November 5, 2007
for immediate release

Peggy Llewellyn/Rush Racing
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team report

Event: Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals
Dates: November 1-4, 2007
Location: The Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Pomona, California.
 
Llewellyn Wraps Up
Fantastic Rookie Season

Peggy Llewellyn finished her championship contending, first full year on the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle circuit with a second round loss to new series champion Matt Smith at the season finale at Pomona, California. "It's been a learning season," said Llewellyn. "I learned what it is to run a full year on the POWERade tour and run for a championship. I experienced that all in one year.
 
"My weekend in Pomona started off pretty good," Peggy continued, hesitantly. "But I need to make more good, consistent passes. On my first qualifying pass, George (crew chief George Bryce) noticed that I rolled at the line a lot."
 
qualifying round 1
7th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane          7.061 at 186.20 mph
 
qualifying round 2
6th     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.003 at 188.10 mph
 
"On the second pass, I went towards the middle of the track. Finally, on the two passes on Saturday, I made good laps."
 
qualifying round 3
5th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane          6.969 at 188.73 mph
 
qualifying round 4
5th      Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.085 at 184.04 mph
 
"But my reaction times bit me a little in eliminations. Next season I hope to make fewer mistakes and improve."
 
eliminations round 1
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .052      7.075 at 187.57 mph
        Hector Arana          -.107     7.099 at 187.99 mph
 
eliminations round 2
(W)  Matt Smith             .017          6.969 at 188.73 mph
        Peggy Llewellyn    .070          7.005 at 189.28 mph
 
"I think Peggy exceeded everybody's wildest expectations," said Bryce. "To finish in the top four in her first full year with a brand new team, she even surprised herself."
 
"I was proud of myself," agreed Llewllyn. "I was able to do more than anyone thought I would. Who would have thought? I remember when I started out all over the track in testing at Valdosta."
 
"Everybody on my team did a fantastic job," said team owner Karl Klement. "We went as far as we could and that's the best you can do. I'm very proud of everybody on the team."
 
"A big 'Thank you' to George Bryce for being a phenomenal coach all season," added Llewellyn. "And to Garret Whaley and Curtis Jackson for really getting things done these last few weeks. And thanks to Karl and Kim Klement and all the sponsors for the opportunity."
 
"Terry Daniels, and Lou and Jeremy Pringle from Rush Racing were here this weekend, and we were very proud and happy to have them here," said Klement. "And it was great having Bob LaGuardia from Diamond Bar Choppers with us again this weekend."
 
"I was a pleasure to get to hang with the Rush Racing team all weekend," agreed Bryce. "All those guys were here and it was all cool."
 
"There were lots of spectators there and everything was great," added Klement. "We just didn't win it."
 
"The NHRA did a good job of pushing this Countdown to the Championship and making it as exciting as it was," said Llewellyn, who like all of the championship contenders received an added boost of publicity in the Countdown races. The San Antonio Express-News featured an article on Llewellyn (read that at http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA102507.01C.Llewellyn.drag.racer.en.3489140.html) that also interviewed her young niece Dayzha. "She was a celebrity at her school," laughed Peggy, who's become quite a celebrity herself. "The main thing is, I learned a lot this year. Now I just can't wait for next year to start."
 
Peggy and the Rush Racing team race next at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals, March 13-16, 2008_at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida.
 
Peggy and the team would like to thank Rush Racing Products http://www.epiflex.com, DynoJet Research http://www.dynojet.com, PJ1 http://www.pj1.com, Motion Pro http://www.motionpro.com, Royal Purple http://www.royalpurple.com, Wiseco Pistons http://www.wiseco.com, Precision Motorcycle Products http://www.pmpsprockets.com, Bates Leathers http://www.batesleathers.com, Diamond Bar Choppers http://www.diamondbarchoppers.com, and Tucker Rocky Distributing http://www.tuckerrocky.com for their support.
 
Peggy Llewellyn can be seen on the web at http://www.peggyllewellyn.com
 
Countdown to the Championship point standings
4th  Peggy Llewellyn     3108
 
Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship point standings
7th  Peggy Llewellyn/George Bryce           401
 
Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
4th      Peggy Llewellyn     560
 
This team report was prepared by Tim Hailey, http://www.eatmyink.com
 

October 29, 2007
for immediate release

Peggy Llewellyn/Rush Racing
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team report

Event: ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals
Dates: October 25-28, 2007
Location: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada
 
Llewellyn Bows in Round 2

After her breakthrough win at the last race in Dallas, NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship contender Peggy Llewellyn was hungry for another one at the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals. Anything less wouldn't be enough, so a solid qualifying performance and second round loss left Llewellyn even hungrier to return to the track for the season finale at Pomona, California.
 
Despite the media attention all around her, Peggy hit the ground running at The Strip, posting a solid third place run in Friday's first round.
 
qualifying round 1
3rd     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane          7.136 at 183.29 mph
 
But Llewellyn's Rush Racing team lost some momentum when a loose crank nut thwarted her second round attempt.
 
qualifying round 2
5th     Peggy Llewellyn     broke
 
qualifying round 3
5th     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane        7.071 at 187.60 mph
 
qualifying round 4
6th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane          7.094 at 185.64 mph
 
The sixth place qualifying spot placed Llewellyn on the tough side of the ladder. "We were still on a high from winning in Dallas and wanted to repeat that feeling," said George Bryce, crew chief on the Rush Racing S&S powered Buell. "Peggy was driving really well, but she had two of the Countdown drivers on her side of the ladder. She had to knock down all the hitters if she was gonna get to the final, and she did really great in the first round."
 
eliminations round 1
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .046     7.115 at 187.00 mph
        Antron Brown         .024     7.176 at 183.42 mph
 
In the second round, Llewellyn faced Matt Smith, the son of "Tricky Ricky" Smith, a Pro Stock Car racer who knows a thing or two about starting line maneuvers. A small staging "burndown" ensued, and Llewellyn deviated from her normal routine. "Matt was just doing what he does, but I got out of my process completely," said Peggy. "I waited longer than normal to stage and I shouldn't do that."
 
"Matthew wouldn't stage and Peggy wouldn't stage," said Bryce. "She waited 18 seconds to stage, then she did a really good job riding the bike and outran him. If she'd done her own routine, she would have outrun him and won the round." Instead of winning on a holeshot like she did in Dallas, Peggy lost to one in Vegas.
 
eliminations round 2
(W)  Matt Smith             .012     7.134 at 184.60 mph
        Peggy Llewellyn    .080     7.117 at 185.92 mph
 
"I feel bad 'cause I let my team down," said Llewellyn. "I lit the top bulb, and I thought 'Whenever I'm ready I'll light the next bulb.' But I must have gone into a dead stare. We watched it back on videotape and George said to me 'You never take that long!'
 
"Honestly, I didn't drive my best all weekend long. I was short shifting fourth, fifth and sixth, and I was shutting the bike down too late."
 
"Everybody did what they were supposed to do, everything went real smooth, we just got beat," said team owner Karl Klement.
 
