NHRA

Madison: Tom Bradford Saturday summary

Bradford Number 1 in St. Louis! Tom Bradford and the Balbayis Asset Consulting/Hal's Speedshop Buell made two big moves in the second day of Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying for the NHRA O'Reilly Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway ...

Published: Jun 25, 2006, 7:38 PM

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Bradford Number 1 in St. Louis!

Tom Bradford and the Balbayis Asset Consulting/Hal's Speedshop Buell made two big moves in the second day of Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying for the NHRA O'Reilly Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. First, Bradford leapt to the number 3 position in the third round of qualifying with the second quickest pass of the session. Not satisfied, Rob Schopf and Jim Schneider tweaked the tune-up further and Tom nailed his shift points for a track record 7.083 that shot the Buell to the top of the order.

"What can I say?" asked an elated Bradford, who was 13th at the end of the day on Friday. "We really brainstormed over the night and tried to figure out what was going on. We came up with a plan and came out this morning and ran that .12. We saw that we left a little bit on the table so we turned the screws a little more. The things we learned last weekend about tuning in adverse conditions at Englishtown definitely played a part in what we did today."

Bradford joined an elite club of only 25 Pro Stock Motorcycle riders that have qualified number 1 at an NHRA national event. "It's almost surreal at this point. Tonight we're gonna eat like kings!" For the record, Tom had the Lobster Combo.

Tomorrow, Bradford faces a dangerous round 1 draw in Chicago winner Ryan Schnitz. "Everybody's in the game and so competitive. Tomorrow it will be like 'Ryan who?' I'll make my run just like I'm on a test pass."

Tom thanked sponsors Balbayis Asset Consulting, Hal's Speedshop, Hal's H-D/Buell, Vanson Leathers, Stitch-it-Embroidery, CRD Inc., T-N-S Machining, S&S Cycle, Buell Motor Co., Mustang Shelly's Roadhouse, Red Line Oil, MicroBlue Racing, Autolite, Simpson, Wiseco, Rinehart Racing, and The Carburetor Shop for their support of the Hal's/Thunder Eagle team.

-th

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