Treble Goal Oriented in Denver
 

Denver, CO. – Pre Race:

At the 26th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals, Craig Treble has two goals for the Matco Tools / Lucas Oil Suzuki at Bandimere Speedway. Win one round more than last year, and don't catch on fire.

"Last year we had one of those races you don't easily forget," said Treble. "Catching on fire in the semi-finals, and then losing in the final after an engine changing thrash was good for the highlight show on ESPN, but we would prefer to just win it this year in un-spectacular fashion, if possible."

A win of any kind would likely move the Matco Tools / Lucas Oil Suzuki up into a top three position in the 2005 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle POWERade points chase, due to the fact that there has been seven different winners in the seven races contested.

"The championship is still wide open at the mid point of the season" said Treble. "I believe that the partnership with Harry Lartigue and Lucas Oil Products has helped to put us in a position to win an event soon. We may have our 8th different race winner of the year here on the mountain."

Although Treble is over-due for a win in '05, so are a few others who may have a performance edge at this altitude challenged racetrack.

"Bandimere Speedway is at 5,200 feet above sea level, which makes this race more dependent on cubic inches than any other on the tour," said Treble. "Conventional wisdom is that the Harley's have an advantage in Denver, but we said that last year and there were two Suzuki's in the final, so who knows."

One of the favorites Sunday would have to be Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider Andrew Hines. As the defending NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion and last years No. 1 Denver qualifier, Hines also has yet to win in 2005.

"I would have to say Andrew is due for a win, and if the V-rods run as fast as they did last year, he also has a chance to be the eighth champion of the year," said Treble. "Even though my engines come out of the Vance & Hines shop, we take racing against each other very seriously."

Treble will attempt to qualify his Matco Tools / Lucas Oil Suzuki Friday, July 15 at 4:15 and 7:15, then again on Saturday, July 16 at 10:15 and 5:15. Final eliminations will begin Sunday, July 17th at noon.

Treble qualifies fifth in Denver
 

 Denver, CO. – Qualifying Pit Note:

Craig Treble rode his Matco Tools / Lucas Oil Products Suzuki into the No. 5 qualifying position in Pro Stock Motorcycle at the 26th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

Treble clocked an unbelievably consistent four 7.48 second runs, the second of which ultimately secured his position in the sixteen bike field. The Matco Tools / Lucas Oil Products motorcycle was the quickest Suzuki in all four sessions, and trailed only the Harley’s when qualifying was complete.

“Harry Lartigue told me before qualifying that we may not be the fastest bike here this weekend, but we are going to be consistent,” said Treble. “And between Harry and Mike tuning this thing, we made four runs within .004 of a second over the course of two days. It’s amazing.”

The Matco Tools / Lucas Oil Products Suzuki opened qualifying with a 7.487 / 179.52 blast that set the pace for the rest of the field in the first session, then followed with a 7.486 / 175.71 to finish Friday in the No. 3 spot.

“We just got our good motor fresh from Vance & Hines and we gave it what we thought would work best to put us solidly in the show,” said Treble. “We figured that our No.1 position would be history after the second session, but it is nice to come out and lay down a pass as good as that right out of the trailer.”

Following another pair of 7.48 runs on Saturday, the Matco Tools / Lucas Oil Products team settled into the No. 5 spot for Sunday’s final eliminations.

“We have been nothing but consistent so far on the mountain,” said Treble. “Three 179 MPH runs and three 1.11 60’ times in four passes shows that we have a pretty good handle on our set-up. It has taken us some time to be the quickest Suzuki at the track, but because of Mike and Harry, we are.”

Treble will roll the Matco Tools / Lucas Oil Products Suzuki out Sunday morning to face former NHRA World Champion and No. 12 qualifier Geno Scali on his Trim-Tex Suzuki in round one of final eliminations.

Semi-Final Finish For Treble in Denver
 

Denver, CO. – Post Race: 

A semifinal finish at the 26th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals moved Craig Treble and his Matco Tools / Lucas Oil Suzuki into 7th place in the 2005 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle championship chase.

 “We won a few rounds in Denver and moved up two positions on the point’s sheet. I would say we’re headed in the right direction,” said Treble.

The Matco Tools team again had the fast Suzuki to beat throughout the day on Sunday, running quickest in the first three frames, trailing only the Buell’s and Harleys by a few hundredths.

“We stuck with the set-up that got us here, and it worked as planned,” said Treble. “We went for speed and consistency, and that showed in the first few rounds.”

Treble opened with wins over Geno Scali and Shawn Gann, both of whom went for it on the tree and came up short, receiving red light fouls.

The Matco Tools / Lucas Oil Suzuki laid down runs of 7.503/179 and 7.539/178 in rounds one and two, but it would be the reaction times that would end the day prematurely.

“One of the compromises we made to run quick and fast in Denver was to set the bike up to give us good ET’s,” said Treble. “What you lose with that approach is the reaction times are slower than normal, but that’s the game we decided to play.”

The semifinal match up against Antron Brown on the Army Suzuki again had Treble running quicker than his opponent, but a better reaction time by Brown put the Army bike at the finish line first by .022 of a second.

“I’m a bracket racer at heart so reaction times are something I really like to have a handle on,” said Treble. “I spent an hour on Friday and Saturday on the practice tree so I would be sure that I was doing what I could to get the bike off the starting line on time.”

Along with the semi final showing, Treble is as optimistic as ever because of the teamwork displayed since the arrival of Harry Lartigue and Lucas Oil Products in the Matco Tools Suzuki camp.

“This is the highest qualifying position we have had with Harry on board, and the calls he and Mike have made the last few races give us all a feeling of confidence as we head into the second half of the season,” said Treble.

Denver Photos 2005