"We've had an outstanding year, but after we won in Dallas, we want to win them all," said Kim Klement, who owns the team along with her husband Karl. "We like that feeling! But it was a great race, and the whole team did awesome."
 
"I was very proud of Garret Whaley and Curtis Jackson," Bryce said about the two Klement team crew members. "Those guys did a great job and I was very proud. And I'm very proud of the opportunity to work with this team and I thank Karl and Kim for that."
 
"It was a real good day, we just didn't win like we did last time," said Karl. "But we had real good support from our marketing partners at Vegas. DynoJet president Robert Vlcek came by the pits and we were real glad to have him there. Ed from Rush Racing and Bob LaGuardia from Diamond Bar Choppers were there, and I just wish we could have given them all a win. But we're ready for Pomona."
 
The Las Vegas race was the first of two events to determine the champions in each of the four professional classes in the POWERade series, and first year racer Llewellyn is one of only four contenders for the Pro Stock Motorcycle crown. Peggy and the team will still have a chance this coming weekend at Pomona. "I need to do better there," finished Llewellyn. "They've given me the bike, and I just need to stick to my process and not second guess about anything that isn't part of that. As good as we're doing, I'm still learning. Now I'm gonna go out to Pomona and do better." She beat the odds in Dallas, she can do it again in Pomona.
 
Peggy and the Rush Racing team race next at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, November 1-4_at The Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Pomona, California.
 
Peggy and the team would like to thank Rush Racing Products http://www.epiflex.com, DynoJet Research http://www.dynojet.com, PJ1 http://www.pj1.com, Motion Pro http://www.motionpro.com, Royal Purple http://www.royalpurple.com, Wiseco Pistons http://www.wiseco.com, Precision Motorcycle Products http://www.pmpsprockets.com, Baudier Grafix http://www.baudiergraphix.com, Bates Leathers http://www.batesleathers.com, and Tucker Rocky Distributing http://www.tuckerrocky.com for their support.
 
Peggy Llewellyn can be seen on the web at http://www.peggyllewellyn.com
 
Countdown to the Championship point standings
4th  Peggy Llewellyn     3054
 
Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship point standings
7th  Peggy Llewellyn/Shane Maloney/George Bryce           390
 
Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
4th      Peggy Llewellyn     560
 
Remaining 2007 POWERade Drag Racing Series Schedule
Nov. 1-4          Automobile Club of Southern California Finals, Pomona
 
This team report was prepared by Tim Hailey, http://www.eatmyink.com
 

September 24, 2007
for immediate release

Peggy Llewellyn/Rush Racing
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team report

Event: O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals
Dates: September 20-23, 2007
Location: Texas Motorplex, Ennis, Texas
 
Llewellyn Wins Dallas,
Advances in Countdown!

There is no better story in NHRA POWERade racing than NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Peggy Llewellyn and her Karl Klement owned, Rush Racing team. In Llewellyn's first full year on the tour, Klement's first year as an owner, and Rush's third race as a sponsor, the team took their first national event win at the O'Reilly Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas. The team also won the coveted Full Throttle Award, but most importantly, they dramatically bumped their way into the final four of the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship playoff series.
 
It was a home race for Decatur, Texas-based Klement and San Antonio native Llewellyn, and things couldn't have started out better. Right off the trailer, Peggy took the George Bryce and Shane Maloney prepared Buell right to the top of the charts. It was Llewellyn's first time with "number 1" next to her name at the end of a qualifying round, and foreshadowed firsts to come.
 
qualifying round 1
1st     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane       7.045 at 185.61 mph
 
qualifying round 2
4th     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.067 at 188.41 mph
 
qualifying round 3
4th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane       7.029 at 188.65 mph
 
qualifying round 4
4th     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.043 at 188.83 mph
 
But perhaps more impressive from a team standpoint was the qualifying consistency of the Rush Racing, S&S powered Buell through changing conditions. That consistency is what earned the team the Full Throttle Award for the weekend and bode well for eliminations, eliminations that would determine the final four competitors for the championship.
 
eliminations round 1
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn         .052          7.023 at 189.18 mph
        Steve Johnson          -.001(R)     7.071 at 187.63 mph
 
Maloney's former employer Steve Johnson redlit against Llewellyn in round 1 on Sunday, but her ET earned lane choice over Countdown competitor Karen Stoffer in round 2. As if there wasn't already enough pressure on Llewellyn and the other riders in the Countdown, tensions in the pits were further raised following a very serious Funnycar accident in round 2 involving drag racing superstar John Force. "With all that going on, we still had to focus on the job at hand," said Peggy.
 
eliminations round 2
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .047     7.053 at 188.20 mph
        Karen Stoffer          .033     7.069 at 190.65 mph
 
Llewellyn won the round against Stoffer, but lost lane choice to trailer neighbor Chip Ellis in the semi. Ellis qualified number one for the fourth time in five races, but lost the race against Llewellyn at the line and Peggy advanced with a holeshot win.
 
eliminations semifinal round
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .059     7.114 at 185.46 mph
        Chip Ellis                .105     7.109 at 186.82 mph
 
Piece by piece, things were falling into place for Llewellyn to have a chance for the final four. But she would have to win the final round to bump U.S. Nationals winner Craig Treble out of the Countdown field. The final was a rematch of the Memphis semi with Andrew Hines. Three time champion Hines won in Tennessee and had lane choice for this one.
 
"Peggy said 'What do I do? I've never been here (to a final) before,'" said Bryce, co-crew chief on Llewellyn's S&S powered Buell. "I said 'Yes you have. Just make this pass like every one you've ever run at South Georgia Motorsports Park in testing. Just go through your process and make your lap.'"
 
eliminations final round
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .010     7.020 at 190.00 mph
        Andrew Hines        .045     7.007 at 191.16 mph
 
That lap produced another holeshot win for Llewellyn, her first national event win ever, and slot in the Countdown's final four! "She's never even been in a final, and she did a perfect job," said Bryce. "Andrew did a great job, Peggy just did better. He never saw what was coming. I could not have written a more perfect plan out better than for Peggy to run her low ET of the weekend, cut her best light, and make her best run in the final. Peggy did a fantastic job."
 
"Peggy made us look good today, flat out," said Maloney, the other co-crew chief. "She needed to cut a light in the finals, and she did it. Peggy proved why she got this job and why she's here. She went to the line against the three time national champion, cut a light, ran a perfect lap, and won the race."
 
"I finally did it!" shouted Llewellyn. "This is just unbelievable. I can't believe this is happening! I keep having to pinch myself."
 
"I don't know what to say," said Klement, who came to the sport with open pockets expecting results, and is surely getting them. "All this happened at my home track. All my family was here, we must have had sixty people here. We won the Full Throttle Award, we won the national event, and we bumped our way into the Countdown—the only woman in the Countdown—what a race!"
 
"Peggy won the trifecta," said Bryce. "She had to beat the number one qualifier and three time champion to get in the Countdown. She drove the bike great, and that's why she won the Full Throttle Award. I think Angelle (Sampey), Chip, Andrew, and now Peggy are the only drivers that have won the Full Throttle award this year, and that's pretty good company."
 
