figure it out and he can't quite put his finger on what the problem is, but there's definitely a problem with the bike. It did it again in the semifinals after we swapped out the motors so you couldn't blame it on the motor.

"It has been a huge privilege working with these guys. This is a class team over here. Steve Tartaglia is one of the smartest men I've ever raced with. We changed a motor between the second and third rounds and that was really impressive. We had time to spare and sit around and talk after we got done changing that motor. This team is the real deal and it's been a privilege to ride for them. I did the best job I could for these guys and we'll see how it all pans out for next year."

-credit: dsr