ROUND 8/JULY 21, 2013
BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY/DENVER, COLORADO
DRAG RACING
P90
NHRA PRO STOCK SERIES
MILE HIGH
MIRACLE
BY KEVIN MCKENNA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK REBILAS
R
acing in the thin air of Denver's Bandimere Speedway
almost anything can happen, but it's doubtful that many
of the fans who attended this
year's Mopar Mile High Nationals
could have predicted that Gann's
Speed/Pirana-Z Buell's Shawn
Gann would emerge with his first
victory in a full nine seasons.
Gann hasn't had a lot of success in his previous seven rounds
this season, but he made up for
a lot of bad luck as he rode one
of the best races of his career.
Gann's bike, which is prepared
by his father Blake, was also one
of the performance leaders with
a string of solid runs. Gann qualified in the number-five spot with
a 7.29, and opened eliminations
with a 7.28 in his round one win
against Angie Smith and a 7.315
in the second round against
Steve Johnson, who actually ran
quicker with a 7.312, but gave up
a slight starting line holeshot.
"I'll tell you what; if you have
power you can't hide it. You can't
lie about it and you can't sweep
it under the rug and we have
great power," said Gann. "My
dad [Blake] is unbelievable. He
can make anything. I don't care
if it's a doghouse from Popsicle
sticks or a nuclear weapon. He
can make anything."
Gann qualified in the number five spot and
ran well all day at Bandimere Speedway.
Shawn Gann
won an NHRA
Pro Stock final
for the first time
in nine years
with his victory
in Denver.
Gann figured to face his toughest challenge in the semis when
he was paired with Screamin'
Eagle Harley-Davidson's Andrew
Hines, but managed to pull out
a 7.31 to 7.37 victory. The final
round against Lucas Oil Buell's
Hector Arana Jr. was over quickly
as Gann got a huge lead at the
start and held on for the win with
a 7.35. Arana, who was obviously
distracted at the start, and was
well behind despite a competitive
