Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Chip Ellis has his sights set on completing the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season on a high note, beginning at this weekend’s Las Vegas NHRA Nationals followed by the season-ending event in Pomona, Calif., Nov. 13-16. The penultimate season event in Las Vegas is the fourth of five races for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class in the NHRA Countdown to I championship playoffs.
The Schumacher Electric/XXX Racing Fuels Suzuki that Ellis rides and that Steve Tartaglia tunes has been arguably one of the quickest bikes all season, qualifying for all 16 races for the class in the top half of the field. Issues with red-light starts (which have plagued most of the top riders in the class) have limited Ellis’ full potential. He has reached a pair of final rounds, earning a runner-up finish in Atlanta and a victory in Englishtown, and entered the Countdown to 1 playoffs following the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend in No. 3. He is now No. 7 coming into this weekend’s race in Las Vegas, 143 markers out of the lead.
“It’s been great to be a part of the Countdown,” said Ellis, who is mathematically still in contention for the PSM championship. “Unfortunately, we haven’t stayed as high in the points as we’d like to, but there are still two opportunities to gain some pretty good ground and finish a lot higher than we are right now.”
Ellis has enjoyed success at The Strip, winning the 2004 fall event in his first career final-round appearance. He followed that with another victory at the same event in 2005. Last season he qualified No. 1 at the fall race, setting the track elapsed-time record of 7.023 seconds and finishing runner-up to Matt Smith. He also set top speed of the event of 189.60 mph.
“I’ve tried not to think about the Countdown too much,” he said. “I know what this team needs to do and it’s just a matter of getting there and performing the best we can.
“I look forward to going back to Las Vegas. I’ve always done well there and I can’t wait to return,” added Ellis, who enjoyed a four-weekend hiatus from competition between events. “It’s been a long time since we’ve raced, but I haven’t forgotten how.”
CHIP ELLIS QUICK FACTS:
* Enters the fourth event of the five-race Countdown to 1 playoffs No. 7, 143 points out of first place
* Finished third in the ‘regular season’ point standings after 12 of 17 events (one victory in two final rounds, five semifinal, two quarterfinal, and three first-round finishes)
* Qualified No. 1 at last year’s Vegas event, runner-up to Matt Smith
* Has two victories (2004 and 2005 fall events) and one runner-up (2007 fall event) at Las Vegas
* Holds PSM track record in Las Vegas for elapsed time (7.023-seconds) set in 2007 (Vegas 2)
* No. 1 qualifier for the 2008 Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle in Indianapolis, advanced to quarterfinals
* Clinched spot in the Countdown to 1 in Brainerd, Minn.
* Qualified No. 1 in his NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle debut at the 2004 U.S. Nationals
* Has won six races in nine career final-round appearances
* Career round win/loss record is 87-59
* 2008 is first season with Don Schumacher Racing
* Finished career-best third in the points last season, just eight points shy of wining the championship
* Went down to the final round at the final race to decide the 2007 championship
* Qualified for all 64 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
* 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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