Stoffer Just Misses Countdown After Solid Dallas Outing

Heading into the O'Reilly Fall Nationals in Dallas, TX, Sept. 20-23, Geico-backed Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Karen Stoffer knew she needed one of her best performances of the season to make it into the next phase of NHRA's championship chase, The Countdown to One.

In order to qualify for the next stage Stoffer would have to jump from No. 7 to at least No.4 in the hotly contested PowerAde point series. She entered the Dallas race 63 points, or approximately three round wins, behind No. 4 Chip Ellis.
Stoffer and her team responded to the pressure with one of its finest qualifying efforts of the year. She seized the No. 5 spot with a rapid run of 7.03 at 190 mph. Stoffer's speed was the second fastest of qualifying.

In Sunday's opening round of eliminations Stoffer defeated Reading-winner Matt Guidera with a 7.05 at 189 mph to Guidera's 7.09 at 187 mph. Even more impressive was Stoffer's razor sharp .027 reaction time.

In round No. 2 the Geico Team knew it had a tough task at hand, facing No. 4 qualifier Peggy Llewellyn, who gained lane choice with a 7.02 victory in the opening round. Again Stoffer was near-perfect off the starting line with a reaction time of .033 to Llewellyn's .047. Stoffer held the lead for about the first 100 feet before Llewellyn pulled even, and eventually slightly ahead of Stoffer at the finish line with a run of 7.05 to Stoffer's 7.06.

Llewellyn crossed the finish line just .0025 of a second ahead of Stoffer. The margin of victory was estimated to have been less than eight inches.

Llewellyn went onto win the event, the first of her career, and clinched the final spot in the countdown by a narrow margin.

Llewellyn's win marked the end of Stoffer's bid for a championship in her triumphant 2007 season. Stoffer began the season by winning two of the first three races.

Although Stoffer is mathematically eliminated from her ultimate goal of winning an NHRA PowerAde Championship in 2007, she still has two races left to attempt to earn her highest-ever finish in the point series. Stoffer improved four spots in the point series from 2005 to 2006, finishing a career-high sixth.

Stoffer went on to extend special thanks to all of the 2007 sponsors and supporters.
Geico Motorcycle Insurance 1-866-326-2036, Speed Dawg, Mac Tools, Bates Leathers, NGK, Airtech, Wrath Motorsports, Square One Graphics, Vance and Hines Motorsports, Suzuki Extended Protection, and Genuine Scooters