"We sucked the first couple of rounds today, but Peggy did good," said Maloney. "In the finals, we collected ourselves and put a tune-up in it that we knew worked. We didn't do all the crazy stuff we tried today, and it went fast."
 
"Our S&S powered motorcycle ran the most consistent ETs of anybody at the race track, that's why she got the Full Throttle Award and the win," said Bryce. "Even though we goofed up in the semifinal, we came back and ran a good number in the final."
 
"We earned this win every round," agreed Llewellyn, who had to lean off the left side of the bike on several passes, including the semi and the final. "I shifted too early in semi, and I at least tried to lean using my butt, 'cause that works better than hanging off the bike!
 
"I heard Andrew's bike the whole way in the final. He was really close and I didn't realize I'd won until they were waving me over to where the TV cameras were and giving me a hat—and a Wally. I wasn't sure what to do next, so I hung out with (Pro Stock Car winner) Dave Connolly. He's done this a few times before, right?
 
"We had the biggest and loudest winners circle. All my former co-workers were there, and Karl's family and Kim's family. But with all the excitement, my thoughts are still with John Force."
 
"We were all very, very touched and concerned with our champion, John Force," added Bryce. "We thought about him a lot all day and wondered if he's OK. We want to make sure everybody prays for his speedy recovery, and for him and his family to know how important he is to all of us and the POWERade drag racing series."
 
So now Llewellyn goes to the last two races on the schedule as a proven championship contender. "When we made the Countdown to 8, I was like 'Wow, that's great.' But I had a bunch of fans today saying 'Do it for the home crowd!' That's how I was able to take it just one round at a time.
 
"In addition to Karl and Kim Klement, George, Shane, Garret Whaley, and Rush Racing, I really want thank my dad Eugene for putting me on a motorcycle at age 7. He took us to the track and was racing and we wanted to do the same thing. Those five years I was away from the NHRA, he was always telling me it was possible to get back in and telling me to write George and tell him what I wanted to do. He said 'Send it certified so you know he gets it!'"
 
She did, George got it, and now they were all in the winners circle together. Although it may seem like success has come early for Llewellyn and her team, it's only come through countless hours, test laps, and hard work. "If you're in George and my shoes, it took a long time to get here," said Maloney. "Every single person on this team does a perfect job. Everyone knows their job and does it right, and today they proved it."
 
"It wouldn't be possible without Kim and Karl assembling the group, spending the money, and getting the Rush guys involved," finished Bryce, who paid kudos to all the staff at G2, Star Racing and S&S Cycle. "It was a dream come true for that little girl from San Antonio, and I'm proud to be a part of it. Sometimes you back into a win and it pays the same points and the same money, but this one we earned!"
 
Peggy and the Rush Racing team race next at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, October 25-28 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada.
 
Peggy and the team would like to thank Rush Racing Products http://www.epiflex.com, PJ1 http://www.pj1.com, Motion Pro http://www.motionpro.com, Royal Purple http://www.royalpurple.com, Wiseco Pistons http://www.wiseco.com, Precision Motorcycle Products http://www.pmpsprockets.com, Baudier Grafix http://www.baudiergraphix.com, Bates Leathers http://www.batesleathers.com, and Tucker Rocky Distributing http://www.tuckerrocky.com for their support.
 
Peggy Llewellyn can be seen on the web at http://www.peggyllewellyn.com
 
Countdown to the Championship point standings
4th  Peggy Llewellyn     2234
 
Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship point standings
8th  Peggy Llewellyn/Shane Maloney/George Bryce           347
 
Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
4th      Peggy Llewellyn     425
 
Remaining 2007 POWERade Drag Racing Series Schedule
Oct. 25-28     ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals                              Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 1-4        Automobile Club of Southern California Finals      Pomona, CA

Contact
Shane Maloney
smmaloney699@msn.com
 
This team report was prepared by Tim Hailey, http://www.eatmyink.com
 

September 17, 2007
for immediate release

Peggy Llewellyn/Rush Racing
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team report

Event: O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals
Dates: September 14-16, 2007
Location: Memphis Motorsports Park, Memphis, Tennessee
 
Llewellyn Dances to the Semis in Memphis

NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Peggy Llewellyn improved her standing in the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship playoff series, riding her Rush Racing Products Buell to the semifinals at the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park. That performance moved Llewellyn to sixth, with one more race to go in Dallas before half the Pro Stock Motorcycle Countdown field is eliminated to set the final four.
 
It wasn't a weekend without trials and tribulations for Llewellyn and the Rush Racing team, but Peggy persevered to third in the qualifying order.
 
qualifying round 1
4th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane          7.096 at 183.47 mph
 
qualifying round 2
7th     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane        7.121 at 185.49 mph
 
qualifying round 3
6th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane          6.992 at 190.65 mph
 
On her Saturday morning Q3 pass, the front brake failed on Llewellyn's Buell and planted the bike in the sandpit at the end of the track. "I went to the beach, but I didn't bring my bikini!" laughed Peggy. "I shut the bike down a little late and start tapping my rear brakes. I started bringing in the front brake and the lever went all the way to the grip—nothing. George Bryce (co-crew chief on Llewellyn's S&S powered Buell) taught us at his drag racing school to let out the clutch to slow the bike down, and that's what I did. I thought about trying to make the turn, but I didn't want to take out the Safety Safari! It just put the front wheel in the sand, and some rocks in the belly pan."
 
qualifying round 4
3rd      Peggy Llewellyn     right lane       6.955 at 191.35 mph
 
With the rocks cleaned out, Llewellyn made a big move in Q4. "Peggy was able to run low ET of the round for the first time of her career in the fourth round of qualifying," said Bryce. "We had the whole Rush Racing crew here for that and it was cool that they were able to celebrate with us."
 
"I'm happy with qualifying for sure," said Llewellyn's other co-crew chief, Shane Maloney. "You always want to be number one, but it was good. It moved us up in the Ringers Gloves Battle for next year, and on raceday Peggy got to watch some of the more closely matched pairings in front of her instead of being in them."
 
But Llewellyn's own opening round match-up with Karen Stoffer was crucial to the championship hopes of both riders. "I talked to my niece before the round, and she said 'I hope you don't mind, but I'm pulling for Karen this round!'" said Peggy. "Then a reporter came up and said something about it being an important round. After that, I started getting nervous. But then I thought 'Wait a minute, we're doing process and procedure here, not who's in the other lane or the points implications.' I'm always thinking about my process and not rounds, otherwise I'd be a nervous wreck!"
 
eliminations round 1
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .042     7.000 at 189.18 mph
        Karen Stoffer          .012     7.047 at 190.24 mph
 
After giving up the tree, Llewellyn out 60-footed Stoffer to drive around by the 330 and continued to pull away for the win, perhaps to the chagrin of her niece.
 
eliminations round 2
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .088     7.006 at 189.84 mph
        Matt Guidera          .026     7.069 at 196.87 mph
 
Again, Llewellyn spotted the tree to Maple Grove winner Matt Guidera before driving around, but this time not until well past the 1000 foot mark. Peggy took the stripe by a mere .0013 of a second—or about 4 inches!
 
eliminations round 3
(W)   Andrew Hines        .016     7.043 at 190.92 mph
        Peggy Llewellyn     .038     7.176 at 187.03 mph
 
But there was no driving around defending class champion Andrew Hines in the semis. "I'm frustrated because I found a new way to loose," said Peggy. "I guess I sort of grazed the shift button for third instead of pushing it, and it needs to be pushed. So I was on the rev limiter for a long time. It started to scream and nose over and the G-meter dived. I chalk it up as experience."
 
