NORWALK, Ohio (June 26, 2011) - Harley-Davidson® Screamin' Eagle®/Vance & Hines rider Ed Krawiec rode a Harley-Davidson® V-Rod® to his second Pro Stock Motorcycle event win of the season at the 5th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. Krawiec defeated Buell rider Matt Smith in the final, and leaves Norwalk leading the Pro Stock Motorcycle class in season points.
"It's great to be back on top in points," said Krawiec. "I want to stay there for the rest of the season. I feel like I'm moving in the right direction and riding with real confidence, and the team is really working hard."
Friday qualifying was rained out, leaving the field with just two runs to qualify on Saturday. Krawiec's best run was a 6.934-second blast that put him in the fifth position. Andrew Hines qualified the other Screamin' Eagle V-Rod in ninth place with a 6.978-second run. Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Jr. led all qualifiers with a 6.887-second run.
"We came to Norwalk with a plan and some new set-up ideas we wanted to try, and losing Friday really messed that up for us," said Hines. "We needed to run more rounds to gather some data. We tried three different engines this weekend and it never ran very well. Ed's V-Rod was great in the first two rounds on Sunday, but mine never came around. It's very frustrating, but we'll do some more testing at the shop see what we find."
Hines lost to Varoom Racing Buell rider David Hope in the first round on Sunday, with a 7.164-second elapsed time (ET) to Hope's 7.056.
Krawiec opened Sunday eliminations with a 6.919 ET that would be the quickest run of the day, good for a win over Varoom Racing/LAT Racing Oil Buell rider Mike Berry. Krawiec got a free pass in round two when Jim Underdahl did not make the start after changing engines in his Suzuki Extended Protection motorcycle. Krawiec defeated Hope in the semi-finals, and then got the win in the final round over Matt Smith after his Buell broke down mid-run.
"I was using my racing luck at the end today," said Krawiec, who now has nine career Pro Stock Motorcycle event wins. "By the final the track was getting hot and greasy and the tire just spun at the start, my reaction time was not great and the bike was falling off at the end. We might have had a different result if Matt could finish the run, but I've been on the other end of that situation too. So it all evens out. The Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle team really battled this weekend so I'll take the win any way it comes."
After five of 16 scheduled Pro Stock Motorcycle events, Krawiec leads the series with 425 points. Karen Stoffer, whose Geico Suzuki broke at the first-round starting line at Norwalk, drops from first to second with 418 points. Hines is third with 369 points, followed by Smith with 350 points.
The Pro Stock Motorcycles will next race at the 14th annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals, July 7-10, at Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, Ill.
Company Information
Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit harley-davidson.com.
The Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team is sponsored by Matco Tools and Dunlop.