AMERICUS, Ga. - The Sovereign-Star Racing Team's hopeful attitude going into last weekend's O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago, Ill., was slightly diluted as the crew struggled to find consistency in their Pro Stock Motorcycle tuneups.

"We started off pretty good on Friday, but by Saturday afternoon we had tuned ourselves right out of the show," Star Racing owner George Bryce said.

The Sovereign-Star Racing drivers, John Hall and Scotty Pollacheck, had difficulty during qualifying. Despite being out of the field after Friday's qualifying rounds, Pollacheck managed to squeeze back in at No. 15 with his 7.068 run on Saturday.

"Qualifying was a huge struggle. We had new stuff that we were trying on the bikes and it definitely didn't go as planned," Pollacheck said. "It came down to the final qualifying session before I made it in."

Hall's 7.061 run on Friday wasn't enough to keep him in the field, and Saturday's tuning issues kept him from getting the numbers to qualify during the two final rounds.

Hall said, "We were qualified but we got bumped out of the top 12 Friday by mile per hour when Mike Berry took the 12th spot from us. If not for that, my 7.061 run would have been enough to get in the show. Then, we were chasing a tuneup Saturday, so we didn't make it in the field. The good news is that they made a tuneup on Scotty's bike that helped it run better on Sunday, so I think we'll be alright for (the NHRA Nationals in) Ohio."

In Round 1 Eliminations on Sunday, Pollacheck faced Andrew Hines on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. Hines led at the green, but Pollacheck caught him by the 60-foot. Pollacheck's efforts didn't hold out, though, ending with a 7.007 run against Hines' 6.934. Hines went on to win the event after LE Tonglet went red against him in the finals.