Guidera wins at Sonoma

Matt Guidera defeated Andrew Hines in the final round of the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, CA. Guidera on his Rocklin Motorsports Buell ran 7.054 E.T. at 185.74 MPH with a reaction time of 0.018 seconds, defeating Andrew Hines' time 7.026 E.T. at 187.34 MPH with a 0.050 seconds. Guidera's reaction times were fast throughout the weekend.

Karen Stoffer takes the top spot in qualifying at Sonoma

Karen Stoffer put her GEICO Suzuki in the number one qualifying spot at Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma California this weekend. Stoffer took the top spot with a 6.962 second E.T. at 191.21 MPH run on Saturday. She ran consistently fast during the qualifying sessions, staying within the top three spots throughout the weekend.

Chris Rivas took the number two spot on his Drag Specialties / S&S / G2 Buell, followed by Matt Smith on the NitroFish / Torco Buell. Chip Ellis rounded out the top four with a 6.980 second E.T. at 190.48 MPH
Schumacher Electric Suzuki. Only the top four qualifiers spots had sub-seven second runs, and to were Suzukis. The Suzuki riders have found the extra horsepower they needed to run competitively with the Buell and Harley-Davidson riders.

Notably, Angie McBride qualified her Indicom Electric Buell fifteenth with 7.240 E.T. at 182.58 MPH and newcomer Freddie Camarena qualified his Embee/Clay Smith Cams Suzuki in the sixteenth spot with a 7.274 E.T., 183.34 MPH pass during his first Pro Stock Motorcycle appearance.

Qualifying positions and first round pairings for Sunday’s eliminations are as follows:

Karen Stoffer Geico Suzuki 6.962 191.21
Freddie Camarena Embee/Clay Smith Cams Suzuki 7.274 183.34

Chris Rivas Drag Specialties/S&S/G2 Buell 6.964 190.62
Angie McBride Indicom Electric Buell 7.240 182.58

Matt Smith NitroFish/Torco Buell 6.977 189.12
Junior Pippin Stone Mountain & Granite Mountain HD 7.154 182.75

Chip Ellis Schumacher Electric Suzuki 6.980 190.48
Peggy Llewellyn Rocklin Motorsports Buell 7.128 186.38

Angelle Sampey Rush Racing Products Buell 7.000 188.44
Steve Johnson Snap-On Tools Suzuki 7.111 190.40

Andrew Hines Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines 7.033 191.10
Hector Arana Lucas Oil Buell 7.068 188.62

Eddie Krawiec Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines 7.036 188.99
Craig Treble Team Tigue Suzuki 7.061 189.60

Matt Guidera Rocklin Motorsports Buell 7.040 187.05
Mike Berry MB Precision Machining Suzuki 7.048 189.04

AMA Dragbike Cancels Pro Stock Motorcycle Races

AMA Dragbike has announced that they've canceled all races in their Pro Stock Motorcycle class for the rest of the racing season. The cancellation is immediate, so the Pro Stock class will not run at the next race. The next scheduled AMA Dragbkie race is the Pingel Thunder Nationals at Indy.

AMA Dragbike president Scott Valetti stated,“the rising cost of racing in the class led to a lack of participation, which led to this decision. It simply makes no sense to continue running the class when racers are choosing not to run it.”

Pro Stock Motorcycle entries have been declining at AMA Dragbike and NHRA events this year. Racers have struggled to secure major season sponsors and have also suffered due to higher fuel expenses as they travel to major series events, causing some to stay home. The increased travel expenses have reduced racer participation in all professional drag racing series.

AMA Dragbike will introduce their new Factory Extreme class at the Pingel Thunder Nationals. AMA Dragbike says that the Factory Extreme class is the, Pro Stock for modern bikes." The class is for modern production sportbikes set up for drag racing, using slicks and wheelie bars, will be run an exhibition series this year. Factory Extreme will be a competition class series in 2009.

Matt Smith wins in Denver and Peggy Llewellyn returns in good form

Matt Smith defeated Steve Johnson to win the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 29th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Denver, Colorado. Smith rode his NitroFish/Torco Buell to a 7.326 second elapsed time at 180.74 MPH with a reaction time of 0.005, beating Steve Johnson's 7.340 second E.T. at 180.81 MPH with a 0.043 reaction time. Steve Johnson defeated Eddie Krawiec in the semi-final round when Krawiec's Harley-Davidson broke at the line.

Matt Smith made his way to the final round by defeating Peggy Llewellyn in the semi. Smith ran a 7.370 second E.T. at 181.06 MPH compared to Llewellyn's 7.529 second E.T. at 176.19 MPH. Matt's reaction time was 0.048 to Peggy's 0.040. This was Peggy Llewellyn's first race this year and she returned in fine form. Llewellyn has had to sit most of the season out because she has been unable to secure a title sponsor so far. Peggy joined forces with Matt Guidera of Rocklin Motorsports for a two race deal covering Denver and Sonoma. Peggy is riding a Rocklin Motorsports S&S powered Buell for both races, while she and Guidera make a serious push to secure a sponsor for her to race with for the race of the season.

