AMERICUS, Ga. - Sovereign-Star Racing teammates Michael Ray and Scotty Pollacheck remain in the top five overall points standings for the NHRA Mello Yello Series Pro Stock Motorcycle class after a difficult weekend at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver, Colo.

Ray, who has claimed two national event wins for the team this season, kept his No. 2 position in the points standings behind points leader Hector Arana Jr. Pollacheck, who has advanced to three final rounds this year, also held onto his No. 5 spot with only 11 points, or less than one round, between himself and No. 4 John Hall.

The Mile-High Nationals is considered by most teams to be the most challenging race of the season since Bandimere Speedway's 5,300-foot elevation presents unique challenges when tuning the engines and preparing the vehicles. The high elevation and high temperatures decrease horsepower dramatically, resulting in much lower elapsed times (ETs) and slower speeds than normal.

"It's almost like we didn't even go there, since the points didn't change. The track is beautiful, the Bandimere crew did a wonderful job, but I'm glad I only have to race there once a year. This weekend we learned enough to do better there next year, but I've closed the book on Denver until then," Star Racing owner George Bryce said.

Ray's S&S-powered Sovereign-Star Racing Buell made its best qualifying pass right off the truck during the first session on Friday. This 7.289-second ET was enough to earn Ray the No. 4 qualifying position going into Sunday's eliminations.

Pollacheck fought his way up from No. 12 to the No. 7 qualifying position as his motorcycle gradually improved its performance during each session.

He went on to post his best ET of the weekend in round one eliminations Sunday with a 7.301-second pass against No. 10 qualifier Eddie Krawiec's 7.332. Unfortunately, Krawiec's .012-second reaction time against Pollacheck's .046-seconds gave Krawiec's Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson the boost it needed to earn the holeshot win with only inches separating the pair at the finish line.

"It seemed like pretty much every lap the bike got a little better. The only time it didn't go faster was with a huge head wind, so that was definitely good. My reaction time on the tree first round was not good, though. It wasn't like I had a horrendous light or anything, but Eddie (Krawiec) just had a better one. It's definitely no fun to lose like that," Pollacheck said.

No. 4 Ray, whose motorcycle had struggled with a spinning tire throughout several qualifying sessions, faced No. 13 qualifier Steve Johnson on his Wyotech Suzuki in round one eliminations.