In an unexpected move that certainly carries championship implications, Sovereign-Star Racing team co-owner George Bryce was notified through a Tuesday morning phone call that rider Scotty Pollacheck was resigning his position as a rider for the team, just head of this weekend’s AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals near St. Louis.

Pollacheck, who made his professional debut in 2012 as a rookie for Bryce’s team, is currently sixth in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship points chase in the Pro Stock Motorcycle division, will continue to compete for the title, racing independently on a motorcycle purchased from Matt Smith Racing, beginning this weekend at the third of six Countdown races.

“Over the past two years, it has been exciting and rewarding for our Sovereign-Star Racing team to watch as our drivers and our race program have developed and improved. It was a big shock for us to learn that Scotty (Pollacheck) is resigning from the team, but that is his decision so we are just making the best of our situation. We still have to honor our commitments to our sponsors who are expecting us to run two motorcycles for the rest of the season,” Star Racing owner George Bryce said.
After learning of Pollachecks’s decision, the Sovereign-Star Racing team began scrambling to find a replacement rider for the S&S Cycle-powered Buell for the remainder of the season. The team didn’t have to look far, however, as crew member and developmental rider Chaz Kennedy, who has been training on the team’s Suzuki for a planned debut at the season’s final two races, has been thrust onto one of the teams two primary motorcycles for the last four events.

“We’ve been planning all year for Chaz (Kennedy) to get some seat time at a national event to get more experience before his official rookie season in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Originally, we thought that he would drive our Suzuki at Vegas and Pomona, as long as it wouldn’t take away from our championship runs with Scotty (Pollacheck) and Michael (Ray). With the current situation, we thought Chaz would be the best option to allow our team to fulfill our sponsorship agreements. We are very excited about his potential and ready to see what he can do this weekend in St. Louis,” Bryce said.