"Peggy did a great job to win the first and second rounds," offered Bryce. "In the third round, she took off and passed Andrew by the 60 foot and was well in front of him at the 330. Then she missed the shift button and it was all over. If she'd hit second to third, she probably could have outrun the 7.04 that Andrew left hanging there like a ripe fruit. That would have given Peggy her first semifinal win in her young, budding career. Then with Steve Johnson breaking in the final, who knows?"
 
At the end of the run, an electrical malfunction started a fire beneath the seat of the Rush Racing Buell. "I had hot buns, but I didn't know it," Peggy laughed again. "Then the Safari said, 'Are you on fire?' And I said 'Maybe so.'"
 
"We just didn't pay enough attention when we put the airbox on," admitted Maloney. "It must have rubbed a fuel injection wire through and touched the carbon fiber, and electricity and carbon fiber go hand-in-hand and you have a little barbeque.
 
"But the motors ran awesome, and that's a testament to the guys at G2. That was the first time we ran the motor we bought from Rob Muzzy in competition. We took all the fast stuff we had and applied it to that motor, and it worked out pretty good."
 
"We ran great," agreed Bryce. "We got the clutch fixed and Peggy was able to run the number one 60 foot again. We moved up in points and with one race to go before the final four cutoff, we feel our S&S powered Buell is prepared."
 
"We've got to work hard to keep up with all these fast bikes," said Maloney. "We can't go to Dallas worrying about points, we just have to go there and do our best. Then Sunday at 4 o'clock, we'll know whether we're racing for the championship or not."
 
"Dallas is coming up, and that's a home race for our team," said Llewellyn. "We moved up a couple of spots in the points in Memphis, and we'll look to do the same this weekend in Dallas."
 
"We need every point we can get," finished team owner Karl Klement, who noted that Lou and Jeremy Pringle from Rush Racing were hanging with the team in Memphis. "We had kind of an up and down weekend with the sand trap and the electrical fire, but I'm real happy. We did the best we could do, and we'll do it again this weekend in Dallas."
 
Peggy and the Rush Racing team race next at the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals, September 20-23_at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas.
 
Peggy and the team would like to thank Rush Racing Products http://www.epiflex.com, PJ1 http://www.pj1.com, Motion Pro http://www.motionpro.com, Royal Purple http://www.royalpurple.com, Wiseco Pistons http://www.wiseco.com, Precision Motorcycle Products http://www.pmpsprockets.com, Baudier Grafix http://www.baudiergraphix.com, Bates Leathers http://www.batesleathers.com, and Tucker Rocky Distributing http://www.tuckerrocky.com for their support.
 
Peggy Llewellyn can be seen on the web at http://www.peggyllewellyn.com
 
Countdown to the Championship point standings
6th  Peggy Llewellyn     2119
 
Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship point standings
8th  Peggy Llewellyn/Shane Maloney/George Bryce           275
 
Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
7th Peggy Llewellyn     311
 
Remaining 2007 POWERade Drag Racing Series Schedule
 
Sept. 20-23    O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals                               Dallas, TX
Oct. 25-28      ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals                             Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 1-4         Automobile Club of Southern California Finals     Pomona, CA

Contact
Shane Maloney
smmaloney699@msn.com
 
This team report was prepared by Tim Hailey, http://www.eatmyink.com
 

September 4, 2007
for immediate release

Peggy Llewellyn/Rush Racing
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team report

Event: Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Dates: August 29-September 3, 2007
Location: O'Reilly Raceway Park, Indianapolis, Indiana
 
Llewellyn Finishes Busy Indy Weekend

NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Peggy Llewellyn had a lot on her plate this past weekend at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. Peggy's Karl Klement Racing Buell debuted new primary sponsor Rush Racing Products, it was her first race in the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship playoff series, and it was her first time ever competing at drag racing's biggest event-the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. "On either Tuesday or Wednesday, I was feeling overwhelmed," said Llewellyn. "George Bryce called me at just the right time." Bryce is co-crew chief on Llewellyn's S&S powered Buell, and a legendary riding coach. "He said 'Don't think of it as the introduction of a new sponsor, the beginning of the Countdown, or the U.S. Nationals. Think of it as just another race.' That's right what I needed to hear right at that time."
 
On Friday, Llewellyn joined the other Countdown contenders onstage in a pre-qualifying ceremony, then was introduced to the crowd again right before her qualifying pass. NHRA announcer Bob Frey introduced Peggy and Rush Racing president Lou Pringle as her bike's new livery was unveiled. "I didn't know they were gonna do it right before I went on the run!" said Llewellyn, who none-the-less laid down a flawless 7.029 that placed her third in the qualifying order.
 
qualifying round 1
3rd     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.029 at 187.34 mph
 
"I think this event is great for us," Pringle said after the introduction ceremonies. "When I was a teenager and younger, we'd go to the drag races all the time. It's a thrill to be able to stand out there on the line that close to the action."
 
"It was very cool the way the Karl Klement team debuted the Rush Performance Products team to the NHRA fans," said Bryce. "I'm also proud of how Peggy handled the extra pressure all weekend."
 
qualifying round 2
5th     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.040 at 185.66 mph
 
qualifying round 3
5th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane       7.077 at 185.87 mph
 
Llewellyn's bike was lined up crooked for the third round of qualifying on Saturday and made a move toward the centerline. "I over corrected," said Peggy. "And then I double bumped the shift button."
 
qualifying round 4
8th      Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.011 at 190.19 mph
 
"I finally got a good nights sleep," Peggy said Sunday morning after her Q4 pass. It seems the hoopla hadn't dissipated completely with Bryce's midweek phone call. "And I finally got a straight pass in that right lane."
 
qualifying round 5
8th      Peggy Llewellyn     left lane       7.085 at 187.16 mph
 
Llewellyn had a relatively slow 1.08 60 foot time in the fifth round, and many in the class found the starting line to be slippery that round. But Llewellyn's other co-crew chief, Shane Maloney, took responsibility for her poor launch. "It was the clutch," said Maloney. "We didn't give her a good clutch tune-up."
 
