Honda Review

Screamin’ Eagle®/Vance & Hines rider Eddie Krawiec added to his points lead in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle division by racing a Harley-Davidson V-Rod® to the final round of eliminations at the United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill. Krawiec, the defending Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, lost to Rocklin Motorsports Buell rider Matt Guidera in the final round.

Eddie Krawiec in the Joliet Semifinals.
NHRA drag racing between Eddie Krawiec and fellow teammate Andrew Hines at the Route 66 Nationals.
Screamin’ Eagle/Vance and Hines rider Andrew Hines, who lost to Krawiec in the semi-final round, moved into second place in the points standings. The Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines team was making its first race appearance since the NHRA rules added 20 pounds to the team’s Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod motorcycles, boosting minimum weight to 640 pounds, compared to 620 pounds for Buell and 595 for Suzuki motorcycles.

Hines qualified fifth for the event with a run of 6.989 seconds. Krawiec qualified ninth at 7.011. Horne Racing Buell rider Doug Horne was the quickest qualifier with a 6.936 pass.

Krawiec defeated Vroom Racing Buell rider David Hope in the first round, and beat Horne’s 7.168-second run with a 7.094 pass in round two. Hines beat Suzuki rider Joe DeSantis in round one, and got a win in round two when NitroFish Suzuki rider Matt Smith left the line early. Krawiec and Hines faced off in the semi-final round, with Krawiec pulling away for the win with a 7.143 pass to 7.193 for Hines. Guidera defeated Krawiec, 7.096 to 7.189, in the final round. It was Krawiec’s third consecutive visit to the final round. He was this winner at the past two events.
“We tried a lot of different things today,” said Hines. “I was really happy with a 7.08 in the first round, and then Matt Smith handed me a break in round two. But we are going to have to find some more power to overcome the added weight, and then work on the transmission to handle it. Together we made 15 runs this weekend, and that gives us some good data to use in working on a set-up for the next race.”

After five events on the 17-race 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule, Krawiec leads the series with 433 points. Hines moves into second place with 382 points, dropping Smith to third with 380 points. Horne is fourth with 349 points.