Pro Stock Motorcycle

After back-to-back final round appearances, Joey Gladstone broke through for his first career victory in Pro Stock Motorcycle on Sunday, knocking off Eddie Krawiec in the final round with a pass of 6.759 at 200.68 on his J&A Service Suzuki Hayabusa.

Krawiec went a quicker 6.758, but Gladstone was quicker on the starting line with a .026 reaction time and held off the veteran to claim his first win in the class. He reached the final round with wins against Jianna Evaristo, Katie Sullivan, and Jerry Savoie, going a stellar 6.735 at 202.18 in the second round. He made sure to finish the job this time, setting off an emotional celebration for Gladstone and his team.

“I’ve been waiting for this day since I was 12 years old when I decided I wanted to race Pro Stock Motorcycles,” Gladstone said. “To finally be here to do it and race the best guys in the world, this means everything to me. I just had to do my job out there. It’s been quite the road, and this means a lot and more than you could ever imagine. I’ve spent my whole life trying to get here and this is just the start for us.”

Krawiec reached his 90th career final round thanks to victories against Kelly Clontz, defending world champ Matt Smith and teammate Angelle Sampey, who now has just a two-point lead over Gladstone in the points standings.

The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action on July 29-31 with the final race of the Western Swing, the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Seattle. It is the first race at the track since 2019.

ROUND ONE

W – Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.780, 198.44
L – Angie Smith, 6.776, 203.00

W – Katie Sullivan, Suzuki, 6.814, 199.14
L – Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.828, 198.82

W – Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.772, 200.56
L – Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.847, 196.36

W – Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.723, 202.18
L – Ryan Oehler, 6.932, 195.62

W – Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.758, 199.17
L – Scott Bottorff, Buell, 6.953, 193.05

W – Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.747, 201.40
L – Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.949, 192.99

W – Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.752, 201.19
L – Lance Bonham, Buell, 9.689, 115.15

QUARTERFINALS

W – Jerry Savoie, 6.751, 199.70
L – Steve Johnson, 6.731, 200.38

W – Angelle Sampey, 6.868, 200.50
L – unopposed

W – Joey Gladstone, 6.735, 202.18
L – Katie Sullivan, 7.480, 134.38

W – Eddie Krawiec, 6.750, 200.41
L – Matt Smith, 6.748, 201.46

SEMIFINALS

W – Eddie Krawiec, 6.758, 200.29
L – Angelle Sampey, Foul – Red Light

W – Joey Gladstone, 6.754, 200.71
L – Jerry Savoie, 6.849, 195.05

FINAL

W – Joey Gladstone, 6.759, 200.68
L – Eddie Krawiec, 6.758, 199.67

Pro Stock Motorcycle Points

SATURDAY QUALIFYING

Sampey put on an incredible show on Saturday in Pro Stock Motorcycle, making the quickest run of each session and blistering the track record with an incredible pass of 6.700 at 200.95 on her Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki. That run closed out qualifying and also tied the third-quickest run in class history, putting Sampey in a prime position heading into eliminations. It’s her third No. 1 spot of 2022 and 56th in her career as she looks to leave Sonoma with the points lead in the class.

“I’m still trying to be better and trying to improve, and I’m lucky to have a really successful team behind me,” Sampey said. “My focus is just on trying to get down the track and Andrew (Hines) has done a wonderful job tuning my bike. I’m really glad to have had some success with him tuning this bike. If we leave the starting line right, it’s going to be fast. This is an amazing class to compete in, but you have to be on your game all four rounds if you want to be successful.”

Steve Johnson, the points leader and provisional No. 1 qualifier on Friday, took the second spot with a 6.743 at 198.73 and Joey Gladstone moved to third with a 6.757 at 200.26.

1. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.700, 200.95
vs.
14. Lance Bonham, Buell, 7.178, 189.31

2. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.743, 198.73
vs.
13. Scott Bottorff, Buell, 7.034, 191.46

3. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.757, 200.26
vs.
12. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 7.015, 188.75

4. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.758, 200.74
vs.
11. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.881, 197.74

5. Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.761, 200.44
vs.
10. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.864, 196.50

6. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.764, 199.97
vs.
9. Katie Sullivan, Suzuki, 6.847, 197.45

7. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.766, 203.95
vs.
8. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.816, 197.45.

Eliminations for the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals begin at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. Television coverage on the FOX broadcast network begins at 4 p.m. ET.

FRIDAY QUALIFYING

After struggling at the past two races, Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Steve Johnson returned to form on Friday, jumping to the top on his Butter Transportation Suzuki with a standout pass of 6.743 at 198.73. If it holds, it would be the first No. 1 qualifier of the season for Johnson and the eighth in his career. The run was also a welcome sign for the veteran after suffering back-to-back first-round losses. His points lead shrunk to just 10 points heading into Sonoma, but Johnson with pleased with how his weekend opened on Friday.

“Our philosophy was just to get it down the track so we can get data and test some things,” Johnson said. “We really wanted to go ‘A to B.’ We made some good decisions, and we had a good run. That 60-foot was really good and very important to what we do, and that was huge. It’s so important to run well because it’s so hard to ride a Pro Stock Motorcycle and you need the confidence as a rider.”

Denver winner and reigning world champ Matt Smith took second with a 6.758 at 200.74, while Eddie Krawiec is currently third after going 6.785 at 198.23.

1. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.743, 198.73
2. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.758, 200.74
3. Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.785, 198.23
4. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.793, 197.97
5. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.803, 198.15
6. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.816, 197.45
7. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.827, 200.74
8. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.888, 195.42
9. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 7.055, 189.36
10. Scott Bottorff, Buell, 7.150, 187.83
11. Lance Bonham, Buell, 7.178, 189.31
12. Katie Sullivan, Suzuki, 8.003, 149.93
13. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 8.797, 106.05
14. Angie Smith, EBR, broke

Qualifying continues at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

ABOUT CAMPING WORLD
Camping World, headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, is America’s leading retailer of RVs and related products and services, offering an extensive assortment of recreational vehicles for sale, RV and camping gear, RV maintenance and repair, other outdoor and active sports products, and the industry’s broadest and deepest range of services, protection plans, products and resources. Since the Company’s founding in 1966, Camping World has grown to become one of the most well-known destinations for everything RV, with more than 170 locations in 38 states and a comprehensive e-commerce platform. For more information, visit www.CampingWorld.com. Camping World’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CWH”.

ABOUT NHRA
Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 22 national events featuring the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service, SAM Tech.edu Factory Stock Showdown and Mickey Thompson Tires Top Fuel Harley Series. Twice a year, NHRA hosts a ‘race-within-a-race,’ during the JEGS Allstars and Mickey Thompson Tires Pro Bike Battle specialty competitions. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 5 to 17. With over 120 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing-related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates four racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

About Camping World Holdings, Inc.
Camping World Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Lincolnshire, IL, (together with its subsidiaries) is America’s largest retailer of RVs and related products and services. Our vision is to build a long-term legacy business that makes RVing fun and easy, and our Camping World and Good Sam brands have been serving RV consumers since 1966. We strive to build long-term value for our customers, employees, and shareholders by combining a unique and comprehensive assortment of RV products and services with a national network of RV dealerships, service centers and customer support centers along with the industry’s most extensive online presence and a highly trained and knowledgeable team of associates serving our customers, the RV lifestyle, and the communities in which we operate. We also believe that our Good Sam organization and family of programs and services uniquely enables us to connect with our customers as stewards of the RV enthusiast community and the RV lifestyle. With over 185 locations in 40 states, Camping World, and sister company Gander RV, have grown to become prime destinations for everything RV. For more information, visit www.CampingWorld.com.

The post NHRA: Joey Gladstone WINS Pro Stock Motorcycle at Sonoma appeared first on Dragbike.com.