Denver: Tom Bradford Friday summary

Bradford 2nd in Denver

Tom Bradford, who qualified on the pole last time out in St. Louis, sits second after day 1 of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals. Bradford's Balbayis Asset Consulting/Hal's Speedshop Buell came up just short of mastering Denver's thin air better than the rest of the field.

"That was our first ever pass down Bandimere Speedway on the mountain, and we're really happy with that," Tom said about round 1. "We felt like we knew what we needed to do, so the boys Rob Schopf and Jim Schneider went to work. You know, they always seem to turn the right screws. I think they're using 'No-Name Tools' here, but whatever tools they're using, they're using them right."

"We set the track record on that pass, which lasted about 5 minutes until Chip Ellis came out and reset the record," laughed Bradford. "But what a fantastic day-just awesome. An outstanding, outstanding round of qualifying-I just can't say enough. I want to thank all the guys back at Hal's Speedshop who are working hard.

"We're real excited about some potential marketing partners we've been talking to. The performance is there and I'm really looking forward to the future with this team."

-th