Schumacher Electric Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Chip Ellis enters the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals No. 2 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series point standings but, make no mistake, he has his sights firmly set on completing the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, which begin following the U.S. Nationals Labor Day weekend, as the No. 1 rider in the class.
Ellis has had the quickest Suzuki in the field the entire season by virtue of the hard work of crew chief Steve Tartaglia, and he’s eager to put his competitors in his rearview mirror. The Florida native has qualified the Schumacher Electric Suzuki in the top half of the field at all seven races this season and is riding arguably the most consistent motorcycle in the class. He’s also won once in two final rounds and reached the semifinal round three times.
“My family and I have just been out at the lake on our boat for the 4th of July holiday getting some rest in preparation for Denver and racing out West,” said Ellis. “I’ve qualified No. 1 in Denver in the past (2006) and Steve Tartatglia went to the final round tuning this bike with Angelle Sampey aboard last season, so maybe we can get somewhere between all of that.
“Bandimere Speedway is a nice track and the scenery is beautiful in Colorado. I’m just ready to get there and I look forward to a good weekend.”
Because of the mile-high altitude of the facility, the naturally-aspirated Pro Stock Motorcycles have their work cut out for them adjusting to the highest-altitude track on the NHRA circuit (5,860-feet above sea level). “We changed everything except the rider,” Ellis joked. “The elapsed times are going to be slow out there. We’ll be running between 7.40s to 7.30s in the quarter-mile. As a rider you just have to be a little more patient with the bike because it doesn’t go through the gears as fast. It’s just different there but different isn’t bad. You can definitely feel it as a rider. But our entire Schumacher Electric Suzuki team is confident with the combination we have right now.”
CHIP ELLIS QUICK FACTS:
* Second in the point standings after seven of 17 events (one victory in two final rounds, three semifinal finishes, one quarterfinal, one first round)
* Has won six races in nine career final-round appearances
* Qualified No. 1 in Denver in 2006
* Qualified No. 4 at last season’s event in Denver, lost to Matt Smith in the semifinals
* Career round win/loss record is 81-51
* 2008 is first season with Don Schumacher Racing
* Recorded second 6.8-second run (6.892) in Memphis in 2007 - his career-best E.T.
* His career-best top speed is 193.65 mph, set in Reading 2007
* Finished career-best third in the points last season, just eight points shy of winning the championship
* Went down to the final round at the final race to decide the 2007 championship
* Qualified for all 57 NHRA races he has competed in Pro Stock Motorcycle since 2004
* A graduate of the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School at Gainesville Raceway
* Had two runner-up finishes and five No. 1 qualifiers in 2007
* Qualified No. 1 12 times
* Won first national event at Las Vegas 2 during his rookie season in 2004
* Qualified No. 1 in his NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle debut at the 2004 U.S. Nationals
* Ran an abbreviated 2004 rookie season with a No. 1 qualifier at U.S. Nationals, No. 4 at Reading, No. 2 and event win at Las Vegas, and No. 1 qualifier and semi-final appearance at Pomona
* Born in Daytona Beach, Fla., on 2/20/70
* Lives in Brownsburg, Ind., with wife Kathy and daughter McKenzie (10/23/01)
* AMA/ProStar Formula Super Bike champion in 2003
* AMA/ProStar Funny Bike champion in 2002
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