NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Kelly Clontz ran all 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle events last season and she experienced a lot of memorable moments including her first professional round win in Dallas. Armed with a full-year's experience, and a new sponsor, the Steamfitters Union Local 602, Clontz sees a bright future for the team she operates along with her husband, Chris.  

“Going to all 16 races last year was eye-opening, especially when you think about all the factors that go into it including travel and all of the different tracks we race on. Before we started racing in Pro Stock Motorcycle, we pretty much stuck to racing at a couple of local tracks just about every week. Then, you start traveling the circuit and all of a sudden, you’re at a different track every week. Every track is different. Some of the tracks are smooth, some have a few bumps, some have a crown in each lane, and you have to make adjustments. Then, you have to pay attention to the weather and everything else. It’s a huge learning curve and I think we did fairly well last year, but it was definitely a learning curve.”

The Pro Stock Motorcycle class is not only extremely competitive, but there are also enough entries at each race that qualifying is not a given. No one understands that better than Clontz, who made it to final eliminations just four times in 16 attempts last season. She’s determined to improve on that stat this year and to that end, she’s already off to a solid start. Clontz qualified at the first two races in Gainesville and Las Vegas, including a career-best 6.874 to open the season. On Friday night in Charlotte, she had the fourth-quickest bike with a 6.902 so there seems to be little chance that she’ll get bumped from the field.

“We’re realistic about what we’re trying to accomplish; our main goal is just to qualify at every race and to just go out and make clean runs,” Clontz said. “Obviously, we want to be in a position to win races and get into the top ten but that’s not easy. We’ve got 19 or more bikes going to every race so it’s not that easy just to qualify. That’s the biggest area where I think we’ve made progress. In Las Vegas, we struggled for the first three runs but finally got in on Q4. That was a huge relief.”

Clontz’s Suzuki is powered by an engine from Vance & Hines, and she and husband, Chris, get also tuning help from reigning Mello Yello champ Matt Smith. Even though Smith is racing V-twin bikes, he has extensive experience with Suzuki inline four-cylinder engines, so he’s able to provide valuable help.

“Matt has been great, and I can’t say enough good things about the power we get from Vance & Hines,” said Clontz. “Really, everyone out here has been helpful to us. Matt has also done a lot to help my riding. Now that I’m going back to all these tracks for the second or third time, I’m learning all the little tricks that you need to know to make clean runs in each lane.”