Underdahl looking to change statistics in Eliminations at Atlanta

Jim Underdahl Qualifying Report 2011 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 3 of 16 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, Ga. May 14, 2011 Fighting threatening weather and dodging occasional raindrops, Suzuki Extended Protection Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Jim Underdahl qualified number 14 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. He will face Eddie Krawiec in the first round of eliminations Sunday afternoon.

Underdahl’s team has been working on increasing the precision of fuel delivery, and he said they are pleased with the consistency they have seen during their runs this weekend. His best time was a 7.007-second run at 189.50 mph. “We had done a lot of carburetor work on the bike, and we are starting to see the payoffs. With the increased tuning range, we are really able to control things a lot better,” Underdahl said. “Because we weren’t sure what the weather would do on Saturday, we knew that we had to take advantage of Friday to get a good run and get into the show - which is exactly what we did. We were able to get that seven-flat on Friday evening, and that set us up to get into the show and let us work on our setup. “We didn’t get a better run, but we did get good info. Now we just have to take Eddie out, which I know we can,” he said. Underdahl has faced Krawiec five times previously - all unsuccessfully - including at the last race, where Underdahl beat him off the line but was unable to hold him off for the win. The 24-year-old former wrestling champion is anxious to change that statistic. “I really don’t pay much attention to the rider in the other lane, but I have to say that I’d like to get past him and start making the statistics skew in my favor a little. I know we’ve got a great bike, and dad (Greg Underdahl) and Ben (Kriegsfeld, crew chief) have a good game plan for tomorrow. I think we can go up against anyone and get a win,” he said. Eliminations are scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning and run throughout the day.