AMERICUS, Ga. - Sovereign-Star Racing's Michael Ray moved up to the No. 2 position in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Series Pro Stock Motorcycle overall points standings after advancing to his third semifinal round in a row and claiming four bonus points during qualifying.
His 19-year-old rookie teammate, Chaz Kennedy, also had a successful weekend during his second Pro Stock Motorcycle appearance ever. He posted his first six-second pass that earned him the No. 9 qualifying position at the NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nev.
The team came out strong on Friday when Ray posted the low ET (elapsed time) of the first qualifying round and third lowest of the next session. Ray was the second quickest of Sunday eliminations and the quickest bike to turn on a win light all day. Kennedy also ran very consistent numbers over the weekend, matching Ray in impressive 60-foot and reaction times.
 "The championship - that's something that we knew mathematically was a possibility but we knew realistically all you can do is go out and fight for every round you can. We just came up a little short this year. We moved up in points and took a pretty good lead (over third place). It was great to run so well this weekend, especially in front of all our sponsors - Jeno (Rujp) from Sovereign Racing, my personal sponsors, and of course George and Jackie (Bryce). Especially looking toward the future, that was really great for us to go out and drive well," Ray said.
Ray moved into second place in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, while the No. 1 position was clinched by Matt Smith after his win in the finals against Jerry Savoie. Before going into the Las Vegas race, Ray was only two points behind previous No. 2 competitor Hector Arana Jr. Ray's round wins and bonus points this past weekend have now advanced him one position to No. 2 and extended his lead to 37 points over third place Hector Arana Sr. and 40 points above No. 4 Arana Jr.
"Second is not the goal when you start out to run for a championship, but it's pretty darn good when our team has only been assembled for two years with Sovereign Racing as our partner. So far this year, our equipment and our team have been very reliable compared to 2012. Throughout the season, Michael (Ray) has gone from No. 8 to No. 2. With only one race to go, we're not counting our chickens before they're hatched, but we have a good chance to finish second," Star Racing owner and team crew chief George Bryce said.
During round one eliminations in Las Vegas, No. 6 qualifier Ray gained a big reaction time advantage off the starting line with his .021-second light against ..." Continue reading. |
