NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Since debuting a new sponsor at Indy, it’s been nothing but positives for Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Chris Bostick, who took another exciting step forward on Friday at Bristol Dragway.

In his first career run at Thunder Valley, Bostick qualified second with a strong pass of 6.927-seconds at 193.27 mph on his Hunt Brothers Pizza Suzuki, sandwiching himself between the top two championship contenders, Matt Smith and Steve Johnson. Coming off a solid qualifying position in Dallas and a round win, Bostick continues to head in the right direction, though he believes he’s barely touched the surface of what’s possible.

“It’s been really exciting for us,” Bostick said. “think that if I can put together a package and I can do my job right now, which I admit I've gotten a lot of improvement that I need to make on my end of the deal, but once that happens, I believe that we're a true contender.”

There were some early initial struggles at the U.S. Nationals and in Reading, but Bostick chalked it up to a required learning process, especially with their new fuel injection system.

But the bike, which was built by Mike Mullaney, showed plenty of potential in testing before last weekend’s race in Dallas. With help from noted tuner Richard Gadson, Bostick delivered a 6.79 at more than 199 mph during the test session, which was a massive run on the new bike.

Gadson wasn’t able to stay all weekend, and the team ran into a few issues, but Bostick still qualified seventh with 6.878 at 197.22, earning a first round win before being ousted by eventual winner and points leader Smith. It was yet another learning experience for Bostick, who is pleased with the strides the team has made in a short time.

“There was a parts failure in the transmission that wouldn't allow it to shift and Richard had to leave,” Bostick said. “So, without a really good tune-up, the bike still ran decent numbers, won the first round and I did my job second round. That was a big deal for sure.”

It was important Bostick continued that momentum this week and that’s already happened as the veteran is eager to end the season on a strong note.

The Hunt Brothers Pizza sponsorship has been beneficial in a number of ways, while Bostick and his team have done their best to make the most of the opportunity thus far. Now, he hopes to build that strong first qualifying session in Bristol and continue to be a dangerous opponent in eliminations.

“We’re going to make a few adjustments and hopefully we’ll get some passes (Saturday) to go into eliminations with a good package,” Bostick said. “But we’re really excited about everything. We’re really proud to have Hunt Brothers Pizza on board with us and everything that has followed. That was a big deal for us, for sure.”