While Chris Bostick was preparing for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class’ March debut at Gainesville, Fla., a tornado blasted through his Mount Juliet, Tenn., area.

It didn’t cause too much damage to Bostick and his family or property.

“It did not. Our race shop is in Brooksville, Florida. George Babor is our crew chief, and so the bikes and all were there. However, we're building a brand-new 16,000-square-foot shop in the Tennessee area, and the roof has fallen off of it, but it's been put back on. So all is going to be good. So it didn't affect us.”

However, he helped out his community: “We donated money towards some people that needed water and food and things like that, that were displaced, and loaned chainsaws out and a couple things like that. So yeah, did everything that we possibly could.”

As if that weren’t distraction enough for his racing program, the coronavirus spread forced the NHRA to suspend the season. And the bikes didn’t get to hit the racetrack until July.

Bostick had been waiting for that moment for a long time.

“It’s been 15 years since I've been out here, except for Indy last year, and that was supposed to be a bucket-list thing. So my wife is a little bit upset that I decided to get back into full time, but she's adjusting,” he said. “But I'm so excited to be back at it. There's so many friends of mine that I made 20 years ago that are here, and it's really cool to reconnect with them.”

He said one never loses the bug to drag race: “You never do. It's in your blood.”

Bostick said, “Something to know about this weekend . . .  My bike that we've been working on is a bike that is a Kosman chassis, and we have made many modifications to get it to go well and it currently has the new monster four-valve in it. But we're not running it this weekend. We have yet to be able to go out and test it to be ready for a national event. However, they are testing on Monday and so that bike is in the trailer and we are going to run it Monday, hoping to get it ready for the U.S. Nationals.

“I'll be riding Jimmy Underdahl’s blue bike that he qualified seventh at Gainesville last year. So Greg and Gary have told me that it has very close to the same setup and as long as I can point it right and push a button when I'm supposed to and do all the driver things correctly, then I should be able to make a really good pass. So I'm looking forward to it. I've never made a six-second anything pass.  If I can do that today, I'll be excited as if I've won the race.”

He did. His best was a 6.987-second elapsed time, good for the 11th position on the ladder.

​​​​Bostick, 60, defeated Angie Smith, Ryan Oehler and Vance & Hines’ Eddie Krawiec before falling to Sampey in the finals.

“It was surreal,” Bostick said about his Sunday performance. “It's been so long since I've gone one round and to be able to go all the way to the finals was just unbelievable, a blessing. I'm glad that it was my friend Angelle in the other lane. She's been a role model to so many people and is just a good person inside and out. If I got to make it all the way to the final and I had to lose, I'm glad that it was her that I lost to. It was great.

“We had so much help from Greg (Underdahl) and Gary (Stoffer) and his whole crew, Karen (Stoffer) who's here and the calmness that she brought to me on the starting line just by her words of wisdom and such and I just love them all. I mean, it's great. And of course, my wife, Terry, who is here being supportive. So, it was amazing. What can you say? You're at a United States event, it's a national event and you go to the finals. So amazing.”