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Contact:
Matt King (414) 343-7634
matt.king@harley-davidson.com
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KRAWIEC
MAKES FIRST PRO STOCK BIKE FINAL ROUND APPEARANCE
Runner-Up
Finish Moves Krawiec into Top 10 in Point Standings
SONOMA,
Calif. (July 29, 2007) – Eddie Krawiec earned his first Pro Stock
Motorcycle runner-up finish the hard way Sunday at the FRAM-Autolite NHRA
Nationals. It was just his ninth appearance on his Screamin' Eagle/Vance
& Hines Harley-Davidson V-Rod and his first event at Infineon Raceway,
but it didn't come easy.
"From
the very beginning of the weekend when we unloaded the V-Rod we were
working on it, just fine-tuning to make it more competitive as the weekend
progressed," Krawiec said. "We didn't have any down time but
this Screamin' Eagle team works so well together that we found our way to
the final round. This crew makes it possible for me to be calm and cool
and I felt comfortable on the bike all weekend."
Krawiec
– the newest member of the Screamin' Eagle team – has qualified for
nine NHRA national events in his career. All of those have come this
season. The final round appearance was especially important this weekend
because of the NHRA's new point system, the Countdown to the Championship.
Krawiec
was in 12th place before Infineon's race, 58 points out of eighth place.
Those top eight riders will be the only riders able to compete for the
NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle championship when the Countdown to the
Championship point standings are readjusted before the start of the U.S.
Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 29.
The
final round appearance bounced Krawiec into 10th place, just 29 points
away from eighth place. Riders have two races left before Indy to get into
the top eight.
"Believe
it or not, I felt very comfortable," Krawiec said. "I didn't put
any added pressure on myself and I just kept thinking about how much fun I
was having and how much closer we were going to be to the top eight.
That's exciting.
"Getting
into the top 10 is, out of anything, the most crucial. It's going to be a
battle for the sixth through eight spots and I'm glad we're going to be in
that points fight."
Krawiec
beat Antron Brown in the first round, recording a 6.967-second pass at
190.86 mph to top Brown's 7.077 at 188.07 on his U.S. Army Suzuki.
Teammate Andrew Hines beat Geno Scali in Round One with a career-best E.T.
6.902 pass at 192.93 to Scali's 7.046 at 189.31 on his Performance Machine
Suzuki.
That's
when Screamin' Eagle teammates Krawiec and Hines met up in the second
round. Krawiec bested Hines with a career-best E.T. of 6.946 at 192.28
over Hines' 7.044 at 192.96.
Krawiec
beat Steve Johnson in the semifinal round with a 7.014 at 189.79 over
Johnson's 7.057 at 188.52 on his Snap-on Tools Suzuki. Krawiec lost to
Matt Smith and the Torco/Skull Gear Buell team in the final. Smith posted
a 6.992 at 189.10 over Krawiec's 7.090 at 190.16.
"It
was such a great weekend for the Screamin' Eagle team because Andrew made
some passes down the track and Eddie made it to his first final
round," Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso said. "Even
more importantly, Eddie is getting closer to being in the top eight and
being able to compete for one of the Countdown positions.
"It
was great to see Eddie so excited, and the team did a great job putting
two V-Rods on the track were capable of winning rounds."
Hines
was still pleased with the weekend, even if he came up short in his quest
for another victory at Infineon Raceway. He's earned one victory (2005),
two No. 1 qualifying awards (2005, '06) and has set the national record
there as well (6.968 seconds, 2005).
"The
bike was so quick this weekend that it just made it so fun to ride,"
Hines said. "We were running well on the first day of qualifying and
then we stumbled on something on Saturday and it worked out even better
for the V-Rods. We just barely missed the No. 1 qualifier but we still
felt good about our qualifying numbers."
The
Pro Stock Motorcycle class has one weekend off before taking on Brainerd
International Raceway in
Brainerd
,
Minn.
, on Aug. 10-13.
Both
Krawiec and Hines said the weekend in
Sonoma
is going to make the rest of the season more exciting.
"It
felt great to get back into the 6-second performance range and I came out
of here with a career-best E.T.," Krawiec said. "Our performance
is picking up and the team is doing well and I think we're building great
momentum that will carry on for the rest of the season."
Hines
agreed.
"We
know we have motorcycles with the potential to win any round," Hines
said. "We have quick bikes and that makes it easier to ride knowing
you have a shot of winning rounds. The beginning of the season when we
weren't doing very well, it was rough going from race to race. But know
it's really enjoyable and it makes me anxious to get to the next
event."
Hines
at
Sonoma
E.T.
MPH RT
Q1
7.001 189.50
Q2
6.962 190.03
Q3
6.929 190.70
Q4
7.053 193.79 No. 2
R1
*6.902 192.93 .074
R2
7.044 192.96 .064
*
Career-best E.T.
Krawiec
at
Sonoma
E.T.
MPH RT
Q1
7.725 132.28
Q2
7.089 187.26
Q3
6.980 189.66
Q4
7.676 146.27 No. 7
R1
6.967 190.86 .044
R2
*6.946 192.28 .037
R3
7.014 189.79 .021
R4
7.090 190.16 .043
*
Career-best E.T.
Career
first final round appearance
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 Ford Truck, Dunlop, Matco Tools and S100.
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