Guidera and Llewellyn have created a unique program where you can sponsor their bikes. Visit the Rocklin Motorsports sponsoship page for more details on how you can sponsor Peggy or Matt's racing.

Editor's note: When this article was originally published, it erroneously reported Steve Johnson as winning the Mile-High Nationals. We goofed up.

Eddie Krawiec takes top qualifying spot at Mile-High Nationals

Eddie Krawiec takes top qualifying spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 29th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Denver, Colorado. Krawiec took the top spot by riding his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson V-Rod to a 7.328 second elapsed time at 1818.74 MPH. Krawiec's teammate, Andrew Hines, qualified fourth with a 7.332 second E.T. at 182.23 MPH.

Many competitors struggled to adjust to the thiner atmosphere in Denver, but the full field qualified for Sunday's race. Ryan Schnitz qualified his Team Muzzy Kawasaki sixteenth and will face Krawiec in the first round.

Another notable entry is the long awaited return of Peggy Llewellyn on a Rocklin Motorsports Buell. In Peggy's first race weekend since finishing fourth in championship points during the 2007 season, she ran a 7.509 second E.T. at 178.42 MPH qualifying fifteenth in the field. Peggy will face-off against Chip Ellis on Sunday. Welcome back Peggy!

First round pairings and qualifying times:

Rider Sponsor / Team E.T. MPH
Eddie Krawiec Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines 7.328 181.74
Ryan Schnitz Team Muzzy Kawasaki 7.884 168.64

Chip Ellis Schumacher Electric Suzuki 7.328 181.28
Peggy Llewellyn Rocklin Motorsports Buell 7.509 178.42

Matt Smith NitroFish/Torco Buell 7.331 181.67
Hector Arana Lucas Oil Buell 7.465 177.42

Andrew Hines Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines 7.332 182.23
David Hope R&J Racing Buell 7.438 179.83

Steve Johnson Snap-On Tools Suzuki 7.332 179.59
Junior Pippin Stone Mountain & Granite 7.434 176.49
Mountain HD Buell

Matt Guidera Rocklin Motorsports Buell 7.339 181.30
Mike Berry MB Precision Machining Buell 7.431 177.49

Chris Rivas Drag Specialties/S&S/G2 Buell 7.350 180.72
Angelle Sampey Rush Racing Products Buell 7.418 180.12

Craig Treble Team Tigue Suzuki 7.354 182.23
Karen Stoffer Geico Suzuki 7.371 181.89

Llewellyn to return to NHRA at Mopar Mile-High Nationals

Peggy Llewellyn's long awaited return to NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racing will happen this weekend at the NHRA's 29th Annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Denver, Colorado. Llewellyn will pilot a second entry for Matt Guidera's Rocklin Motorsports

Peggy Llewellyn finished fourth in NHRA championship points last year. Until the deal with Rocklin Motorsports, she had been unable to secure a suitable sponsorship deal, which has been quite surprising problem for such a popular and successful racer.

Llewellyn tested the Rocklin Motorsports S&S powered Buell at Route 66 Raceway on the Monday following the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals. According to NHRA, Llewellyn's second pass of 7.07 seconds elapsed time was good enough to have qualified fifth that weekend had she been entered in that weekend's race. Peggy has obviously not lost her edge.

NHRA has posted an interview with Peggy at this link.

Congratulations Peggy!

NHRA has shortened the racing distance for the Top Fuel Dragster and Fuel Funny Car classes to 1,000 feet. The NHRA's 29th Annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals and an unspecified number of future races will run the shorter distance for the two fastest classes as an interim safety measure, pending the conclusions and recommendations resulting from an investigation into the death of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta during the 39th annual NHRA Lucas Oil SuperNationals at Englishtown, NJ. The Pro Stock Motorcycle class (PSM), Pro Stock, and other NHRA classes will continue to race the traditional 1,320 foot (quarter mile) distance. Hopefully, any future improvements to the shutdown areas, safety nets, and sand traps to safely slow the nitro cars will also improve safety for the Pro Stock Motorcycle riders.

Here's the PSM Entry list for the 29th Annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals:

Driver Make Sponsor
Matt Smith '05 Buell Nitrofish/Redline Oil/MSR
Andrew Hines '07 HD V-Rod Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines
Chip Ellis '03 Suzuki Schumacher Electric Suzuki
Peggy Llewellyn '07 Buell Rocklin/Mohegan Sun Buell
Angelle Sampey '07 Buell Rush Racing Products
Craig Treble '98 Suzuki GSXR Team Tigue Suzuki
Ed Krawiec '07 HD V-Rod Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines
Karen Stoffer '03 Suzuki GEICO Motorcycle
Steve Johnson '03 Suzuki Snap On Tools
Matt Guidera '05 Buell Rocklin Motorsports
Chris Rivas '07 Buell Drag Specialties/S&S/G2
Junior Pippin '07 Buell Pirana Z
Hector Arana '07 Buell Lucus Oil Products
Ryan Schnitz '07 Kawasaki Team Muzzy Kawasaki Trim-Tex
Mike Berry '03 Suzuki M B Precision Machining Inc.
David Hope '05 Buell VROOM Racing