Legendary Star Racing & Michael Ray to Return at Gatornationals
Americus, Georgia, March 8, 2011 -
In
a move befitting the NHRA's 60th anniversary season, a
race team that is a cornerstone of the Pro Stock Motorcycle category
will be returning to competition as the Star Racing team and team
owners George and Jackie Bryce confirmed that they would be
participating in this weekend's Tire Kingdom Gatornationals in
Gainesville, Florida, ending a two-year absence from the Full
Throttle Drag Racing circuit.
Also making a comeback will be Star's trademark paint scheme made
famous by three-time champion John Myers featuring a large yellow
star on a red bike, which was last seen on an NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle in 1996. Finally, although the Star Racing S&S powered
Buell will still be tuned by multi-time championship crew chief Ken
Johnson, the final piece of the puzzle will be completely new, as
the team has named relative Pro Stock Motorcycle newcomer Michael
Ray as their rider for the East Coast season-opener.
"I
really got to know Michael when he came to our school in 2006," said
Bryce. "He was really fast and quickly learned the methods that we
teach. I then had the opportunity to travel to Curacao to work with
some of our Star Racing Pro Stock Motorcycle customers, who had
asked me to come down and bring a professional driver with me so we
could tune the bikes and show them just how fast they were. I
immediately thought of Michael so I asked him to join me for the
trip.
"We
had a great time, Michael did a tremendous job, and somehow we
started talking about each other's plans for the future. We agreed
that it would be great if we could get the sponsorship together to
go racing in the NHRA. He asked how much it would take, so we gave
him a price, and fortunately, he was able to come up with the
backing of several companies and friends from his home state of
Texas, allowing us to make it to the Gatornationals, after which
we'll evaluate the program and see where we head next."
Although the 26-year-old Ray has only a few Pro Stock Motorcycle
starts to his credit, a quick look at his accomplishments in other
series shows that he is more than capable of joining the eleven
other drivers who have scored national event wins aboard the Star
Racing entry. From his three championships and multiple national
records in the All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) to his
work as a crew member and test rider for other Pro Stock teams, the
New Braunfels, Texas native has the credentials to take on the best
in the NHRA. At the same time, he is appreciative of the
opportunity presented, as it allows him to follow in the footsteps
of one of his childhood idols.
"I
grew up watching Star Racing and John Myers, when Steve Evans was
calling the races on TNN," said Ray. "They were the picture of
dominance and a truly great team, so to be able to represent them,
as well as our sponsors GOTTSPEED and Jet Aircraft Interior
Services, is absolutely huge.
"I've known the Bryces for my entire life, as my father raced with
them in Pro Stock Motorcycle, and everything I've done to this point
in my career including the three AHDRA championship and twenty five
national event wins has been to get the sponsorship help to allow me
to race with Star Racing. You look at the names of the people who
have ridden for them and just to be on the list is a tremendous
accomplishment and a dream come true for me.
"As
for this weekend, this is our equivalent of the Daytona 500, so just
as Trevor Bayne went out with the historic Wood Brothers team and
took Daytona by storm, I'm hoping that Star Racing and myself can go
down to Gainesville, take it one round at a time and see what we can
do to match that performance on Sunday.
However, even with adequate sponsorship in place, resurrecting their
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle organization was far from an easy task for
the Americus-based team. Having been off the circuit for two
seasons, team owner Bryce is realistic, yet cautiously optimistic
about their chances for this weekend.
"We
had a fast Pro Stock Motorcycle that Chris Rivas had ridden to two
wins in our last two races in Vegas and Pomona," said Bryce. "However, many of the pieces for it were scattered all over the
country as we had sold them to our NHRA customers trying to help
them out, so we had to come up with a plan to put it back together.
Fortunately we were able to do just that, after which we took it to
the track where it ran really fast, which has us all excited.
"We're looking forward to going Gainesville and seeing a lot of
friends and frenemies, as Darrell Waltrip calls them, that we used
to race with. It's also going to be special to participate in the
NHRA's 60th anniversary season, especially as it will be
the first time we come with the red and yellow colors on our bike
and transporter since the late great John Myers raced with us.
"As
for our goals for the Gators, I'm interested in seeing how we stack
up against our competition after all these races we have missed.
Even though we haven't been racing, we've continued to make
advances, so I want to see where we end up on the page after each
run. Of course, it would be really great to be able to come back
and win, but we're going to take things one step at a time. At this
point, we're just happy to be heading to Gainesville."
Michael Ray and Star Racing would like to thank the following
sponsors for their support in this effort - Xtreme Rebellion,
2listers.com, GOTTSPEED Racing, Jet Aircraft Interior Services,
Javelina Harley-Davidson, Gruene Harley-Davidson, Hot Licks Racing,
S&S Cycle, Mickey Thompson, Royal Purple, Diamond Bar Choppers.
Star Racing Fast Facts –
-
Based in Americus, Georgia
-
Six-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Champions
-
78
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcyle National Event Wins
-
Star Racing career best elapsed time: 6.84 seconds
-
Star Racing career best top speed: 194 mph
Michael Ray Fast Facts –
-
Birthdate: August 14, 1984
-
Hometown: New Braunfels, Texas
-
3-time AHDRA Champion
-
25-time AHDRA National Event Winner
-
Current SCTA Land Speed Record Holder for 3000 cc APS-BPG at 170.68
mph
-
Two
prior NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle starts
-
Career best elapsed time: 6.88 seconds
-
Career best top speed: 193 mph
Event Schedule:
Friday, March 11: Two qualifying sessions at 12
noon & 2:45 p.m.
Saturday, March 12: Two qualifying
sessions at 11:00 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 13: Final eliminations
starting at 11:00 a.m.
Television Coverage (all coverage on ESPN2):
Qualifying: Sunday, March 13 – 12:00 midnight -
1:30 a.m.
Eliminations: Sunday, March 13 – 6:00 -
9:00 p.m.
(All times Eastern)
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