Event No. 4 / Pontiac Excitement NHRA Nationals / May, 19 - 22 / Columbus, Ohio

Mike Berry took his new found horsepower into Columbus, knowing that for the second event in a row, the trick would be to calm down his Pro Stock Motorcycle to make it go faster.

Coming away from the last race in which the MB Precision Machining Suzuki spun the tire on every pass down the quarter mile, team owner Berry's plan would be to make small changes in the set-up of the bike  to find out just what will work best with their new combination.

"We are not going to try and reinvent the wheel this weekend, just small changes each time. Hopefully we can sneak up on something that works with this bike and motor," said Berry.

The MB Precision Machining Suzuki came out of the trailer in the first qualifying session on Friday with a great 7.186 second, 184.67 MPH run, earning the No. 7 spot on the Columbus qualifying sheet.

The team finished Friday with a second run of 7.198 / 183.07, but slipped to 13th.

Saturday's two runs offered no improvement in qualifying, but the Berry team only lost one spot, settling in at the 14th qualifying position.

"So far we have been tuning the clutch and not the chassis, and we learned in qualifying that we need to change that idea. Because we have the No.3 qualifier in the morning, our plan for eliminations is to try something radical and see what happens."

For the second race in a row, Berry's first round opponent would be Chris Rivas on his Mohegan Sun Racing Buell, powered by a V-twin engine from G Squared, and for the second race in a row the MB Precision Machining Suzuki left too early and turned on the red light, receiving foul start.

"The good news is that in the first round race, we ran another 7.186, and that was after we hit the tire so hard on the starting line that it popped up and gave us huge red light. We went a bit extreme with the set-up and that's just how it acted."

With the next event in Chicago three weeks away, the MB Precision Machining Suzuki team will have time to return home to Colorado and sort through everything and find out what worked, and what did'nt.

"The hard part right now is that with the rules set the way they are, a Suzuki in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle is at a serious disadvantage. The odds are virtually insurmountable at this point. We will get back home and work on everything, and in the meantime I hope that the NHRA is looking at evening out the playing field again."