34th annual K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals presented by Pep Boys: Pro Stock Bike-Gann ends 18-month drought with second win

National Dragster, May 30, 2003 by McKenna, Kevin

Since his breakout win in 2001 at the fall Las Vegas race, Shawn Gann has experienced more than his fair share of frustration and heartbreak. Winless for all of 2002, Gann, whose father, Blake, has always supplied him with competitive equipment, began to wonder if he'd ever win another Pro Stock Bike event.

"It just seemed like the breaks never went in my favor," said Gann, who outlasted the sport's quickest Pro Stock Bike field in Englishtown. "It's been incredibly frustrating to come out here knowing we can win but not getting it done. I've been praying for a weekend like this for a long time now; we really needed it."

Paired with Craig Treble in the final round, Gann might well have been repaid for a full year's worth of bad luck in one fell swoop. Treble, who made a quick rebound after a tough DNQ in Atlanta, banked eight-hundredths of a second off the starting line and appeared to be well on his way to his sixth career victory, but he quickly dropped back when his Matco Tools Suzuki wouldn't go into high gear.

"I was so concerned about red-lighting that I missed it completely," said Gann of his tardy .126 reaction time. "The final was kind of thrown in my lap, but with all I've been through, I'll take it. We both made mistakes. Mine [the .126 light] was the most obvious, but his was worse. He looked over at me and double-hit his [air-shifter] button. That's a good way to lose a race. I know, I've been there before."

On a weekend when 13 of 16 qualifiers recorded personal-best elapsed times and it took a 7.20 just to qualify, no one was quicker than (Gann, who just missed the national record with a 7.051. Gann also set the pace on Sunday with a 7.070 in round one against Chris Reuter and a 7.09 in the semi's against Antron Brown. Gann's slowest run was his second-round 7.12 opposite Sean Conner's 7.15, but a .008 light prevented any chance of an upset.

"We know we've got to work at it diligently if we want to win the championship," said Gann, who moved to within 24 points of leader Geno Scali. "I feel like a different person than I was before. Last year, 1 wasn't living the life I wanted to. I felt like I was out of control at times, and now I'm much more focused. [I hope] this weekend is a sign of what's to come."

Treble's reward for qualifying 11th was a first-round meeting with Angelle Savoie and a potential second-round matchup with points leader Geno Scali; he used the opportunity to get in the championship hunt, taking out both of his rivals. Treble backed up his personal-best 7.07 from the first round with a 7.09 in the semi's, giving him lane choice against Gann, but it became a moot point when his transmission malfunctioned.

"I bobbled the 2-3 shift, and when you do that, [the transmission] usually won't go into 5th gear," said Treble. "It wasn't a transmission problem; it was a rider problem. I had a plan for Shawn in the final, and it worked, too. I just couldn't finish him off. I sure could have used that extra 20 points for [winning] the final, but I took Angelle and Geno out early, and that's exactly what I needed to do to get back in the points chase. A lot of people were writing us off after not qualifying in Atlanta, but I never felt that way. I still believe we'll be there in the end."