It is cold here in Chicago as we pack up and head to Valdosta, GA for the Nov. 9-11 Manufacturers Cup World Finals. Right off the bat, first qualifying session, Frankie runs a 6.99 at over 200 mph to set the standard for the weekend. There will be three more six second passes by the time a Pro Street Champion has been crowned. A very close battle for the points is at stake. Bud Yoder is #1, Joey Gladstone #2 and Frankie Stotz is #3. Our Cinderella story means we need a little luck, good luck, not the stuff we had in Indy. Lady luck graced us in the second round when the #1+2 points leaders got eliminated in the second round. This put us #2 in points but we would have to win the race to win the Championship. The semi-final put Ryan Schnitz with a 7.07 to Frankie’s quicker 7.04. We earned lane choice. Both lanes had been very good all weekend so we stayed in the right lane. Just before us went the newly crowned MiRock Champion Rodney Williford and he laid down a 6.95! The track was great but then I noticed he had left some oil on the track. We wiped up what we saw in the first 30 feet and I decided to line Frankie up to the left of the possible oil on the track. The track temp was dropping fast and if we waited for a track clean up the track would most certainly not hold the 6.99 I had tuned for. Frankie and Ryan both had fantastic reaction times .017 and .016. Frankie had a 1.20 sixty foot time to Ryan’s 1.22 so we were ahead! Halfway thru 2nd gear the tire started spinning. Frankie pumped the throttle and tried to hook up again but Ryan was too far ahead. Whether it was oil or too far out of the grove or whatever, that’s racing. The final saw the track temp drop like we were afraid of. We were all waiting to see if Rodney could be the first Pro St
reet bike to dip into the 6.80 zone but the track was too cold and they both spun with Ryan Schnitz getting the win. Our Cinderella dream did not pan out but we finished the season #2 in points and as they say here in Chicago (for the Cubs anyway) Wait till next year!

In 2009 motorcycle drag racing looked very bleak when AMA Dragbike closed its doors. Now at the end of 2012 it is stronger than ever with a record 800 entries at the Indy and Valdosta events and fans in the stands again. We will be chasing two great Pro Street Champions in Bud Yoder for the Man Cup and Rodney Williford for the MiRock series in 2013. Our new cbr1000rr will be at the spring event and hopefully we can test it sometime before that. We can’t wait to get another shot at the first side by side Six Second run in Pro Street history.