Ellis elevating his game for E-town event
Craig Wack, Senior Editor
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
All is pretty much right in the world of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Chip Ellis.
He's third in points, going rounds every race, and driving consistently for a new employer, Don Schumacher Racing. There's just one frustrating little point -- despite all the success, Ellis still hasn't broken through with a win this year.
"The switch to DSR has been great," Ellis said. "Since Day 1, I've fit in here. (Crew chief) Steve Tartaglia and the guys working on the bike and me, we all get along. I think it's a big part why we've been successful."
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"That thing is working so good, it's almost perfect," Ellis said. "It's a real confidence boost to have equipment as good as what we have."
Ellis started the season at Gainesville where he qualified fifth and made it to the semis where he broke on the line. He's made it to at least the semifinals of every event except at Chicago. His best finish was a runner-up at Atlanta where he lost to Andrew Hines by .012 seconds.
"The good thing is they haven't been blowing us away," Ellis said of the other top riders and teams. "We've had some good races. I've been cutting good lights up until Chicago and I know why I didn't cut a good light there. We've been the fastest Suzuki but we're lacking that extra little bit of umph or I guess maybe little bit of luck."
But in the grand scheme of things, Ellis said he'll gladly take a run of four semifinal appearances out of every five races, like he had to start this season.
"You go to the semifinals of every race, you're going to be there at the end -- even if you have that race every now and then where you slip up by missing the tune-up or the driver doesn't do his part," Ellis said. "In Chicago, I just didn't do my job, but it didn't hurt us much (in the points) with Chris Rivas beating Craig Treble in the finals."
Ellis is a five-time winner in the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks and he knows it can be tough to claw to the top of the heap. However, he said with the kind of consistency he's getting from his Schumacher Electric Suzuki, the wins will come, it's just a matter of time.
"We want to get that first win for DSR," Ellis said. "It's been over a year for me since I've won and almost that long since Steve's won. I just think about going up there to make the best lap I can. If we turn on four win lights, then we'll get what we've been looking for, which is one of those Wallys.
"It's not going to be long before it happens because we've been really close at every race, so we're going to have to just keep plugging along."
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