Hines rides a Harley V-Rod to NHRA win in Atlanta
Harley-Davidson Press Release - May 17, 2010

Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines won the final round of Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations at the Summit Racing Engineering NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, May 16th, 2010.

Hines rode a Harley-Davidson® V-Rod to the win over Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana, the second time he has defeated the defending class champion in the final round this season.

The win comes on the heels of a disappointing outing for Hines in St. Louis on May 2, when the three-time champion went out on a red light in the first round.

"This was a big moral victory for the Screamin' Eagle team after St. Louis," said Hines, who has now notched 20 Pro Stock Motorcycle wins in his career. "Some of us stayed in St. Louis to test, and we focused on improving our 60-foot time. We started by learning what not to do, but on our last run of testing we had a great pass, so that's where we started from here in Atlanta, and my worst 60-foot time today was better than any I've had all season. We are not racing from behind any more."

"This is about as good as it gets," Hines said. "It was a good, clean race in the final. I had to push it in the final. I knew Hector was strong. He had been running good all weekend, and he qualified No. 1, so I held onto the clutch lever with just the lightest amount of pressure that I could, and I was .006. That was a little closer than I wanted it, but I’ll take it. He’s a tough competitor. He’s the world champ from last year, and it doesn’t put a bigger smile on our face than to beat him."

Hines qualified third in Atlanta with an elapsed time (ET) of 6.938 seconds. His Screamin' Eagle teammate, Ed Krawiec, qualified sixth with a 6.976-second pass. Arana led all qualifiers with a time of 6.913 seconds.

Krawiec lost at the starting line in the first round of Sunday eliminations, when his 7.013 ET could not overcome a 0.064-second reaction time and he fell to Valvoline Buell rider Craig Treble (0.017/7.026).

"That light was not acceptable," said Krawiec. "We had trouble with our tune-up all weekend, and I never got mine fixed because I was done after one round. I think we got it right on Andrew's final run, so we can save that and move on."

Hines moved through Sunday eliminations with wins over MB Machining Buell rider Mike Berry, Treble, and David Hope on the VRoom Racing Buell. In the final against Arana, Hines had an outstanding 0.006-second reaction time and made his quickest pass of the day at 6.968 to take his second win of the season. Arana ran 0.034/7.047.

"Like Ed said, this was our first race of the year in hot weather, and we were really fighting to get the engine tuning right," said Hines. "But on the last run the V-Rod felt really good. So we got a big win and some good data we can use for the rest of the season."

Following five rounds of the 17-race 2010 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule, Arana leads in points with 475. Al-Anabi Racing Buell rider Smith is second with 374, followed by Hines with 369, and Krawiec with 354.

Standings and points through this round:

• Hector Arana:  475
• Matt Smith:  374
• Andrew Hines:  369
• Ed Krawiec:  354
• Michael Phillips:  328
• Craig Treble:  279
• David Hope:  257
• Karen Stoffer:  257
• Steve Johnson:  243
• Louis Tonglet:  240
• Shawn Gann:  213
• James Underdahl:  183
• Junior Pippin:  161
• Angie Mcbride:  157
• Mike Berry:  154
• Douglas Horne:  125
• Wesley Wells:  72
• Redell Harris:  62
• Gary Moreno:  41
• Joe Desantis:  40
• Darin McCurdy:  30
• James Surber:  20
• Katie Sullivan:  10
• Bailey Whitaker: 10

The next Pro Stock Motorcycle event on the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule is the United Association NHRA Route 66 Nationals, June 3-6, at Route 66 Raceway Joliet, Ill.

Screamin' Eagle Performance Parts are inspired by and built in the spirit of the raw adrenaline and power of motorcycle racing. Screamin' Eagle Pro parts are specifically designed for race-use applications, while Screamin' Eagle parts offer street-use performance options for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner. Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more information.

The Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team is sponsored by Matco Tools, Dunlop and S100.