Maloney and Bryce would end up singing the same lament on raceday. But before that, Llewellyn's bike stalled out of the water box—a disconcerting blip in her established routine. "You would've thought I'd have stalled the bike the round after the sponsor introduction," said Peggy, who staged quickly after the bike was restarted. "I just let the clutch out too much. But it didn't bother me or upset my process, really."
 
eliminations round 1
(W)  Antron Brown          .023     7.083 at 187.99 mph
        Peggy Llewellyn     .078     7.105 at 186.56 mph
 
"We had a 1.09 60 foot," said Bryce. "The worst in the class."
 
"The engine's running good, but the clutch isn't workin' right," said team owner Karl Klement. "We've changed everything, so we're gonna go back to square one, and we're gonna test."
 
"We've got a serious, serious clutch problem," agreed Maloney. "We've measured, we've checked, we've double checked, and nothing looks wrong. It's hard, because we're the best 60 footing team out here, hands down, and we went from best to worst. So we'll go home, put a new clutch together, and start over from scratch. But Peggy did awesome. She rode good, hit her shift points on time, and rode straight. If we'd given her a clutch, she'd still be out there."         
 
"I've never seen this before," added Bryce. "I wouldn't have missed five shots at getting it right if I had. Every run I thought I'd fixed it, and it was no good. Every race we go to we're the best on the starting line, and if we're not, we're second. This weekend we were seventeenth sometimes. Every now and them, the game of chance still rears its ugly head. A weekend likes this keeps me from being cocky. It's long way from the shade of that bridge (in the staging lanes) to the starting line, and that's where everything has to work.
 
"But I was very proud of Peggy for qualifying in the top half of the field at her first U.S. Nationals ever, and I believe that she would have qualified much higher up the ladder if I'd had a better handle on the clutch from the very beginning. As usual, Shane and Garret had the bike prepared to optimum. The S&S engines that we prepared were very reliable and fast, and I'd like to thanks the whole crew at G2 for the excellent work and timeliness. And thanks to Karl and Kim Klement for giving me the ultimate opportunity to show our wares and talents"
 
" It was an awesome weekend," said Kim Klement. "We're really very pleased with the turnout and the fan appreciation. The people are so nice here."
 
"The fans were awesome," agreed Llewellyn, who is a fan favorite at every track. "I really enjoyed having breakfast with Shirley Muldowny at the Women in Drag Racing event, and It was a fun weekend with our new marketing partner Rush Exhaust here."
 
"Lou Pringle, Terry Daniel and the entire Rush staff are very nice people and we're glad to have them on our team," added Kim Klement.
 
"Peggy is a great representative, not only for Rush, but for the NHRA as well," said Pringle. "She's developed such a fan base in such a short time. I'm amazed at the lines that form out here after each pass. It also amazes me how quickly this whole team gelled, and it shows every time they go to the line. A lot of that has to do with Karl. His disciplinary standards show in the whole team. Our association with their team brings the awareness to the public that we're a performance driven company."
 
"We've already exceeded a lot of our goals," said Llewellyn. "Now they're gonna go back and fix whatever's wrong with the bike, and I have full faith in them. I just need to work further on my lights and consistency."
 
"We will go back to Georgia and solve the clutch mystery, get it under control, and prepare for Memphis in short order," vowed Bryce.
 
"We're gonna get them in Memphis," finished Kim Klement.
 
Peggy and the Rush Racing team race next at the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals, Sept. 14-16_Memphis Motorsports Park, Memphis, Tennessee
 
Peggy and the team would like to thank Rush Racing Products http://www.epiflex.com, PJ1 http://www.pj1.com, Motion Pro http://www.motionpro.com, Royal Purple http://www.royalpurple.com, Wiseco Pistons http://www.wiseco.com, Precision Motorcycle Products http://www.pmpsprockets.com, Baudier Grafix http://www.baudiergraphix.com, Bates Leathers http://www.batesleathers.com, and Tucker Rocky Distributing http://www.tuckerrocky.com for their support.
 
Peggy Llewellyn can be seen on the web at http://www.peggyllewellyn.com
 
Countdown to the Championship point standings
8th  Peggy Llewellyn     2043
 
Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship point standings
8th  Peggy Llewellyn/Shane Maloney/George Bryce           275
 
Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
8th      Peggy Llewellyn     125
 
Remaining 2007 POWERade Drag Racing Series Schedule
 
Sept. 14-16          O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals                                 Memphis, TN
Sept. 20-23          O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals                                 Dallas, TX
Oct. 25-28            ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals                               Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 1-4               Automobile Club of Southern California Finals      Pomona, CA
 

Two upstarts get NHRA Countdown spots

August 21, 2007
for immediate release

Peggy Llewellyn/Klement Racing
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team report

Event: Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals
Dates: August 16-19, 2007
Location: Maple Grove Raceway, Mohnton, Pennsylvania
 
Llewellyn Locked in the Countdown

In only their first full season of racing, Peggy Llewellyn and the Karl Klement NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team have made the cut for the Countdown to the Championship. The Countdown is the NHRA's new playoff series that starts with the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend in Indianapolis. Only the top 8 in the POWERade point standings will be eligible to compete for the season championship, and Llewellyn's weekend at the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals locked her into the Countdown in 7th place. "That's a huge accomplishment," said co-crew chief Shane Maloney. "There are a lot of really good motorcycles that did not get in. Antron Brown, Steve Johnson, and either Craig Treble or Chris Rivas. Those are all really good motorcycles."
 
Llewellyn's weekend didn't start off so great, as she shut off early with a broken transmission in the first round of qualifying.
 
qualifying round 1
22nd     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     9.242 at 91.03 mph
 
Her round 2 pass, though, showed that Maloney and co-crew chief George Bryce had the S&S powered Buell dialed into the Maple Grove conditions.
 
qualifying round 2
5th        Peggy Llewellyn     left lane       7.065 at 189.71 mph
 
qualifying round 3
6th        Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.001 at 190.78 mph
 
qualifying round 4
3rd        Peggy Llewellyn     left lane       6.940 at 193.24 mph
 
Round 3 saw the bike improve in better weather conditions, but the final round saw Llewellyn run her career best pass. Maloney and Bryce hugged and celebrated at the staring line, yet the numbers showed that the pass could have been better yet. Peggy's slow-for-her 1.08 60 foot showed that plenty was still left on the table. "I'm real proud of Peggy and her career best ET and speed," said Bryce. "That was awesome."
 
"193 felt so smooth, though I did have to use the back brake more than usual," said Llewellyn. Maple Grove has a notoriously short shutdown area.
 
The team tweaked the tune-up slightly for round 1 of eliminations. "Just a touch difference in the tune-up," said Maloney. "It was set on kill yesterday, and it's set on kill today. It's definitely got 6.80 horsepower, and we'll prove that."
 
"We started out kinda struggling and busted the transmission on the first run," team owner Karl Klement said Sunday morning. "But after the third run we got it dialed in. I think the bike could have gone faster yet, and it will go faster today." Well, maybe not "today," as the motorcycles never hit the track on a rainy Sunday.
 
Peggy let the gray day soak into her and enjoyed a restful Sunday night at her hotel. "This kind of weather makes me really tired, so after we went to eat, I went back to my room and chilled out," said Llewellyn. "I called my family and watched 'Army Wives' on Lifetime. Oh, and I had to cancel my Monday flight!"
 
