Pro Stock Motorcycle standout Chris Bostick put on a great show for fans in his home state of Tennessee this weekend at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at iconic Bristol Dragway aboard The Surf Signature RV Resort Suzuki. While the talented rider made an early exit in eliminations, the team made internal advancements that should help them throughout the rest of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
In the first of four solidly impressive qualifying passes on his White Alligator Racing machine tuned by Tim Kulungian, Bostick started strong with a run of 6.944 seconds at 193.57 mph. From there, he continued to make small but significant improvements, ultimately qualifying No. 10 when he ran 6.915 at 195.25 on Saturday afternoon.
On race day, Bostick faced No. 5 qualifier John Hall in the first round of eliminations. Unfortunately for Bostick, his powerful Suzuki left the starting line too early, handing the win to Hall.
“We are continuing to make improvements,” said Bostick. “We picked up some valuable mph on the back half, which we’ve really needed. I need to work on my shifting from first to second gear. I’ve been catching it too early. Then I don’t have enough RPM to go into second gear and the drop from first to second is a big drop. So if I’m not really at the peak of that RPM and I shift, it pulls the engine down.”
In the pits, The Surf Signature RV Resort show bike attracted fans of all ages as they tested their reaction times on the six-foot practice tree. One young man was especially adept at the lights and won the reaction time competition earning himself a coveted Surf crew shirt. Bostick had the opportunity to meet and greet fans during the weekend, which is one of his favorite parts of the job. However, the focused rider is already thinking about what comes next.
“We are definitely going to test in Virginia,” Bostick shared. “Hopefully we can test next week but one way or another, we will be testing there to get us more prepared for the rest of the season. We are not headed back to Nashville. It feels like we are on the cusp of making a breakthrough and we are all itching to get there.”
The White Alligator Racing team will next head to Richmond, Virginia for the next stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour, the Virginia NHRA Nationals, June 21-23 at Virginia Motorsports Park.
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