Reigning Champion Eddie Krawiec takes his first career event win in NHRA Pro Stock.
Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Eddie Krawiec rode to his first career event win in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle drag racing in Atlanta this weekend. Riding a Harley-Davidson V-Rod he defeated Horne Racing Buell's Douglas Horne in the final round of eliminations at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. The win was a milestone for Krawiec, who earned the 2008 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship without winning an event.
“It sure feels good to get this win and get that burden off my back,” said Krawiec. “I’ve been to five final rounds and won a championship, but I still had to prove I was capable of winning an event. My crew chief, Matt Hines, put an awesome Harley-Davidson motorcycle under me all weekend, and it carried me to some personal records in qualifying and then all the way through the finals.”
Krawiec’s win capped a successful weekend for the Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines team. For the second event in a row and the 24th time in his career, Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines was the top qualifier. His 6.877-second/195.03-mph blast on Friday stands as the fourth-best elapsed time in Pro Stock Motorcycle history, set a new Pro Stock Motorcycle track record and is a new personal-best ET and top speed for Hines. Krawiec also set new personal-best marks with a 6.881/194.49 run on Friday to take the second spot in qualifying
Hines defeated MB Machining Buell rider Mike Berry in the first round of Sunday eliminations, and won the second round when Rum Bum Racing Buell rider Shawn Gann fouled at the starting line. Hines faced Horne in the semi-final round, and lost to the rookie at the starting line with a 0.047 reaction time and 6.947 ET to the 0.026/6.959 combination put down by Horne, who took the win by just 0.009 seconds.
Krawiec advanced to the final round with a no-show win over LE Tonglet in round one, a win over Rocklin Motorsports Buell rider Matt Guidera in round two, and a win over Matt Smith when his NitroFish Suzuki broke during his semi-final run.
After a two-hour rain delay, Krawiec and Horne lined up for the event final. Krawiec left the line in 0.019 seconds and posted a 6.902 ET to beat Horne’s 0.041/6.949 by a convincing margin.
A no-show got Krawiec started, but it was his quick reflexes and lightening fast V-Rod that took him the rest of the way.
“We are so happy Eddie can now check an event win off of his racing to-do list,” said Harley-Davidson race team manager Anne Paluso. “The team was working on motors up until the hauler pulled out of Indy for Atlanta, and all that hard work definitely paid off. This was a great weekend for everyone on the Screamin’ Eagle team.”
After three events on the 17-race 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule, Smith leads the standings with 270 points. Hines moves from third to second place with 230 points. Hector Arana drops to third with 226 points, and Krawiec moves from sixth to fourth place with 224 points.
The next event on the 2009 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule is the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, May 1-3 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill.
Atlanta NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Results:
Round Win/Loss Driver R-Time E-Time Speed
Final (W) Eddie Krawiec (Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines) 0.019 6.902 192.91
(L) Douglas Horne (Horne Racing Buell) 0.041 6.949 191.13
Elimination 3 (W) Douglas Horne (Horne Racing Buell) 0.026 6.959 191.62
(L) Andrew Hines (Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines) 0.047 6.947 191.46
(W) Eddie Krawiec (Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines) 0.019 6.901 194.02
(L) Matt Smith (Nitrofish Suzuki) 0.032 NT-Broke After Staging
Elimination 2 (W) Andrew Hines (Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines) 0.035 6.960 190.11
(L) Shawn Gann (Rum Bum Racing Buell) -0.049(R) 7.008 187.39
(W) Eddie Krawiec (Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines) 0.080 6.913 190.57
(L) Matt Guidera (Rocklin Motorsports Buell) 0.014 7.054 187.29
(W) Douglas Horne (Horne Racing Buell) 0.016 6.951 192.55
(L) Karen Stoffer (Geico Suzuki) 0.048 7.033 190.19
(W) Matt Smith (Nitrofish Suzuki) 0.052 6.915 192.36
(L) Hector Arana (Lucas Oil Buell) 0.021 6.995 187.99
Elimination 1 (W) Shawn Gann (Rum Bum Racing Buell) 0.025 7.002 188.17
(L) Junior Pippin (Stone Mtn & Granite Mtn HD) 0.038 7.017 187.65
(W) Matt Guidera (Rocklin Motorsports Buell) 0.040 7.012 189.15
(L) Craig Treble (Team Scream Suzuki) -0.007(R) 6.954 194.18
(W) Hector Arana (Lucas Oil Buell) 0.170 6.974 191.08
(L) Wesley Wells (Kendall Suzuki) 0.151 7.382 173.90
(W) Karen Stoffer (Geico Suzuki) 0.090 6.944 191.89
(L) Angie McBride (NitroFish/MSR/Redline Oil) 0.080 6.955 188.70
(W) Eddie Krawiec (Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines) 0.067 6.949 191.95
(L) LE Tonglet (Suzuki) -9.999(R) NT-No Show
(W) Douglas Horne (Horne Racing Buell) 0.029 6.934 192.30
(L) Michael Phillips (MPR & Damn Sport Suzuki) 0.040 6.966 192.66
(W) Andrew Hines (Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines) 0.050 6.991 191.40
(L) Mike Berry (MB Machining/ LAT Racing Oil) 0.016 7.108 187.99
(W) Matt Smith (Nitrofish Suzuki) 0.042 6.893 194.49
(L) Steve Johnson (Steve Johnson Racing Wyotech) 0.072 7.021 189.87
