Geckos can be territorial and after Thursday’s qualifying for the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Ca., Pro Stock Motorcycle riders with geckos on their bikes are too.

Karen Stoffer rode her Geico Powersports Suzuki to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position of the season and if it the mark holds, it will represent her eighth career top qualifying effort.

Stoffer isn’t battling for a championship but the seventh position in the points, that’s worth fighting for.

Geckos can be territorial and after Thursday’s qualifying for the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Ca., Pro Stock Motorcycle riders with geckos on their bikes are too.

Karen Stoffer rode her Geico Powersports Suzuki to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position of the season and if it the mark holds, it will represent her eighth career top qualifying effort.

Stoffer isn’t battling for a championship but the seventh position in the points, that’s worth fighting for. 

“We need those three points that the NHRA so graciously gave us for qualifying,” Stoffer said on Thursday afternoon.

Stoffer is four points ahead of Shawn Gann, who ended the day as sixth quickest.

Stoffer has qualified in the top half of the field in three of her last four races and two weeks ago landed fifth in Las Vegas.

“It’s kind of melancholy because this is the last race and we want to be good and we are just beginning to get our momentum up,” she continued. “I wish we had another pass today and another race next week to maintain this momentum.”

And for Stoffer, the atmospheric conditions favored her combination.

“These are ripe conditions for the Suzukis,” she explained. “The Suzuki inline fours can do better in these conditions than in the hot and muggy, sticky stuff. The bike and the crew love it. The rider? She’s kind of a southern California hot weather girl. I’ll sacrifice my comfort for performance on the bike.”

She’ll do what she has to do to hold onto that No. 7 spot.

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