NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Results
If you ride, Vance & Hines is a name that you’ll most likely be familiar with. The company has been churning out performance exhaust solutions for motorcycles since the 70s, and have been a huge part of motorcycle drag racing.
The company is represented well in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycles series, and it comes as no surprise that Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines claimed his first victory of the 2016 season this past weekend at the zMAX Dragway, presented by Lowes Foods, in Concord, N.C.
This race was a bit different than most in that it was a four-wide race. Four drag bikes out on the strip at one time. Hines was making use of his Harley-Davidson V-Rod, which, in his opinion, is more than suitable for the four-wide task.
“I think the Four-Wide is the only event where you can lose a round and still win,” said Hines, the defending Pro Stock Motorcycle champion. “We put a fresh motor in my V-Rod on Saturday, and I had a strong-running motorcycle today. The Screamin’ Eagle team won the first two races this year, so we are off to a great start. We are really happy with our performance and the way the bikes are responding to tuning.”
Hines qualified fourth in the event with a best run of 6.837 seconds down the strip. But what helped him clinch a victory was his amazing reaction time that was logged as 0.002 seconds during launch on a 6.844-second run with a top speed of 195.42. In all, Hines put a 43rd notch on his belt, having accumulated a healthy amount of victories over his career.
Ed Krawiec, fellow Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagl®/Vance & Hines rider, followed him up in second. Currently, Krawiec sits happily as the Pro Stock Motorcycle point’s leader. He too advanced into the four-wide final and finished right behind is compatriot. Qualifying with an admirable 6.818, he went on to claim first into two elimination heats on Sunday, eventually taking the fastest time of the weekend which was 6.810-seconds.
The great thing about Pro Stock Motorcycles is that they’re attainable by the likes of you and me. Granted, Hines and Krawiec have quite the crew behind them, helping them build up their bikes which are inspired by the Harley-Davidson Night Rod Special but again, we can get something a bit similar, with a few changes on the performance end.
After two of 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle events on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Krawiec leads the class with 232 points and Hines is in second place with 197 points.
The Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines drag racing team will be at it again, May 13-15 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga.
