Team Liberty Racing duo Cory Reed and Angelle Sampey qualified in the uber-competitive Pro Stock Motorcycle class at the 37th annual NHRA Southern Nationals but unfortunately, both competitors fell in the first round of eliminations.
Reed qualified No. 15 and raced No. 2 LE Tonglet. Reed ran his fastest pass of the weekend with a 6.922-seconds at 189.95 mph but after a red light in his lane, Tonglet’s 6.811, 195.39 advanced to the second round.
“It was definitely the smoothest run we’ve made with my bike,” Team Liberty Racing team owner Reed said. “It’s a step in the right direction but I’m personally mad at myself for going that red because there’s no excuse for going that red without doing something stupid and I did something stupid.”
Sampey went into raceday No. 9 and had a matchup against Joey Gladstone. Sampey had an impressive .005 light and held a .033-seconds advantage over Gladstone at the starting line. Sampey clocked in with a 6.969, 189.28 but wasn’t able to go around Gladstone’s 6.886, 193.40.
“Like I said last night, I was just happy to get in first run in qualifying,” Sampey said. “I felt confident going into raceday and Chris [Rivas, co-crew chief] reminded me I needed to have a .015 light and I had a .005. I was proud of the run but I know I could’ve done a little better and that’s a little disappointing. I’m upset because my team has been working so hard. It’s hard to know how hard they’re working and to slip up and not do well this weekend in Atlanta.”
Team Liberty Racing will put this event in the rear-view mirror and head to the next event in Englishtown, New Jersey for the NHRA Summernationals on June 8-11, 2017.
CORY REED, PSE/TEAM LIBERTY RACING VICTORY MAGNUM
Qualified: No. 15
ELIMINATIONS
First Round: LE Tonglet (6.811-second, 195.39 mph) def. REED (6.922, 189.95)
QUALIFYING
Friday: 7.004-seconds, 190.06 mph (Session 1)
Saturday: 7.076, 189.34 (Session 2); 7.012, 189.10 (Session 3)
ANGELLE SAMPEY, PSE/TEAM LIBERTY RACING VICTORY MAGNUM
Qualified: No. 9
ELIMINATIONS
First Round: Joey Gladstone (6.886-second, 193.40 mph) def. SAMPEY (6.969, 189.28)
QUALIFYING
Friday: 6.904, 193.16 (Session 1)
Saturday: 8.054, 104.38 (Session 2); 6.910, 192.66 (Session 3)
