Hossler Gets Second Straight Win With Round Six Victory In Qatar

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DOHA, QATAR (February 5, 2011) - Both Shannon Jenkins and Alex Hossler had their share of early-season troubles this winter in the Arabian Drag Racing League.The latest example of how distant a memory that has now become took place on Saturday at the Qatar Racing Club (QRC) as both of the standouts won in their respective classes during Round Six in Qatar.With only one race remaining before the 2010-2011 championship-deciding round on February 17-18, Hossler appears to be peaking in Pro Extreme. For the second straight race, he met Von Smith and again topped the talented driver, going 3.647 at 209 miles per hour for his second straight win.“To taste victory after some of the misery we went through, it’s great,” Hossler said. “It makes it that much sweeter when things come together and we’re able to reap some benefits. The guys just work so hard.”Joining Hossler and Jenkins in the winner’s circle was Matt Smith in Pro Extreme Motorcycle and Dan Millen in Extreme 10.5.Smith, an ultra-successful Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, picked up his first PXM victory, going 4.11 at 171 mph to beat Terry Schweigert.Millen, meanwhile, continues to roll in his Mustang, going 3.84 at 202 mph to beat Frankie Taylor in the finals.Jenkins appears to have put it all together in Pro Nitrous after numerous frustrating performances throughout the winter season.He started the turnaround in Round Five, advancing to the finals, and finished the job on Saturday, going 3.83 at 195 mph to knock off Burton Auxier.“It turned out well. Anytime you win, I don’t care how you do it, it’s a good win,” Jenkins said. “It’s real tough over here. There’s a lot of great teams and a lot of people are driving well.”That certainly includes PN points leader Khalid Al-Balooshi, who became the first PN driver to reach the 3.7 mark by going 3.794 on Friday.But Al-Balooshi couldn’t race in the semifinals against Auxier, giving the 2010 American Drag Racing League (ADRL) World Champion a free path to the finals.Jenkins, though, was on top of his game and got the victory, despite suffering through a litany of clutch difficulties the previous day. Now he’s hoping the win will propel him towards a strong finish.“You need your ‘A’ game, but that’s the way we want it,” Jenkins said. “We’re right there and we’ve got a great team.”Hossler’s day started with a win against Frankie Taylor, as his 3.708 edged out the 2010 PX World Champion’s 3.709. He followed it with a 3.71 against Matt Smith before turning in his best showing of the day against Von Smith.Von, who has lost in three finals this year, again had trouble and Hossler ended up with consecutive wins.“With Rob (Flynn) and Mike (Guger), I can’t imagine having two guys that would be a better fit,” Hossler said. “They give me more confidence than I ever imagine I could have. They truly are professionals and great at what they do.”Millen suffered from transmission problems but he continues to roll during a dominant stretch that dates back to September and the ADRL.His incredible performances have joined him in Qatar, summed up by the 3.80 he ran to reach the finals.“We had a really good night,” Millen said. “The track here is excellent and the team did a great job.“We just want to keep everything the same, keep running the same race and hopefully we can pick up where we left off (next week).”Matt Smith has made remarkable progressions in PXM, capping it off on Saturday by getting better each round.He knocked off Rob Hunnicutt in the first round, going 4.13 to earn a holeshot win in the semifinals. Smith then topped himself with the 4.11 in the finals, denying Schweigert his second victory.“We’re making progress,” Matt Smith said. “This bike is all new to us and we’re trying to get it right. We’ve come a long ways pretty quick.”Round Seven takes place on Feb. 10-11 at QRC, with qualifying set to take place on Thursday.

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