Treble Runs Out Of Time In Houston.
 

Houston, Texas – Sunday Post Race: Houston, Texas – Sunday Wrap Up: After using all of the pre-race qualifying sessions searching for a problem on the Matco Tools Suzuki, Craig Treble came to the starting line on Sunday morning with a strong motorcycle, but little tuning data needed to make a winning run.

"We chased a problem on this bike all weekend, and by the time we found it, it was time for eliminations" Said Treble. "Without a Sunday tune-up it was a shot in the dark, and we actually overpowered the racetrack in the first round against Karen."

The 7.224 @ 187.81 from the Matco Tools bike was off slightly from a best-of qualifying run 7.193, which disguised the fact that it was the best of the weekend from the Treble bike. "We just blew the tire away on the starting line. My reaction time and 60 foot numbers suffered, but on the back half of the track we were flying."

Karen Stoffer advanced to the finals of the O'Reilly Spring Nationals, winning her first professional event in Pro Stock Bike. "I am really happy for both Karen and Gary Stoffer."

"My wife and I were at the finish line interview area to celebrate with her immediately after her win, and congratulate her for a job well done. We are all old NHRA Division 7 sportsman racers, and seeing her get her first win was special."

The Matco Tools team will now head to No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, La for the NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals, April 23-25. There will be a four-bike NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle exhibition class that the Matco Tools team plans to take advantage of.

"We have a great bike here, but it is still a relatively new piece. It is a caged animal, we just need to keep looking for the key."

Houston Track Record Set Again In Saturday Qualifying.
 

Houston, Texas – Sunday Post Race: Craig Treble fought gremlins all weekend long with his Matco Tools Pro Stock Bike, resulting in a round one loss at the O'Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston, Texas.

The Matco Tools Bike never did run up to it's full potential, qualifying 13th for the sixteen bike show. Paired against eventual event winner Karen Stoffer, Treble ran a 7.224 @ 187.81, but it was no match for Stoffer's 7.16. @ 187.44

"We defiantly have some work to do before Atlanta. " Said Craig "We tried a couple of things to get this bike to work correctly, and we have a few more we will use at an up-coming test session that should get us down the track like we know we can. We'll work out the bugs and hit it hard in Atlanta".

Houston Track Records Fall in Friday Qualifying.
 

Houston, Texas – Friday Pit Report: The NHRA Pro Stock Bikes, and the NHRA Pro Stock Cars both gave the local racing fans their moneys worth during Friday Qualifying, resetting the track Elapsed Time records for each class at the O'Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston, Texas.

The much expected night session on Friday yielded only a handful of runs that were any better than the afternoon qualifying run, a surprise to fans and riders alike. “All of the pieces looked to be in place for a new NHRA national record to be set, we even had a slight tail-wind during the late session.  “ explained Craig Treble. “There was a new track record set, but it wasn’t the full scale assault we thought we might see tonight”.

Treble will attempt two more qualifing sessions Saturday with the Matco Tools Pro Stock Suzuki, focusing fully on qualifying as for the competitive 16 bike field, and Sunday Morning eliminations. “ There still may be another track record set before qualifying is finished, but now the point is to get ready for Sunday Morning” commented Craig.

Records May Tumble This Weekend In Houston.
 

April 14th 2004 - Houston, Texas – Thursday Pre Race:
Like every other event on the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Bike tour, Craig Treble comes prepared to achieve a goal, and take home the prize. But sometimes, there is more than one goal at stake, more than one prize available.

At this weekends running of the O'Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston, Texas, the stage is set for the possibility of breaking the NHRA Pro Stock Bike 7 second barrier, a record that every NHRA Pro Stock Bike rider would love too have their name next to in the record books.

"With the new track surface at Houston Raceway Park, the near sea-level altitude, and the cool weather expected this weekend, you might not only see the NHRA national record of 7.049 go down, but maybe the Mickey Thompson Six-Second Pro Stock Bike Club get its first member." Said Treble referring to the performance based club that will award $10,000 to the first rider to make a 6 second run.

Widespread speculation throughout the Pro Stock Bike fraternity is that if any of the records are in jeopardy, it will be during the Friday night qualifying session. "Everyone will be thinking about that Friday night session. It will be the second qualifying run of the day, which makes the early Friday run very important also. Any team that gets a solid run on the first hit, will be at an advantage for Friday night." Commented Treble.

In the past few years, Houston Raceway Park has been good to the Matco Tools Pro Stock Bike team. A win in 2002, and a second place in 2003 proves that Treble can be a contender in Texas, but can he be the one to start the corks popping on the Mickey Thompson bottles of Champaign? “We will certainly give it all we have in Houston Friday night” promised Treble.

“Our team has put in plenty of time working out the bugs since the last NHRA National event. We stayed over in Gainesville and did some testing, and that helped us step up our performance level right away. We also tested in Memphis the following weekend, and again we learned more about what the Matco Tools bike needs to run fast” explained Treble.

The Matco Tools team will attempt to use their new-found knowledge, along with some Vance & Hines horsepower to be in position to capitalize on what my be the best racing conditions the Pro Stock Bikes may see in 2004. “We spent some time freshening up our engines at the Vance & Hines shop in Indianapolis. I think we have the power to run quick, so we just need to get the right weather this weekend for things to all fall in place” stated Treble.

Mixed in with the Pro Stock Bike testing and tuning during the last two weeks, was Craig’s continued effort to keep involved with his Bracket Racing roots. At the NHRA Division 4 LODRS event in Memphis, Treble went the distance in the Kerker motorcycle class, picking up his 27th Wally of his racing career with his Matco Tools Hayabusa. “I love to run my bracket bike. I think that seat time of any kind is good and can only help with my racing program” stated Treble.

The O'Reilly Spring Nationals is the second of 15 events on the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Bike Drag Racing Series tour.

Houston Photos 2004