When racing got under way on Monday, Peggy ran quicker yet while taking out former champ Geno Scali in round 1. "We made one small, tiny change in the fuel injection this morning and that was it," said Maloney. "It picked up, but I think we would have run just as good yesterday. Peggy had a 1.05 60 foot on that pass. She's really staying with the bike, or a little bit ahead of it, and that's what it takes."
 
eliminations round 1
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .063     6.928 at 191.00 mph
        Geno Scali             .059     16.237 at 36.33 mph
 
eliminations round 2
(W)  Chris Rivas             .028     6.977 at 188.67 mph
        Peggy Llewellyn     .105     6.965 at 190.32 mph
 
But a bad light against Chris Rivas in round 2 put Peggy's quicker bike on the trailer. "She lost her focus," said Bryce. "She was real calm, collected and perfect. Then when it was time of her to go in and Chris to go in, she lost her concentration. When she got focused again, all the lights were coming on and it was too late."
 
"I think my dad's gonna order a practice tree and I'll get some more practice at home," said Llewellyn. "Our runs were really good this weekend, but I didn't feel like my runs were as good as they were at Brainerd. It's a testament to my team. They've given me the bike and I just have to tweak reaction times and work on my progress. If I'm gonna go rounds and get a win, that's what it's gonna depend on."
 
Though the team didn't snag that elusive first win, their position in the Countdown qualifies as a huge success. "It almost seems like this is the end of the season, but this is a new beginning," said Llewellyn, who only recently started feeling like the Countdown was in her grasp. "Probably after Chicago. Before that I was just learning how to ride this V-Twin. My original goal was to finish in the top 10, because I forgot about this Countdown to the Championship thing. I still have as a goal to win a race this year, and they've given me the bike to do it so it is attainable. I'm excited about that."
 
"I guess it's just now hitting me," Klement said about the team's achievement late in the day on Monday. "This is really like winning the championship. I've gotta thank Peggy, George, Shane, Garrett Whaley and the whole team."
 
"I'm proud to be in it," said Maloney. "There's a lot of people who didn't think we'd be in this position, but we've really jelled as a team and I'm really excited. We've got as good a chance at this as anybody. You can literally go from eighth to first at one race. Now we have to get everything ready for almost a week of racing at Indianapolis. Other than that, it's just another race."
 
"I guess when I go to Indy, I'll just be like 'Wow!'" said Klement. "This was kind of a tough weekend and things keep breaking, but we got through it and are ready for the countdown. Peggy's capable of beating any person at any track right now."
 
"Peggy's really coming into her own as a driver," agreed Maloney. "Even the mistakes she makes, she knows it right away. That's what's impressive."
 
"It doesn't matter, you still feel like crap when you mess up at the tree like that," finished Llewellyn, sounding decidedly less than satisfied with simply being in the Countdown to the Championship.
 
Peggy and the team race next at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, August 29-September 3 at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Indiana.
 
Peggy and the Karl Klement Racing team would like to thank PJ1 http://www.pj1.com, Motion Pro http://www.motionpro.com, Royal Purple http://www.royalpurple.com, Wiseco Pistons http://www.wiseco.com, Hinson Clutch http://www.hinsonracing.com, Precision Motorcycle Products http://www.pmpsprockets.com, Yoshimura http://www.yoshimura-rd.com, Baudier Grafix http://www.baudiergraphix.com and Tucker Rocky Distributing http://www.tuckerrocky.com for their support.
 
Peggy Llewellyn can be seen on the web at http://www.peggyllewellyn.com
 
NHRA/POWERade point standings
7th Peggy Llewellyn      513
 
Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship point standings
8th Peggy Llewellyn/Shane Maloney/George Bryce           251
 
Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
11th Peggy Llewellyn     1280
 
Contact
Shane Maloney
smmaloney699@msn.com
 
This team report was prepared by Tim Hailey, http://www.eatmyink.com
 

August 13, 2007
for immediate release

Peggy Llewellyn/Klement Racing
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team report

Event: Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals
Dates: August 9-12, 2007
Location: Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minnesota.
 
Llewellyn's Momentum Continues in Minnesota

Still in only her first full year of Pro Stock Motorcycle racing, Peggy Llewellyn rode the Karl Klement Racing Buell to another semifinal finish this weekend and moved another spot up the NHRA POWERade points ladder. Llewellyn and the team are hitting their stride at just the right moment, as the cut-off for the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship approaches as fast as the finishline on a top end charge.
 
The Countdown is the NHRA's new playoff series that starts with the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend in Indianapolis. Only the top 8 in the POWERade point standings will be eligible to compete for the season championship, and with her performance at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, Llewellyn moved from a precarious eighth to a slightly safer seventh, and only one point out of sixth. "Peggy's becoming a really good rider and the bike's getting really fast and it's all happening at the right time," said co-crew chief Shane Maloney.
 
After a mediocre first round of qualifying, Llewellyn shot up the charts in round 2. But the team saved the best for Saturday, and Llewellyn went all the way to second, just behind quasi-teammate Chip Ellis of G2 Motorsports.
 
qualifying round 1
9th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane       7.164 at 188.12 mph
 
qualifying round 2
5th     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.114 at 186.74 mph
 
qualifying round 3
2nd     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane       7.031 at 188.57 mph
 
qualifying round 4
2nd     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.172 at 187.11 mph
 
"It's a very proud weekend for Karl Klement Racing and G2 to take number one and two qualifiers," said George Bryce, G2 co-owner and the other crew chief on the Klement Racing Buell. "It's been a long time since G2 had a one and two effort."
 
"We left some on the table in qualifying," said Maloney. "We could have been on the pole, but it was neat to go number two to Chip."
 
Llewellyn's S&S powered Buell was part of an all-V twin sweep of round 1 on raceday, and while Ellis fell out in round 2, Llewellyn went all the way to the semis. There she lost on a holeshot to eventual race winner Andrew Hines.
 
eliminations round 1
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .056     6.993 at 190.38 mph
        Mike Berry              .041     7.118 at 186.59 mph
 
eliminations round 2
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .051     7.007 at 188.54 mph
        Matt Guidera          .012     7.077 at 187.29 mph
 
eliminations round 3
(W)  Andrew Hines          .039     7.048 at 186.18 mph
        Peggy Llewellyn     .076     7.039 at 187.50 mph
            margin of victory: .0284 seconds

"A fun thing with me and Shane today was to get a better 60 foot time each round, until we had a 1.052 in the semis, which was for sure the quickest in history at that track for a bike," said Bryce, who then referred to the team's semifinal finish at the previous race. "Our mission going into Minnesota was to keep dong what we were doing in Sonoma. The first round we crossed that hurdle, and the second round was another big hurdle. In the semis we had low ET of the round, and if Peggy had had the light she had first round or second round, we'd have been in the final."
 
"We just lacked 6 inches from winning it and we would have went to the final," said team owner Karl Klement.
 
"Now we know how to get past first round and second round, then when you get to the semis is when reaction time starts to really matter, so we're gonna continue to work on that," said Llewellyn.
 
"Peggy's an expert now at first and second round, and she's almost an expert at third round," said Maloney
 
"I just have to keep fine tuning my process," said Llewellyn. "In eliminations I kept short shifting. George Bryce kept saying 'Patience, Grasshopper. Wait for the light to come on.' I short shifted a little from first to second in the semi, and I heard the bike bog a little bit. Other than that, I had a great motorcycle all weekend. I just continued to focus on my process, not paying attention to the other lane, or points, or anything. We're coming along, don't you think?"
 
"It was an awesome weekend," agreed Maloney. "Peggy rode awesome. The motor ran really good, and the bike 60 footed awesome. At the end of the day, we had the motorcycle to win, but it was really encouraging."
 
"Look at the consistency of our three runs on Sunday," noted Bryce. "It's a tribute to the equipment we've been given to work with, the preparation of the bike by Garrett Whaley and Shane, and Peggy's driving ability coming full circle. Peggy's demeanor on the track, her confidence and her consistency is not only good for her on the track, it's gonna worry the competition. The Karl Klement team is on a roll and is not gonna be an easy round anymore. The Karl Klement team is tough to beat."
 
"We're headed to Reading and we're gonna try and win there," said Klement. "Everybody did a great job here in Brainerd."
 
"I must have done pretty good," added Llewellyn. "Because I get to ride home to Texas on Karl's private jet!"
 
Peggy and the team race next at the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals, August 16-19, Maple Grove Raceway, Mohnton, Pennsylvania.
 
Peggy and the Karl Klement Racing team would like to thank PJ1 http://www.pj1.com, Motion Pro http://www.motionpro.com, Royal Purple http://www.royalpurple.com, Wiseco Pistons http://www.wiseco.com, Hinson Clutch http://www.hinsonracing.com, Precision Motorcycle Products http://www.pmpsprockets.com, Yoshimura http://www.yoshimura-rd.com, Baudier Grafix http://www.baudiergraphix.com and Tucker Rocky Distributing http://www.tuckerrocky.com for their support.
 
Peggy Llewellyn can be seen on the web at http://www.peggyllewellyn.com
 
NHRA/POWERade point standings
7th Peggy Llewellyn     513
 
Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship point standings
9th Peggy Llewellyn/Shane Maloney/George Bryce           212
 
Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
12th Peggy Llewellyn     1115
 
Contact
Shane Maloney
smmaloney699@msn.com
 
This team report was prepared by Tim Hailey, http://www.eatmyink.com
 

July 30, 2007
for immediate release

Peggy Llewellyn/Klement Racing
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team report
 
Event: Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals
Dates: July 27-28, 2007
Location: Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California
 
Llewellyn 60 Foots Her Way
Towards the Countdown

Using a string of razor sharp 1.04 to 1.05 second sixty foot launches, Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Peggy Llewellyn got her Karl Klement Racing Buell into a 6 second groove and made a big move towards competing in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. The Countdown is the NHRA's new playoff series that starts with the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend in Indianapolis. Only the top 8 in the POWERade point standings will be eligible to compete for the season championship, and Llewellyn's super weekend in Sonoma moved her into 8th place.
 
From the moment her Buell came off the trailer, Llewellyn was never out of the top 5 in Sonoma, despite a new tire in Q1 that slowed down the bike's starting line launch.
 
qualifying round 1
4th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane          7.050 at 184.72 mph
 
qualifying round 2
5th     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane        6.997 at 187.50 mph
 
qualifying round 3
4th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane          6.963 at 188.81 mph
 
qualifying round 4
5th      Peggy Llewellyn     right lane       6.976 at 189.95 mph
 
"The bike is tuned up really good," Llewellyn said at the end of qualifying. "The last qualifying pass, I was kind of all over the track and still went a .97. So man, I'm pumped. Three 6 second passes in a row! But I'm gonna take it one round at a time. The first round of eliminations is always the hardest, but George (co-crew chief George Bryce) told me not to ponder that, to just do my process and nothing else. So I just started not worrying." That's a strategy that paid off all the way until an equipment malfunction ended Peggy's run against points leader Matt Smith in the semifinals.
 
eliminations round 1
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn     .051     6.936 at 189.50 mph
        Matt Guidera          .042     7.030 at 186.98 mph
 
"I was floored when we ran the .93," said Llewellyn. "We had a 1.045 sixty foot time, and the bike was straight and smooth and I shifted on time." Those sixty foot times came through clutch tuning and ramming the bike at launch, a technique that helps to get better sixty foot times, and better runs for the rest of the quarter mile. "Sometimes I was doing that, sometimes not, so I was working at it to get more consistent."
 
eliminations round 2
(W)  Peggy Llewellyn   .025     6.970 at 190.59 mph
        Chip Ellis              .091     7.008 at 189.68 mph
 
eliminations round 3
(W)  Matt Smith             .047     7.026 at 187.55 mph
        Peggy Llewellyn    .100     7.431 at 181.57 mph
 
"Matthew had a 1.06 sixty foot time and we had a 1.04," Bryce said about the semi. "Peggy was getting ready to mow Matt down and drive around him when the transmission deadheaded on the 2-3 shift."
 
"Our transmission decided it did not want to go to the finals," deadpanned Shane Maloney, the other crew chief on the Klement Racing Buell. "Our clutch wanted to go, but our transmission said 'No.'"
 
"About one out of every fifty runs, those dogs (parts in the transmission) just collide, and you can take it out and fix it and there won't be anything wrong with it, and you can put it back in and make fifty more runs on it," said Bryce.
 
"Our worst pass of the weekend, not including the transmission problem, was a 7.05, and the only reason it ran that slow was because we had a brand new tire and it couldn't sixty foot," explained Maloney. "Every run after that was in the 6s with 1.04, 1.05 sixty foots on the 20 year old MTC clutch system that everyone says we can't go fast with anymore. So that was awesome."
 
"We did great!" said Bryce. "Peggy took the KK Racing Buell all the way to the semis, we had lane choice every round, and we ran all 6 second runs until we got to the semis. We were very proud that Peggy took the leap to win a couple of rounds, and the bike was sooooo fast. We're very proud of the whole team, and very proud that we were able to gain that many points."
 
"It was so fantastic," agreed Llewellyn. "We knew we had to do something to stay in the Countdown, and we went out and did it. We found the consistency we were looking for in both the bike and my riding."
 
"We were also really proud that we had the Motion Pro guys here for the whole weekend," said Bryce. "They're hooked on NHRA drag racing now. Everyone of them came by and hugged us and told us they had the best time and they had no idea it was this cool, so that was great to get those guys excited about it."
 
"We had a great weekend," said team owner Karl Klement. "I'm so happy for the team and Peggy. We ran 6s all weekend, and if we wouldn't have had the transmission problem, I think we could have gone all the way."
 
