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DECATUR, MI. – Chris Rivas has been selected to ride Evan Knoll’s new Pro Stock Bike. Rivas, of Fresno, California, will serve as a teammate to Matt Smith’s Torco Race Fuels-backed entry.
Rivas left the Mohegan Sun team earlier in the week and plans an NHRA Torco Race Fuels Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill., debut.
“I am excited to be given the opportunity to be included in Evan Knoll’s growing family of race teams,” Rivas, of Fresno, CA, said. “To me this is an incredible opportunity. I am a very competitive person by nature. I am very driven and I have very large goals for my Pro Stock Bike career.
“I feel that Matt is a very driven rider. I foresee us as a team being a very dominating force. This team change for me is a very strategic move to turn my career from hobby stock racer to Pro Stock. I’m ready to turn the corner and be the rider that I’ve been trying to become for the last three years. I think Evan Knoll is the key to this by allowing me to team up with Matt.
“I want to give thanks to my family for their undying support, Evan Knoll for the opportunity, MAC Tools for sticking with me through everything, H-D Drifters Inc., CP Pistons and Central Valley Trucking for their continued support.”
Smith leads the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock points, while Rivas is a strong sixth ranking. The first-year team recently established a new elapsed time record in St. Louis before NHRA officials imposed a new weight minimum for all Buell teams.
“We are using this new bike with the intention of adding data to what we already know,” Smith said. “We want to exercise every option we can to win a championship.”
Knoll is fired up about the potential of his new team in the Pro Stock Bike category.
“We were looking for the right time to branch out and with what Matt did in St. Louis, this is the perfect time to do,” Knoll said. “Hopefully this will enable us to make up the gains taken away that we made before the rules were changed.
“I think this team has just scratched the surface of their true potential. I think you just got an idea of what they are capable of with St. Louis.”
Smith says Knoll’s confidence in this expansion will be a major factor towards the team’s success.
“This will allow our program to go forward at a rapid rate,” Smith said. “Any time you can add a second bike, it increases your chance of learning more. I think is going to be a great stepping stone towards testing and learning things quicker.”
Knoll’s combination of ownership and major sponsorship of NHRA POWERade professional teams stands at three Top Fuel dragsters [Melanie Troxel, J.R. Todd, Doug Foley], three nitro Funny Cars [Mike Ashley, Gary Densham, Dale Creasy, Jr.], two Pro Stockers [Dave Connolly, Justin Humphreys] and two Pro Stock bikes [Rivas, Smith].
The Rivas-piloted bike will represent Knoll’s second professional ownership on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing tour. It will be sponsored under the Knoll Gas & Energy brand.
Knoll’s Pro Stocker, managed by Victor Cagnazzi and driven by Dave Connolly, carries backing from Torco Race Fuels and Seelye-Wright Automotive Group.
Knoll is an owner within the Seelye-Wright Automotive Group, a collection of 41 dealerships in throughout Michigan.
CHRIS RIVAS TO RIDE NEW EVAN KNOLL PRO STOCK BIKE, JOINS MATT SMITH AS BUELL TEAMMATE
DECATUR, MI. – Chris Rivas has been selected to ride Evan Knoll’s new Pro Stock Bike. Rivas, of Fresno, California, will serve as a teammate to Matt Smith’s Torco Race Fuels-backed entry.
Rivas left the Mohegan Sun team earlier in the week and plans an NHRA Torco Race Fuels Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill., debut.
“I am excited to be given the opportunity to be included in Evan Knoll’s growing family of race teams,” Rivas, of Fresno, CA, said. “To me this is an incredible opportunity. I am a very competitive person by nature. I am very driven and I have very large goals for my Pro Stock Bike career.
“I feel that Matt is a very driven rider. I foresee us as a team being a very dominating force. This team change for me is a very strategic move to turn my career from hobby stock racer to Pro Stock. I’m ready to turn the corner and be the rider that I’ve been trying to become for the last three years. I think Evan Knoll is the key to this by allowing me to team up with Matt.
“I want to give thanks to my family for their undying support, Evan Knoll for the opportunity, MAC Tools for sticking with me through everything, H-D Drifters Inc., CP Pistons and Central Valley Trucking for their continued support.”
Smith leads the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock points, while Rivas is a strong sixth ranking. The first-year team recently established a new elapsed time record in St. Louis before NHRA officials imposed a new weight minimum for all Buell teams.
“We are using this new bike with the intention of adding data to what we already know,” Smith said. “We want to exercise every option we can to win a championship.”
Knoll is fired up about the potential of his new team in the Pro Stock Bike category.
“We were looking for the right time to branch out and with what Matt did in St. Louis, this is the perfect time to do,” Knoll said. “Hopefully this will enable us to make up the gains taken away that we made before the rules were changed.
“I think this team has just scratched the surface of their true potential. I think you just got an idea of what they are capable of with St. Louis.”
Smith says Knoll’s confidence in this expansion will be a major factor towards the team’s success.
“This will allow our program to go forward at a rapid rate,” Smith said. “Any time you can add a second bike, it increases your chance of learning more. I think is going to be a great stepping stone towards testing and learning things quicker.”
Knoll’s combination of ownership and major sponsorship of NHRA POWERade professional teams stands at three Top Fuel dragsters [Melanie Troxel, J.R. Todd, Doug Foley], three nitro Funny Cars [Mike Ashley, Gary Densham, Dale Creasy, Jr.], two Pro Stockers [Dave Connolly, Justin Humphreys] and two Pro Stock bikes [Rivas, Smith].
The Rivas-piloted bike will represent Knoll’s second professional ownership on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing tour. It will be sponsored under the Knoll Gas & Energy brand.
Knoll’s Pro Stocker, managed by Victor Cagnazzi and driven by Dave Connolly, carries backing from Torco Race Fuels and Seelye-Wright Automotive Group.
Knoll is an owner within the Seelye-Wright Automotive Group, a collection of 41 dealerships in throughout Michigan.
