Chris Bostick made his best performance of the season aboard his Pro Stock Motorcycle this weekend at the Texas NHRA FallNationals, affectionately monikered the “Stampede Of Speed.” The talented rider and team owner is in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship for the first time in his career and has been making impressive strides in the past few events.
Bostick qualified in the top half of the ultra-competitive Pro Stock Motorcycle field for the first time this season as his career-best pass of 6.818 at 194.86 mph on Friday rocketed him to the No. 8 spot on the ladder. Qualifying was not without its challenges, however, as Bostick’s team encountered trouble in the latter qualifying sessions of the weekend.
“We were really feeling great about the weekend through Q1 and Q2,” said Bostick. “Getting our career-best elapsed time was huge. Then as we were preparing for Q3, all seemed to be going well. Everyone’s mood was great. As I did my burnout, I felt like something sounded wrong. The vacuum pump had come apart. Whenever that happens it loses considerable horsepower, which is why we slowed down considerably. We didn’t see anything in the computer, but as we were taking the batteries out to recharge them, there was a piece of the vacuum pump lying in the belly pan of the motorcycle. We didn’t have a second one to just swap out, so we had to find parts and pieces to repair the one that we had, which included a trip to the hardware store, so we didn’t make it to the last round of qualifying.”
Bostick entered eliminations today hoping that their thrashing session would pay off as he lined up against Steve Johnson. Bostick was looking for his first win against Johnson, who had bested Bostick in the previous four times the two raced each other.
With his family watching in the stands, Bostick took his Chris Bostick Motorsports Suzuki on a 6.85-second ride to defeat Johnson and advance to the next round of eliminations. He faced points leader Gaige Herrera in the second round but launched too early resulting in a quarterfinal exit.
“We feel good about the progress we are making,” said Bostick. “We are moving in the right direction and we are having a great time doing it!”
Bostick’s father, Jerry Bostick, was on hand to celebrate his son’s achievements. The 84-year-old veteran racer was a part of the very first national event in NHRA history in Great Bend, Kan. in 1955. Bostick’s siblings were also in attendance to support him as he reached new milestones in his drag racing journey.
Malcolm Phillips Jr. piloted the second Chris Bostick Motorsports entry at Texas Motorplex and made a great showing. Phillips qualified No. 13 with an outstanding run of 6.923 at 191.39 mph. This marks the lowest elapsed time of the young rider’s career in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle. He’s grateful to Chris Bostick for the opportunity and to DME for helping him compete in NHRA drag racing.
Competition in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will continue on October 26-29 at the penultimate event of the season, the NHRA Nevada Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
This story was originally published on October 16, 2023. 
