Stoffer Back in the Saddle By Jack Korpela She’s back! Less than six months after she was involved in a near career ending accident in the pits, Geico-backed Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Karen Stoffer is back in competition at this weekend’s season-opening NHRA POWERade AC Delco Gatornationals from Gainesville Raceway, in north central Florida. Stoffer says recovering from the accident, in which she was struck by the back door of her race transporter, suffering several broken bones, gave her time to refocus her racing goals. “I’m in championship winning mode,” Stoffer said. “I’m over the incident and all the issues and I want to simply focus on racing and wining. I think I have a shot at the championship. I’m more mentally focused than ever.” “I would be tickled to death with a top five finish this year,” team owner Doug Johnson said. “We worked hard over the off season and we have a real shot.” “During my recovery I had time to put things in perspective,” Stoffer said. “I want to do really well for this great team. I’ve put them through so many ups and downs, they deserve a championship.” In preparation for the 2006 campaign the team gave its TL-1000 Suzuki a complete overhaul, freshened up its motors, and tested at South Georgia Motorsports Park. With the new rules that allow the Suzuki’s larger motors and electronic fuel injection, Johnson expects there to be several different quick bikes. “Its bunch a wild cards,” Johnson said. “We feel like we learned a lot but we still we have a lot to learn. We didn’t have as much time to test as usual. It was a good outing.” “We tried a lot of different combinations and it was a big success for us. We loved the facility and got to give Geico a lot of exposure.” Stoffer said. Watch for Stoffer during this weekend’s ESPN 2 Race coverage – March 19 12:30 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Qualifying March 19 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Eliminations March 22 2:30 a.m.-4:30 a.m. Repeat Eliminations Stoffer and the entire team extended a special thanks to all of this season’s loyal supporters: GEICO Motorcycle Insurance 1-866-326-2035, Mac Tools, Bates Leathers, NGK, Airtech, Wrath Motorsports, Square One Graphics, and Vance and Hines Motorsports.