Junior Pippin of Conyers, Ga. made it to the final eliminations in the National Hot Rod Association’s Pro Stock Motorcycle division at the Auto Club of Southern California Finals.
Although he was defeated in the first round by Chip Ellis, Pippin made dramatic improvements throughout qualifying. It all culminated when he nailed Ellis off the starting line, before Pippin’s Stone Mountain Harley-Davidson/Granite Mountain Harley-Davidson-sponsored Buell experienced problems during the run. Pippin had qualified in No. 14 position with an elapsed time of 7.066 at 186.33-miles-per-hour.”We leave here with our heads held high – everything will be cool,” said Pippin after his first NHRA action. “I’m extremely happy with this weekend, and we’re really anxious for next March in Gainesville and running the entire 2008 NHRA PowerAde series.”We think we can handle this.”Pippin, along with crew chief/tuner Bob Taft, recently wrapped-up their fourth straight pro stock title in the All Harley Drag Racing Association.”I want to make a huge thank you to George Smith, Chip Ellis, Ken Johnson, Jackie Bryce and the entire George Bryce/G2 team for their help and support this year,” said Taft, himself a seven-time national motorcycle drag racing champion. “Even though we lost in the first round, we consider this year – and this race – to be a huge success and look forward to next year.”Rounding out Junior Pippin’s race team is: Lisa Holtzclaw, team manager/trainer; Barry Whitmire, head mechanic; and Ralf Pansch, communications manager.