Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Eddie Krawiec set a new NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle elapsed-time record on the way to winning the final round of the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at the Auto Club Raceway. Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana fouled at the start of the final round to give Krawiec an automatic win and his second victory of the season on his Harley-Davidson V-Rod. It was the final race of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship.
For Krawiec, the win at Pomona is a bookend to a season that also saw the 2008 World Champion win the opening event of the series at Gainesville, Fla., in March. Riding a special military-themed Harley-Davidson V-Rod (which was voted NHRA’s Best Appearing Vehicle at Pomona) as part of Harley-Davidson Military Appreciation Month, Krawiec was the top qualifier at Pomona with a 6.847-second run on Saturday, and got wins over Dirty Banana Mix/LAT Suzuki rider Freddie Camarena in the first round, and Racer’s Edge Suzuki rider Michael Phillips in round two.
In semi-finals, Krawiec faced off against Tonglet, but got the automatic win when the new champion went red at the start line. That put Krawiec in the finals for the first time this season since Gainesville. Arana went red, but Krawiec poured on the power and ended the season in style, riding the Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod to a 6.811-second ET that broke the 6.815 class record set by Hines on Sept. 4 at Indianapolis.
“I had a really awesome bike all weekend, and we didn’t make a tuning change to it until before the final round,” said Krawiec. “I saw Hector go red and just made my run, and the V-Rod flew fast and straight into the record books. It’s really cool to get a win and the record with the military paint on this bike right after Veteran’s Day, and it’s a great way to end a season that was a real struggle for me at times.”
During the 17-race 2010 NHRA Full Throttle drag racing season, Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines riders Hines and Krawiec combined for seven event wins, 11 final-round appearances, and two national ET records. Hines appeared in the finals nine times and scored wins at Houston, Atlanta, Denver, Brainerd, and Reading. Krawiec had wins at Gainesville and Pomona.
In the final Pro Stock Motorcycle point standings for NHRA Full Throttle Countdown, Tonglet finished first with 2,681 points. Hines is second with 2,677. Krawiec finished third with 2,599 points.
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