"Peggy rode unbelievably awesome this weekend," said Maloney. "Everybody worked together, it was a great weekend, we moved up in the points, and we're back in eighth. We'll put a different motor in and a brand new transmission and go to Brainerd, and hopefully we'll go a few more rounds and move up another spot or two."
 
"This is a great confidence builder going into these last two races before the Countdown," finished Llewellyn. "All that helps in learning to take each and every round. I'm just gonna go out and try and do the same thing these next couple of races. It's gonna be a fight all the way to Indy. It's gonna be to tough!"
 
Peggy and the team race next at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, August 9-12, Brainerd Int'l Raceway, Brainerd, Minnesota
 
Peggy and the Karl Klement Racing team would like to thank PJ1 http://www.pj1.com, Motion Pro http://www.motionpro.com, Royal Purple http://www.royalpurple.com, Wiseco Pistons http://www.wiseco.com, Hinson Clutch http://www.hinsonracing.com, Precision Motorcycle Products http://www.pmpsprockets.com, Yoshimura http://www.yoshimura-rd.com, Baudier Grafix http://www.baudiergraphix.com and Tucker Rocky Distributing http://www.tuckerrocky.com for their support.
 
Peggy Llewellyn can be seen on the web at http://www.peggyllewellyn.com
 
NHRA/POWERade point standings
8th Peggy Llewellyn 436
 
Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship point standings
10th Peggy Llewellyn/Shane Maloney/George Bryce           175
 
Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
12th Peggy Llewellyn     975
 
Contact
Shane Maloney
smmaloney699@msn.com
 
This team report was prepared by Tim Hailey, http://www.eatmyink.com
 

July 16, 2007
for immediate release

Peggy Llewellyn/Klement Racing
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle team report
 
Event: Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals
Dates: July 13-15
Location: Bandimere Speedway, Morrison, Colorado
 
Llewellyn Loses by .001 in Denver

"I caught the redeye. Not a flight, but at the starting line," said NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Peggy Llewellyn. She and first round opponent Eddie Krawiec both left before the green light came on at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals near Denver, but Llewellyn tripped the beam a mere .001 before Krawiec. Eddie advanced while Peggy was forced to the sidelines.
 
eliminations round 1
(W)  Eddie Krawiec        -.006(R)     7.454 at 180.24 mph
        Peggy Llewellyn     -.007(R)     7.432 at 178.90 mph
 
"I was surprised, because I didn't even know about the redlight until I was going into high gear," said Llewellyn. "I saw in my peripheral that Eddie's winlight was on and my heart sank."
 
"It was a dead-even match-up with Eddie, and you have to go for it, and both of 'em did," said Shane Maloney, co-crew chief on Llewellyn's Karl Klement Racing team. "Number 8 and number 9 qualifiers is a tough match-up, and Peggy did her job, she did what she had to do. She pushed the tree a little bit. They both fought hard for it and we lost by one thousandth of a second."
 
"Peggy rolled the starting line just about two inches," said George Bryce, Llewellyn's other co-crew chief. "But the only thing we need to work on right away is practicing her holding perfectly still at the starting line. She's staging correctly and flooring it right, and we have the air gap right on the clutch, but right before she gets ready to go with the clutch, she's got her feet behind her a little bit and she just barely pushes off. That takes away your rollout and gives you too close of a light, and you end up with a slower ET. That's what happened to us."
 
Qualifying

The team felt they might have had a more favorable match-up had they done a better job in qualifying. Bandimere Speedway's very high altitude results in considerably lower horsepower for the Pro Stock Motorcycles' oxygen craving motors, and elapsed time and miles-per-hour figures reflect that. "It did feel slower," said Llewellyn. "On Tuesday, I worked out and told my trainer that I was going to Denver. He said 'Not only will the bike be slow, but you'll be slower, too.' At the track on Thursday, I walked down the hill and up the hill and up the stands. Our crewman Garret Whaley is from Denver, and he said I might get a little lightheaded if I do too much. I felt that a little bit.
 
"Going down the track was like I was in slow motion. I had to slow down my shifting. On my first or second pass I might have short-shifted a couple, but eventually I got into a rhythm. What a difference it is from our testing track in Valdosta, Georgia!"
 
"We struggled with the tune-up in both runs on Friday, which is a little bit of a waste," said Maloney.
 
qualifying round 1
16th     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane     7.606 at 176.79 mph
 
qualifying round 2
13th     Peggy Llewellyn     left lane       7.520 at 174.98 mph
 
"We got it figured out on Saturday," continued Shane. "The last run we probably should have improved, but we fell off a little bit and it bumped us down to ninth."
 
qualifying round 3
8th     Peggy Llewellyn     right lane       7.416 at 176.42 mph
 
qualifying round 4
9th      Peggy Llewellyn     left lane        7.452 at 177.39 mph
 
"We were really proud that starting off so slow with the bike up here at Denver with the 7.60, that we were able to improve to the .52, then improvie to the .41," said Bryce.
 
"Ninth is not really where we wanted to be, but I guess it's OK considering that we probably ran with a motor that's a little down on power," added Maloney. "On Sunday, the weather changed. We threw some gear at it and took some fuel away from it. We expected it to run good and it did."
 
"The conditions were so much worse on Sunday, and we were able to step up and have the fourth best run of the first round, which was really great," agreed Bryce. "Peggy drove the bike really good, and Shane and Garrett did a good job of preparing the bike. I appreciate Karl and Kim Klement giving us a shot out here. We'll keep digging. The points are very, very close now. We're only just 20 points out of 7th place and 10 out of 8th place, but we're workin' hard at it and we're gonna try and do even better at Sonoma."
 
"I feel like we let Peggy down a little bit in qualifying and could have given her a better motorcycle," said Maloney. "Peggy was riding good this weekend, and everybody did a good job and everybody worked well together again. I'm a little disappointed but proud of everybody. Now we'll do what we've got to do. We'll pack it up and service everything, put a good motor in for Sonoma, and get back to sea level where we can actually use the horsepower that we've been looking hard to find."
 
"This kind of set us back in the points chase, but we have a couple more races and I'm up for the fight," finished Llewellyn.
 
Peggy and the team race next at the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals, July 27-29 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.
 
Peggy and the Karl Klement Racing team would like to thank PJ1 http://www.pj1.com, Motion Pro http://www.motionpro.com, Royal Purple http://www.royalpurple.com, Wiseco Pistons http://www.wiseco.com, Hinson Clutch http://www.hinsonracing.com, Precision Motorcycle Products http://www.pmpsprockets.com, Yoshimura http://www.yoshimura-rd.com, Baudier Grafix http://www.baudiergraphix.com and Tucker Rocky Distributing http://www.tuckerrocky.com for their support.
 
Peggy Llewellyn can be seen on the web at http://www.peggyllewellyn.com
 
NHRA/POWERade point standings
10th Peggy Llewellyn 362
 
Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship point standings
10th Peggy Llewellyn/Shane Maloney/George Bryce           154
 
Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
12th Peggy Llewellyn     975
 
Contact
Shane Maloney
smmaloney699@msn.com
 
This team report was prepared by Tim Hailey, http://www.eatmyink.com