Chris Rivas, rider of the G2 Motorsports/Drag Specialties/S&S Cycle V- Twin Pro Stock Motorcycle, was defeated by Matt Smith in the second-round of eliminations at O'Reilly NHRA

Midwest Nationals, but remained in seventh place, with 191 points, in the 2008 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle championship chase.

After defeating Craig Treble in the first-round with a perfect light, the first of his professional career, and a 7.003-second E.T at 187.76 miles per hour, Rivas was up against the number one qualifier, Matt Smith, who defeated Rivas despite a .008 reaction time.

"I felt good about our chances this weekend as we came off a good weekend in Atlanta," said the 41-year-old Fresno, Calif. native. "I did everything I could, including a perfect light in the first-round and a great light in the second-round. I really wanted to win one for my dad today because it's his birthday."

Crew chief George Smith remained supportive of his rider and shared his plans for the next few weeks. "Chris won a round with a great light and kept us in the top half in the point standings. We learned a lot this weekend and we're still searching for the right combination for our motorcycle, but we plan to do some testing between now and the next national event."

The next Pro Stock Motorcycle event is the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Il.

Smith also added, "The team feels inept because we haven't been able to run like we did last year. However, a lot of our customer team's work and other distractions are minimal now, so we'll focus on our motorcycle and we will be continuing our improvement for Joliet."

Although disappointed by his second-round loss, Rivas remained positive.

"It just wasn't our day today, but with a little more work our day will come soon."