paul
Team Owner
http://www.nhra.com/2002/news/august/083102.html
Adding to an incredible season that has already included four national event victories, Craig Treble rode his Matco Tools Suzuki to a $15,000 victory in today's K&N Filters Pro Bike Klash.
Treble, who scored wins in Gainesville, Houston, Columbus and Sonoma this year, survived an upset-filled day to beat first-time finalist Mike Berry's MB Precision Suzuki in the final round, 7.30 to 7.36.
"I'm floating on a cloud right now," said Treble, who is just the sixth rider to win the Klash in its 12-year history. "I don't want to wake up from this dream. The money is great, but the prestige and the honor of winning this race are what's really important to me. There are only six people who have won this race in 12 years, and I know I'm in some pretty stout company."
Treble's weekend did not start off on a positive note as he missed both of yesterday's runs when his bike experienced transmission problems. With no data to tune from, he and crew chief Calvin Aswege elected to use the same setup they had used two weeks earlier in Brainerd for their first-round match against former Klash winner Antron Brown. The bike responded with a 7.30, and Treble did his job on the starting line with a .405 to .459 holeshot over Brown, who lost despite a 7.27.
"Missing those two runs last night hurt us bad," said Treble. "We had to take our best guess in the first round, but we managed to hit it pretty good. I also thought it was necessary to push the Tree a little against Antron, and obviously it was."
Brown wasn't the only pre-race favorite to fall early -- Angelle Savoie and Matt Hines were also upset in round one. Savoie, who entered the event as the No.1 seed in the eight-bike field with her Star Racing Suzuki, gave up more than a tenth of a second on the starting line to Geno Scali's Kawasaki and could not make up the difference. Hines gave up nearly a tenth to Berry and could not reel him in despite a solid 7.26.
Round two featured a rematch of the Brainerd final with a different outcome. Treble, with the better reaction time, turned the tables on Geno Scali, taking a narrow 7.30 to 7.30 victory over the Pete Briggs-owned Kawasaki.
"Geno had one coming to him after what he did to me in Brainerd," said Treble. "Our bike made a decent run, but I think it could have run a little quicker. We got to the final, though, and that was all that mattered to me."
After two-straight 7.30 runs, Treble wasn't afraid to make changes before the final.
"We changed gears and carburetor jetting and our clutch settings," said Treble. "I know that if you take Mike Berry lightly, you will get bit. It was no surprise to me that he was in the final, and the way he's running, I'm sure he will be there again. In the final, I squeezed the hell out of the clutch lever because I didn't want to red-light, and it worked out for me."
Berry, one of the class' most improved riders this year, did not reach the final by accident. Though he was just the seventh seed in the field, he used solid riding to upset Hines and defending Klash champ Shawn Gann in the first two rounds.
"It wasn't like I was killing the Tree, but it was good enough to get to the final," said Berry, who is one of the few remaining Pro Stock Bike racers who still builds his own engines and acts as his own crew chief. "Craig and I are just two old bracket racers, and it's pretty neat to race him in the final."
Treble's win makes him eligible for NHRA's $10,000 double-up bonus should he win Monday's U.S. Nationals title, but he admits that he has a lot of work ahead of him.
"Winning the U.S. Nationals would be the ultimate thrill, but we need to make sure we win rounds," said Treble. "Matco wants a championship and I'm going to work hard to get it for them."
Adding to an incredible season that has already included four national event victories, Craig Treble rode his Matco Tools Suzuki to a $15,000 victory in today's K&N Filters Pro Bike Klash.
Treble, who scored wins in Gainesville, Houston, Columbus and Sonoma this year, survived an upset-filled day to beat first-time finalist Mike Berry's MB Precision Suzuki in the final round, 7.30 to 7.36.
"I'm floating on a cloud right now," said Treble, who is just the sixth rider to win the Klash in its 12-year history. "I don't want to wake up from this dream. The money is great, but the prestige and the honor of winning this race are what's really important to me. There are only six people who have won this race in 12 years, and I know I'm in some pretty stout company."
Treble's weekend did not start off on a positive note as he missed both of yesterday's runs when his bike experienced transmission problems. With no data to tune from, he and crew chief Calvin Aswege elected to use the same setup they had used two weeks earlier in Brainerd for their first-round match against former Klash winner Antron Brown. The bike responded with a 7.30, and Treble did his job on the starting line with a .405 to .459 holeshot over Brown, who lost despite a 7.27.
"Missing those two runs last night hurt us bad," said Treble. "We had to take our best guess in the first round, but we managed to hit it pretty good. I also thought it was necessary to push the Tree a little against Antron, and obviously it was."
Brown wasn't the only pre-race favorite to fall early -- Angelle Savoie and Matt Hines were also upset in round one. Savoie, who entered the event as the No.1 seed in the eight-bike field with her Star Racing Suzuki, gave up more than a tenth of a second on the starting line to Geno Scali's Kawasaki and could not make up the difference. Hines gave up nearly a tenth to Berry and could not reel him in despite a solid 7.26.
Round two featured a rematch of the Brainerd final with a different outcome. Treble, with the better reaction time, turned the tables on Geno Scali, taking a narrow 7.30 to 7.30 victory over the Pete Briggs-owned Kawasaki.
"Geno had one coming to him after what he did to me in Brainerd," said Treble. "Our bike made a decent run, but I think it could have run a little quicker. We got to the final, though, and that was all that mattered to me."
After two-straight 7.30 runs, Treble wasn't afraid to make changes before the final.
"We changed gears and carburetor jetting and our clutch settings," said Treble. "I know that if you take Mike Berry lightly, you will get bit. It was no surprise to me that he was in the final, and the way he's running, I'm sure he will be there again. In the final, I squeezed the hell out of the clutch lever because I didn't want to red-light, and it worked out for me."
Berry, one of the class' most improved riders this year, did not reach the final by accident. Though he was just the seventh seed in the field, he used solid riding to upset Hines and defending Klash champ Shawn Gann in the first two rounds.
"It wasn't like I was killing the Tree, but it was good enough to get to the final," said Berry, who is one of the few remaining Pro Stock Bike racers who still builds his own engines and acts as his own crew chief. "Craig and I are just two old bracket racers, and it's pretty neat to race him in the final."
Treble's win makes him eligible for NHRA's $10,000 double-up bonus should he win Monday's U.S. Nationals title, but he admits that he has a lot of work ahead of him.
"Winning the U.S. Nationals would be the ultimate thrill, but we need to make sure we win rounds," said Treble. "Matco wants a championship and I'm going to work hard to get it for them."