BRAINERD, Minn. (August 16, 2009) – Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Eddie Krawiec leads the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle series by more than 100 points after racing a Harley-Davidson V-Rod to the semi-final round of eliminations at the Lucas Oils NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
Krawiec’s closest rival in the points race both went out in the first round of eliminations. Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines, who is in second place, lost to Stone Mountain/Granite Mountain Harley-Davidson Buell rider Junior Pippin. Krawiec scored a first-round win over Nitrofish.com Buell rider Matt Smith, who is third in points. In round two, Krawiec defeated MPR/Damn Sports Suzuki rider Michael Phillips. Krawiec lost in round three to top-qualifier Hector Arana. Arana got a win in the final when Pippin fouled at the starting line.
“Our focus is to maintain our momentum, go rounds, and do well at Indy,” said Krawiec, the defending Pro Stock Motorcycle champion. “A run to the semi-final round today caps another great weekend for the Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines team.”
Hines lost at the starting line, with a 0.073 reaction time and 7.034 run to the 0.027 start and 7.056 run of Pippin.
“I was shooting for about 0.050 on the tree,” said Hines. “He got that start on me and beat me to 60 feet, and then I just ran out of track before I could catch him. The good news is that my teammate beat Matt Smith in round one and kept him from catching me for second place in points.”
After the Brainerd event, six Pro Stock Motorcycle riders have qualified for the 2009 Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. Hines and Krawiec are joined by Arana, Smith, Horne Racing Buell rider Doug Horne, and Team Scream Suzuki rider Craig Treble. Only the top 10 points earners in the class will take part in the Countdown playoffs, which begin at the North Carolina Nationals on Sept. 17-20.
After 10 events on the 17-race 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule, Krawiec leads the series with 911 points. Hines is second with 803, followed by Smith with 668. Arana moves up to fourth with 644 points, followed by Treble with 641 and Horne with 632.
The next event on the 2009 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule is the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals, Aug. 20-23 at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa.